Cracking quarter-final cricket served up
There were not too many dull moments, that's for sure.
Are you not entertained? That’s a phrase André Ellapen enjoys, borrowed of course from blockbuster movie Gladiator, and boy, was it ever true of quarter-final action in the hotly contested Southern KZN Winter Cricket League last Sunday.
André is a man who wears many hats when it comes to cricket – coach, administrator, official and umpire. On this occasion he was an umpire and so had the best seat in the house for some thrilling cricket.
Match of the day was between Spartans, led by veteran all-rounder Gershion Lawrence, and Kokstad Bombay, captained by Imran Razakazi.
It came down to the last ball, with Spartans needing one run to win off the last ball, having needed seven off the over.
The match was played at Suid-Natal High in the afternoon and the Spartans, who looked to have had the match well in hand, ended up crawling to the end via byes and mis-hits as wickets tumbled.
In the earlier game, Crusaders (led by Bilal Habib) went down to Trophy Fighters, captained by Talha Mansoor, on a chilly, overcast morning. It was an enthralling game as fortunes ebbed and flowed.
There was only one game at Port Shepstone Country Club, where ICC XI, captained by Saddam Patel, easily beat Harding Sultans (captained by Imraan Khan).
There was some distress for ICC XI early on when opener Wali Raza’s launched on onslaught had folk hurriedly moving their vehicles away from the boundary.
Looking ahead, the fourth quarter-final match will be played between Imaani Perfume and Southern KZN-19 at Port Shepstone CC this Sunday at 09:00.
Thereafter, both semi-finals will be played in the afternoon, so either Imaani or Southern KZN-19 will have a double-header.
RESULTS
* Match 1
Crusaders 147-8 (20)
JJ Dixon 50 (44), Charlie Madraveeran 23* (13), Akbar Hanief 17 (15).
Faisel Darsot 4-9 (4), Saleem Sidat 2-34 (4).
Trophy Fighters 151-5 (18.2)
Abdur Rahman 63 (43), Sahid Khan 22 (13).
Tubby Reddy 2-27 (4), Kavesh Singh 1-12 (2).
Trophy Fighters won by five wickets with 10 balls to spare.
* Match 2
Kokstad Bombay 171-7 (20)
Zakariah Paruk 57 (38), Mahyu 37* (30), Talha Peer 25 (36).
Christiaan Louwies 3-13 (3), Fahim 2-24 (4).
Spartans 172-7 (20)
Tyler Hogan 49 (42), Faisal Patel 32 (17), Suhel Patel 27 (10).
Zakariah Paruk 2-24 (4), Huzaifa Badat 2-26 (4).
Spartans won by one run.
* Match 3
Harding Sultans 101-10 (16.2)
Wali Raza 31 (17), Waseem 19 (11). Naeem Patel 3-9 (3), Abdullah Dhudat 3-11 (3.2), Ashraf Mullah 2-25 (4).
ICC XI 102-2 (11.2)
Ahemad 64* (35), Ayaz Zabiya 16* (15). Waseem 2-40 (3), Abdul Hameed 0-13 (3).
ICC XI won by eight wickets.
