It was the metaphorical walk in the park on Sunday, February 8, for United Cricket Club’s Premier XI, when they travelled to Springs Old Boys, to compete in the Eastern Premier League.
Skipper Justin Gamble’s side all but coasted to victory at Pollak Park, against a Springs outfit who have been massively depleted by an exodus of quality players.
But, a job was still to be done for the Hosking Park-based side and that’s exactly what they did.
In fact, United did such a good job on their opponents that they still had enough time to take notes and watch the clash between this weekend’s table-topping opponents, Benoni Northerns Cricket Club and Kempton Park, in Benoni.
Against Springs, it was the bowlers who came to the party early on.
The weakened Springs batting order tumbled from the get-go and wickets were the order of the day for United’s attack.
The tall, opening, fast bowler, Kevin Hinton, continued his good form with the leather and bagged figures of 4/29 in eight overs, while Tsepho Motaung and Oswaldo de Sousa each picked up three sticks to wrap up their opponents for 103, within 20 overs.
When United stepped in to bat they chased down the target in no time and, despite losing three wickets, reached the score by the 20th over.
The opening batsmen, JP Meade (41) and Zander Els (31), helped to guide United to a bonus-point victory that sets them up nicely in the upper echelons of the league.
According to team manager Des Gamble, the United team “did the job and came home”.
“I feel desperately sorry for Springs Old Boys, as they have lost a lot of players,” he said.
“But, we did what we needed to do and now turn our attention to a tough one, against Benoni Northerns, away from home, on Sunday.”
The league-leading Northerns offer daunting opposition, with attacking spinner GC Pretorius and fast bowler Lance Humphrey proving lethal with the ball, in a match-winning display against Kempton Park, on Sunday.
“We don’t want to be arrogant, but the confidence of our boys will be oozing going into this one and we will have a lot of belief that we can beat them,” added Gamble.
He is hoping to rope in a number of Premier League players for the Saturday First League game on February 14, on the Benoni Northerns’ A-Field, in order to get in some practise ahead of Sunday’s big match.
Meanwhile, the club’s Premier Reserve team also tasted success, with a 51-run win over KwaThema, at Hosking Park, on Sunday.
United posted 274/6 in their 50 overs, with Ryan Bond (69), Brendon Frost (69), Dehan Viljoen (49) and Uli Jooste (43 not out) standing out with the bat.
Michael du Plessis (3/38 in 10 overs), Frost (3/38 in 10 overs) and Viljoen (2/21 in 10 overs) did well with the ball.
