Captain Jayden Scholtz smashed a rapid 80 off 61 balls to set Southern KZN up for a massive and important win against Pinetown Topham last Sunday.
The match, a hotly anticipated one, was played at Port Shepstone Country Club, with promotion back to the KZN Castle Premier League on the line.
Southerns won comfortably in the end, by 146 runs, but there were some anxious moments.
Scholtz won the toss and chose to bat. It proved to be a good choice, with Mikyle Bartle and Abdullah Dhudat combining for a steady opening stand of 34 in 10 overs, keeping the door firmly shut on Pinetown.
Anyone familiar with the country club can tell you that early wickets can be a catalyst for a collapse, and seeing through a difficult 10 overs upfront set a platform for the rest of the day.
Pinetown did come back with a few big wickets, including those of Brinley de Bruin and Ashley Lombard.
It set the stage for the skipper, who strolled to the crease with the score on 92-4.
It was always going to spell trouble for Pinetown, and so it proved as he played a masterful, and at times brutal, innings to leave Pinetown clutching at straws.
He was joined by Garreth Bishop for a wonderful stand of 104 in just 92 balls.
Garreth provided the anchor role with a responsible 32 while Jayden cut loose with a rapid 80 off 61 balls to see with Southerns eventually finishing on an imposing 244-8 off their 50 overs.
Salman was the pick of the Pinetown bowlers, with a miserly 2-26 off 10 overs.
In reply, Pinetown Topham were never in the hunt and lost a flurry of early wickets, leaving them 17-3 and then 39-5 courtesy of fine swing bowling by Blake Statt (3-26) and a fiery spell by Cody Mortimer (2-19).
They never recovered and collapsed to 99 all out, with the last five wickets falling for just 17 runs, this time to the fine left-arm spin of Abdullah Dhudat, who proved unplayable and finished on 5-22 off 6.1 overs.
It was a fantastic result for a team that has now completed a Promotion League double this season.
It’s also a real boost for the union and just rewards for all the hard work that has been put into getting cricket going again on the South Coast.
Batting:
Mikyle Bartle 45 (99)
Abdullah Dhudat 21 (30)
Brinley de Bruin 4 (15)
Blake Statt 7 (10)
Ashley Lombard 9 (10)
Jayden Scholtz 80 (61)
Garreth Bishop 32 (49)
Cody Mortimer 11* (13)
Liam Scholtz 11 (15)
244/8
Bowling:
Blake Statt 3-26 (7)
Cody Mortimer 2-19 (6)
Abdullah Dhudat 5-22 (6.1)
Abdur 0-7 (2)
Josh Pillay 0-21 (4)
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
