Cricket master returns with silver medal

Corrie Minnaar, the Lowveld’s only representative in the team, said although the men were not satisfied with their performance in the final against Australia, which they lost 58-81, a very high standard of cricket was played throughout the week.

Of the 11 matches the SA Masters played at the recent tournament held in Birmingham, England, the team won seven.

“We lost our way a little after (the first three wins) losing to both Australia and NZ. We only managed to beat England convincingly again. We still managed to get good points from the games we lost by winning skins, and by the end of the round robins we were on 43 points to Australia’s 46, putting us in second place,” he said.

Indoor cricket is usually played according to a skins system. The batting partnerships from each innings are compared against each other. The higher of the two wins the skin.

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The SA team’s best result came against the Kiwis in the semi-final.

“We beat them 152-77 and lost only three wickets during our batting innings. This came after we had played a few bad games and the morale was a bit low. We showed great character to bounce back and play the way we did to reach the final,” Minnaar told Lowvelder.

In the World Cup final against the Aussies, the SA Masters struggled with their batting against a strong bowling attack.

“We let ourselves down big time, but all credit to the Australian side for playing extremely well and executing their game plan better than we did.”

Minnaar said his batting was “a little hot and cold and not consistent enough” throughout the week, especially when facing some of the best indoor bowlers in the world.

“But I bowled very well and managed to take 13 wickets in the nine games I played,” he said.

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There were only four teams in the SA team’s category but other countries represented included Sri Lanka and Singapore.

“Considering our age, the cricket was of the highest standard you’ll see anywhere. There were some truly phenomenal performances by the over-50 players too,” Minnaar said.
“South Africa participated in all but one of the age-group category finals, with our over-35 ladies being crowned as world champions after beating Australia by eight runs.”

It seems the Australia-South Africa cricket rivalry runs across all ages and forms of the game. Minnaar said one of the highlights of the tour was watching the soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the latter’s home ground, Anfield.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable with the singing of the 53 000 fanatical supporters. It was an awesome experience!”