An enterprising batting display in pursuit of a tough target set by the Lions saw the Dafabet Warriors qualify for the eliminator in the Cricket SA One-Day Cup which will be played on Wednesday.
In a rain-interrupted fixture at St George’s Park on Sunday, Senuran Muthusamy’s team defeated the Lions by 33 runs on the DLS method when their innings was stopped in mid-afternoon after they had reached 124/1 in 22.2 overs.
This was in response to an excellent total by the visitors, who delivered a polished performance to reach 279/5 in their 50 overs, led by the impressive Connor Esterhuizen’s 87 not out off 80 balls.
In other action on Sunday, Boland, without a doubt the best team in the league phase, advanced straight through to next weekend’s final when they finished top of the log by beating Western Province by five wickets.
The Warriors will travel to Centurion for another showdown with the Titans, who continued their winning form with a comfortable seven-wicket, bonus-point win over the Knights in Bloemfontein to finish second on the table.
With the weather looking unsettled in Nelson Mandela Bay and rain predicted for later in the day, the Warriors wasted no time getting into the stride as they set about chasing their formidable target of 280 to win.
Jordan Hermann has been a consistent performer at the top of the order and his aggressive knock of 40 off 33 balls (seven fours) set the tone for the innings.
It took some of the pressure off List A debutant Matthew de Villiers and also allowed the Warriors to get ahead of the required run rate on the DLS method as they moved past the 50-run mark in the sixth over.
The lefthander, though, will be disappointed at not converting his innings into a bigger score because, while adding proper value to the Warriors top order, he has not quite scaled the heights again of his opening knock of 148 not out against the Dolphins.
This time, he was beaten through the gate by the prodigious turn of left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin to be bowled with the score on 64 in the 10th over.
Fortunately for the Warriors, De Villiers batted with an assurance which belied his lack of experience at this level, while Matthew Breetzke continued to show why he is a player who will surely go on to higher honours.
Together they kept the runs flowing at a fluent rate in their unbeaten second-wicket stand of 60, putting the Warriors well ahead of the required rate when the rain sent the players from the field for good at about 3.30pm.
De Villiers had made 49 off 60 balls (nine fours) and Breetzke was on 30 from 41 deliveries (two fours) when play was called off.
In the Lions innings, there were solid contributions from most of their top order, Mitchell van Buuren hitting 56, before Esterhuizen took over.
In partnership with Richard Seletswane (25), he added 62 runs in 10 overs for the fifth wicket and then he and Delano Potgieter (22 not out) got stuck in to smash 53 runs from the last five overs.
In the face of this onslaught, there was an encouraging spell of bowling from Patrick Kruger, with 2/38 in nine overs.
The Herald
Polished batting display earns Warriors spot in Cup eliminator
East Cape side will now travel to Centurion for another showdown with Titans
Image: RICHARD HUGGARD/GALLO IMAGEAS
An enterprising batting display in pursuit of a tough target set by the Lions saw the Dafabet Warriors qualify for the eliminator in the Cricket SA One-Day Cup which will be played on Wednesday.
In a rain-interrupted fixture at St George’s Park on Sunday, Senuran Muthusamy’s team defeated the Lions by 33 runs on the DLS method when their innings was stopped in mid-afternoon after they had reached 124/1 in 22.2 overs.
This was in response to an excellent total by the visitors, who delivered a polished performance to reach 279/5 in their 50 overs, led by the impressive Connor Esterhuizen’s 87 not out off 80 balls.
In other action on Sunday, Boland, without a doubt the best team in the league phase, advanced straight through to next weekend’s final when they finished top of the log by beating Western Province by five wickets.
The Warriors will travel to Centurion for another showdown with the Titans, who continued their winning form with a comfortable seven-wicket, bonus-point win over the Knights in Bloemfontein to finish second on the table.
With the weather looking unsettled in Nelson Mandela Bay and rain predicted for later in the day, the Warriors wasted no time getting into the stride as they set about chasing their formidable target of 280 to win.
Jordan Hermann has been a consistent performer at the top of the order and his aggressive knock of 40 off 33 balls (seven fours) set the tone for the innings.
It took some of the pressure off List A debutant Matthew de Villiers and also allowed the Warriors to get ahead of the required run rate on the DLS method as they moved past the 50-run mark in the sixth over.
The lefthander, though, will be disappointed at not converting his innings into a bigger score because, while adding proper value to the Warriors top order, he has not quite scaled the heights again of his opening knock of 148 not out against the Dolphins.
This time, he was beaten through the gate by the prodigious turn of left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin to be bowled with the score on 64 in the 10th over.
Fortunately for the Warriors, De Villiers batted with an assurance which belied his lack of experience at this level, while Matthew Breetzke continued to show why he is a player who will surely go on to higher honours.
Together they kept the runs flowing at a fluent rate in their unbeaten second-wicket stand of 60, putting the Warriors well ahead of the required rate when the rain sent the players from the field for good at about 3.30pm.
De Villiers had made 49 off 60 balls (nine fours) and Breetzke was on 30 from 41 deliveries (two fours) when play was called off.
In the Lions innings, there were solid contributions from most of their top order, Mitchell van Buuren hitting 56, before Esterhuizen took over.
In partnership with Richard Seletswane (25), he added 62 runs in 10 overs for the fifth wicket and then he and Delano Potgieter (22 not out) got stuck in to smash 53 runs from the last five overs.
In the face of this onslaught, there was an encouraging spell of bowling from Patrick Kruger, with 2/38 in nine overs.
The Herald
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