One win, one loss
MIDRAND - On 8 February, Midrand's two Saturday cricket sides were both scheduled to play away from home.
The SA5 side had a return fixture against Thirsties after losing to the very same side the previous week. The Midrand side won the toss and decided to bat first on a hard, dry wicket.
Thirsties would get the better of the early exchanges as they picked up four early wickets leaving their visitors at 84 runs for four wickets at drinks.
Another three wickets quickly fell after that, leaving the Midrand side in shock, but then Kyle Schoeman, the powerful right-handed batsman, stepped in. The Midrand batsman led a fight back with a 66 off 50 balls, and catapulted his side to a daunting 219 runs for nine wickets in their 40 overs. That seemed to knock the wind out of the hosts, leaving them at the mercy of Midrand’s very competent bowling, which out-foxed their hosts, cleaning them up in 33 overs with a mere 141 runs on the board. With that, it was mission accomplished and the past weekend’s loss corrected.
The second side travelled to Krugersdorp to face a Caxton Khosa side, propelled by the exuberance of youth with the bulk of their side being players U21.
The Midrand side was asked to bat and were soon put under pressure by some disciplined pace-bowling, probably the best pace bowling in the league. The side held it together as they tried to preserve their wickets.
Having somewhat seen off the strike bowlers, the side needed to step it up drastically in the second half of the innings and a 116-run partnership off 73 balls between Graeme Penny and Tshoko Moloko would do just that. The side’s middle order capitalised and posted a respectable 196 runs for eight wickets in 40 overs.
The Midrand side defended and picked up four wickets in 10 overs but were eventually defeated by the hosts’ 100-run partnership that came off 116 balls.
