Northerns fight back to beat Boksburg
On-form opening batsman Ernest Kemm combined with the tail-end batsmen and the bowling attack as defending champions Benoni Northerns Cricket Club (BNCC) crushed Boksburg in a roller-coaster Easterns Premier League match, at Prince George Park, on Sunday, January 26.
The visitors lost the toss and were sent in to bat on PG Park’s infamous sloping pitch, with conditions favouring the bowlers.
Thanks to former Tukkies player Kemm, who scored a fine 43, the Benoni side got to a strong position at 66 for the loss of just one wicket, until sticks started falling like nine-pins.
The visitors were suddenly in all kinds of trouble on 136/9, but, in what ultimately turned out to be a stroke of genius by Northerns coach Thys van Lingen, regular opening batsman Rhenier Jordaan was dropped down the order, and he and the experienced Shawn Wessels proceeded to put the Boksburg bowlers to the sword.
The pair were involved in a tremendous unbeaten 10th wicket partnership of 90, that enabled the Benonians to post a highly defendable total of 226 in their 50 overs.
Jordaan ended up on 71 not out, and Wessels on 21.
The Northerns bowlers then went to work, using the favourable conditions to their advantage as they blasted Boksburg for just 106, to secure victory by a massive 120 runs and, with it, another vital bonus point.
GC Pretorius was the best of the Benoni bowlers after taking three wickets for 18 runs, in four sparkling overs, while Lance Humphrey (2/14 in four overs), JP kok (2/20 in four overs) and Wessels (2/26 in four overs) also contributed to the carnage.
“We lost the toss and were sent in to bat in very favourable bowling conditions, on a sloping pitch,” explained van Lingen.
“We were in a strong position at 66/1, when our second wicket went down, and the wickets started to fall quickly, most of them on the sloped side of the pitch.
“We were in trouble at 136/9, but our usual opener, Rhenier, went in at number to give some of our young players a chance (up the order) and, together with Shaun at 11, dug in to rescue us.
“Our bowlers then used the remaining favourable conditions to send their batsman back to the change-rooms for only 106 runs.”
- At Northern Areas, on the same day, BNCC’s Promotion League leaders gutsed out a nerve-jangling one-wicket win over Daveyton in a low-scoring thriller.
On another difficult batting track, Benoni did well to skittle the visitors for a meagre 106, thanks to an excellent all-round bowling effort spearheaded by paceman Aidan Steyn’s four for 43 in 10 overs.
Stiaan Jordaan (3/12 in five overs), debutant Andrew McFarlen (2/14 in seven overs) and Jaco Kruger (1/17 in 10 overs) were also miserly and destructive.
The home side almost made a complete hash of their run-chase before squeaking in at the death.
Jordaan top-scored with 33, while McFarlen chipped in with a crucial 15 runs at the end, and Kruger scored the winning runs to be 10 not out.
“The wicket made batting an extremely difficult task,” said Benoni captain Juan Schaerer.
“We thought we had done a good job to bowl out Daveyton for 106, and that batting would get easier in the afternoon, but it was just as tough.
“We found ourselves in big trouble at 80/7 and it got even worse at 90/9, but our tail-enders fought hard and managed to grind out the win in what was an exciting game.
“It was an important win for us, as it keeps us on top of the log by six points.”
- This Sunday, February 2, BNCC’s Premier XI host Springs Old Boys, and the Promotion XI go to second-placed Nigel.
