United come unstuck with the bat
United Cricket Club’s Premier XI was hoping to come out fighting away from home against Actonville Spurs on Sunday, November 2.
This followed the disappointment of not playing their scheduled first home game of the Eastern Premier League due to a large sewage spill on the A-field at Hosking Park against CBC Old Boys on Sunday, October 26.
In the first innings, United’s skipper Justin Gamble won the toss and put Actonville in to bat in overcast conditions.
The move paid off, with United’s bowlers putting in an excellent display with the leather to bowl Actonville out for a low score of 106 in the 30th over.
Ulrich Jooste, Kevin Hinton and JP Meade each picked up two wickets and Oswaldo De Soussa took one wicket.
Captain and slow left arm bowler Gamble claimed three Actonville scalps for just one run in the nine deliveries he bowled.
It seemed as though United would march to an emphatic win, but their performance with the bat left a lot to be desired.
The team crumbled with the willow and was cleaned up for just 66 runs in the 29th over, to ensure a bonus point win for the Benoni team.
New recruit Rian van der Merwe’s 19 runs was the best score by a United batsman, while Actonville’s captain, Clayton August, was the star with the ball, with figures of 4/15 in 10 overs.
Team manager Des Gamble said that no excuses could be made to justify the defeat.
“When you bowl a team out for 106 in the first innings you are expected to get the job done and win the match, but our batsmen failed,” he said.
“We are not giving up though and will be hunting for as many wins as we can in the league.”
The team hosts Duduza at Hosking Park on Sunday, November 9, and will believe that they can pick up the full points from this match.
