No log points off Quins 6’s cliff-hanger win over ACC 5

DESPITE the Bluff peninsula and surrounding areas not having received any rain during the course of late Saturday and Sunday, Verulam’s uncovered wicket was pummelled with heaps of rain on Saturday night, resulting in a two hour postponement of Umbilo Harlequins’ stream one challenge league cricket encounter.

Consequently the match was reduced from 50 overs to 38 overs aside.

Quins lost a vital toss of the coin and batted first on a sticky slow wicket, not conducive to any drive strokes and downright difficult to play most strokes perhaps with the sole exception of pull and hook shots. Quins definitely got the worst of a historically notorious wicket, renown for inconsistent bounce and carry, perhaps best described as difficult to keep wicket on and even worse when damp from preceding rain. Dylan Labuschagne continued with his rich vein of form with successive, meaningful contributions at the helm of Quins’ batting order with yet another 16 runs. Middle order batsman Sheldon Swanepoel again played with exquisite balance and reserved patience on the unpredictable sticky wicket, top scoring with 32 runs to take Quins through to a below-par total of 101 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their reduced allocation of 38 overs.

With intense luminance and a brisk northerly wind, the wicket surface soon dried out, easing up significantly, but still displaying symptoms of its inherent inconsistent characteristics. Verulam’s two opening batsmen Vivian Subramoney and T Athimoolan, being accustomed to their wicket, seemed to have no real problems in dealing with the Quins attack despite the latter having his helmet almost completely dismounted from a good length delivery by Abdur Rehman, which seemed to explode off the deck. These two openers took Verulam to a score of 66 runs before the first wicket fell, soon after a succession of another three wickets, leaving Quins with faint hope of trying to dismiss Verulam prior to achieving their 102 run target. Adam Mather was Quins’ most economical bowler, taking one wicket for 14 runs in 40 well directed deliveries and Sean Edwards being the most successful bowler, capturing three wickets for 27 runs in 30 balls. However both their valiant endeavours were not enough to bring about an unexpected victory for Quins. Verulam won by six wickets.

All Durban and District Cricket Unions matches were unilaterally cancelled by the controlling authority, due to rain on Friday night and early Saturday morning, however, without knowledge of this, Quins 6 took on division five log leaders ACC 5 at Harlequins 2 on Saturday afternoon. Despite Quins defeating them narrowly in a cliff-hanger of a 30-over match, they will unfortunately not be credited with any log points.

Quins won the toss and chose to field on a sporty wicket that took seam with an uncut outfield. ACC were immediately in trouble, losing their opener first ball and another wicket in the first over from a fired-up Warren Jordan. Warren continued with two more wickets in his second over and finished with great figures of 6/9 in 4,1 overs. The other bowlers backed him up and ACC were bowled out for 94 in 22.1 overs. Mention must be made of the excellent fielding that backed up the bowlers, with a direct hit run-out from Clinton Jenkins and a great one-handed catch from Keith Fraser at first slip.

Confidence was high when Quins started the chase, but ACC are not top of the log for nothing. Immediately wickets fell and when Quins slumped to 17/6 and then 32/8, all seemed lost. At this stage Darryl Lavender joined Jason Rouse and they shared an excellent 37 run partnership before Darryl was out for 24 including two huge sixes. When the last man Clinton Jenkins walked in with 25 needed, the odds were still very much in ACC’s favour, but Jason and Clinton calmly knocked off the 25 needed to help Quins to a great one wicket win, with both Clinton and Jason ending unbeaten on 17.

Catches: Lionel Gaze (two), Warren Jordan, Keith Fraser.

Run out: Clinton Jenkins.

Next weekend sees the final full round of cricket, wherein all eight Umbilo Harlequins cricket teams will be engaged in league matches. Thereafter, there will be a reduction in intensity of games through to season’s end in late March.

On 14 February, Quins 6 take on Clare’s at SL Singh 1. The club hopes to have this venue changed due to poor pitch condition. On Sunday, 15 February, the U11s play Umlazi at Comtech in the morning. The U13 team take on Delta at Harlequins. The first team take on ACC in a full day’s match at Hutchison Park, Amanzimtoti. Quins 3 challenge Verulam 3 at Cato Manor 3. The third and fourth teams play Asande 1 and Simplex RHCSC 4 at Harlequins. The fifth side play Lamontville 1 at Bayview cricket park, Wentworth.

Coaching sessions for juniors will be from 5pm on Thursdays and practises for seniors will be from 4.30pm on Friday at Harlequins nets.