Premier League derby arm-wrestle

In their sixth match of the campaign, which has included an away defeat to CBC Old Boys, Benoni captain Kurt Francis again lost the toss and was invited to take first strike on a pitch that made batting difficult, particularly in the morning.

The visitors were soon in trouble and had lost five wickets by the time the half-century had come up on the scoreboard.

However, some tenacious middle-order partnerships enabled BNCC to scratch together 167 before being bowled out in the penultimate over.

Bowlers who performed well for Actonville were Lafras Moolman (3/28), Xolile Nkomo (2/24) and captain Theo Naidoo (2/25).

The team conceded a number of extras that would prove decisive in the outcome of the fixture.

JP Kok was the best of the Benoni batsmen, with a score of 28, while Francis weighed in with 24.

Defending such a low total demanded a disciplined bowling effort and that’s exactly what BNCC did.

Spearheaded by spinner Ernest Kemm, who snaffled three wickets while conceding just 12 runs in 9.2 quite remarkable overs, the visitors took sticks at regular intervals to have Actonville all out for 147 – 21 runs shy of their target.

Actonville lost two early wickets as Logan Fortuin (28) and Imraan Manack (48) tried to stabilise the batting order, but nobody else offered any real support to them.

Pacer Lee Cothill grabbed two for 22 in seven overs, and Stefano di Bartholomeo 2/28 in six.

“The bad luck with the toss is still haunting us this season,” said BNCC coach Thys van Lingen after his side’s fifth win of the season.

“We were in trouble again at 50/5, but our depth with the bat helped us to crawl to 167/10 in the 49th over.

“Our bowlers were looking forward to banging it in on that pitch and we managed to get them all back in the change-room for 147, with a good team effort.”

Actonville congratulated their Benoni neighbours on their victory and look forward to a match in Boksburg against CBC Old Boys, on Sunday, November 17.

n At Northern Areas, on the same day, BNCC’s Promotion League XI got their challenge right back on track with a gutsy, nail-biting victory over big rivals Kempton Park.

Stand-in captain Juan Schaerer won the toss and asked the visitors to bat.

Despite being 20 for two after five overs, Kempton went on to reach 195 before being bowled out in the 47th over.

The stars with the ball for BNCC were Dean von Ruben (3/43 in nine overs) and fellow paceman Marlou Moore (3/27 in six), while Stiaan Jordaan took an impressive 2/33 in 10.

In reply, Benoni were in a deep hole at 15 for three after just three overs, but Man of the Match Von Ruben went on to score a fine 58, including two towering sixes and five boundaries.

He was involved in damage-repairing half-century stands with Jordaan’s twin, Stefan, who tallied a patient 45 for the fifth wicket, and with Marlou Moore, who managed 39, despite being dropped three times.

The remarkable fight-back was completed in the 37th over, with the home side having just two wickets left intact.

This Sunday, November 17, both BNCC teams have home games against KwaThema.

n There was some good news for Actonville Spurs, when the club’s President’s Team won their last game of the 20/20 competition against Avion Park, by eight runs, to reach the Super Sunday 20/20 final that will take place in March, next year.

They were unbeaten in the group stages, with four wins and one rain-out.