The North West Dragons had an up and down CSA T20 Challenge campaign at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha this month, but managed to end it on a high with a 10 run win against hosts, the Warriors, in their final match this past Wednesday.
The Dragons will be disappointed to not make the semi-finals, after starting the tournament brightly with two wins in a row against the Lions and Knights.
Four losses in a row dented the Dragons’ hopes – with the super over loss against the eventual champions, Boland Rocks, sticking out. If the Dragons had ended on the right side of that match, then things might have turned out differently for the men in grey and maroon.
There are numerous positives that the Dragons can take out of the tournament. Their spinners did a fantastic job at containing the opposition and picking up key wickets.
Senuran Muthusamy was the top wicket-taker with 10 wickets at a miserly average of 9.90 and economy of 4.30. Muthusamy’s control and clever bowling was one of the highlights of the tournament. He would’ve though wanted to contribute more with the willow.
Nicky van den Bergh’s captaincy must also be applauded as his tactics stifled the opposition on numerous occasions during the tournament. Proteas all-rounder, Dwaine Pretorius, had his moments with bat and ball too and his experience was a welcome sight for the Dragons. His 146 runs in the tournament were a bit below par for his usual standards – although he was one of the top run scorers for his side. He also picked up 5 wickets, at an economy rate of 7 to the over.
Heino Kuhn hit a fantastic 78 in the final match against the Warriors to end with the best batting average in the side, (45.33). Overall, the Dragons batsmen could only his 3 fifties during the tournament – which in the end contributed to their downfall, as the batsmen could not lay the platform to ensure competitive scores against quality opposition.
Regular scores over 150 could have painted a different picture for the Dragons.
The Dragons now look forward to the upcoming 50 over competition in March.
The first match will see the Dragons take on Western Province at the JB Marks Oval on 11 March.
