Sunday rain causes frustration
Benoni Northerns Cricket Club (BNCC) endured a miserable time on the field, when the club’s top three teams were all left frustrated over the weekend.
The much-anticipated Easterns Premier League Benoni Derby, between league leaders Northerns and Actonville Spurs, at Lords, on Sunday, January 25, ended in a rained-out draw, following a massive mid-afternoon thunderstorm, with the visitors chasing less than 180.
At Northern Areas, on the same day, BNCC’s second XI relinquished their leadership of the Premier Reserve League for the first time this season, after slumping to a disappointing net run-rate defeat by Boksburg’s CBC Old Boys – the new league pace-setters by a slender two points – also thanks to the inclement weather.
The previous day, Benoni’s First Saturday side missed the chance to possibly close the gap on leaders Kempton Park Renegades, when they narrowly lost away to bottom-placed Kempton ‘A’ – their second one-wicket loss on the trot.
Juan Schaerer, captain of Northerns’ Premier Reserve side, was left fuming after the premature conclusion to their one versus two clash with CBC, which ended with Old Boys claiming “victory” by a 3.3 run-rate, to 3.23.
“This was a really bitter pill to swallow,” he lamented.
“But that’s cricket and we’ll have to take it and hopefully bounce back.”
The loss effectively means that Schaerer’s young defending champions will have to win all five of their remaining matches in the 2014/2015 campaign and hope that CBC slip up somewhere along the way.
The Benoni skipper reckoned Sunday’s was a match they should never have lost, after winning the toss and fielding first.
“We threw it away with some ill-disciplined bowling towards the end of their innings and probably gave them 40 runs too many,” he said.
Northerns had the visitors floundering on 77 for the loss of seven wickets at one stage, before eventually bowling them out for 165 in the 43rd over.
Pacemen Jaco Kruger and opening bowler Andrew Smith bowled beautifully, each sending down 10 overs, with the former rewarded with three wickets for 27 runs and the latter with three for 28.
At 100 for five, after 31 overs in reply, the Benonians were well on track, but then the heavens opened.
On the same day, BNCC’s Colts XI escaped the storm to post a comfortable 70-run home win against Daveyton, in another local derby.
Benoni won the toss and decided to bat, and the openers laid a solid platform, with WP Myburgh making a patient 39.
André Steyn showed the younger Colts how it’s done, by making a well-played 78 as Northerns ended on 212/9.
The Daveyton openers started well, but the Northerns spinners pulled it back for the home side, Diaan Basson taking 4/41 in eight overs, as the visitors were bundled out before they’d reached 150.
There will be no Easterns Sunday League cricket this weekend, because the Titans are playing the Highveld Lions in a Momentum One-Day Cup game at Willowmoore Park, although BNCC’s First Saturday side must return to Barnard Stadium to take on Kempton ‘C’.
