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Cape Town - A century by Byron Boshoff helped Durbanville Cricket Club (DCC) seal victory at the National Club Championships when they beat Clares Cricket Club on the fifth and final day in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The right-hander ended unbeaten on 118 off 127 balls (11 fours, 1 six) as the Cape Cobras representatives won by seven wickets – concluding a perfect week where they won all five of their fixtures.
There was also a massive two-wicket upset win for Madibaz Cricket Club over Assupol Tuks, while Kovsies Cricket Club ended their trip to Gauteng well by thumping Impala Cricket Club by nine wickets in the day’s other game.
But all the focus on day five was on the Cape side, DCC at TUT Oval. They won the toss and asked Clares to bat first, with the Durbanites responding by posting a competitive 220/7.
Khalipha Cele (53 off 86 balls, 3 fours) and Bradley Porteous (61 off 70 balls, 4 fours) led the way for the KwaZulu-Natal side as both struck half-centuries. Jaco Castle (2/18) and Tashwin Lukas (2/27) grabbed two wickets apiece.
In reply, DCC lost Kudakwashe Samunderu (5) early, but a 140-run, second-wicket stand between Boshoff and Pieter Malan, who hit 68 off 89 balls (8 fours) gave the Capetonians control and they eventually finished the job with 4.4 overs to spare.
Victory was their fifth out of five and took them to 23 points on the table, eight more than Tuks and 11 clear of Clares after they ended third.
The former ended their competition with a loss to Madibaz at their home ground, Tuks Oval where the men from the Eastern Cape pegged them back to 141 all out in 49.1 overs after winning the toss and bowling.
Several players excelled with the ball – Henco Vorstman (2/22), Sean Callaghan (2/28), Justin Banks (2/26) and Kenan Smith (2/39) – all grabbing two wickets apiece in their 10 over spells.
Christopher Britz, the last man out, was the only batsman to really trouble the opposition with a top score of 42.
Madibaz then made heavy weather of the chase by losing wickets regularly. They were 14/2 early on, 63/5 a little later and then 104/7 with two wickets each from Nico van Zyl (2/28) and Dian Forrester (2/22) doing the damage.
However, they had Joshua van Heerden (35) to thank for holding on to his wicket through the carnage, and then Smith (27 not out) showed good fight later on to take them over the line with 37 deliveries remaining.
Finally, Wizard Ncedane led a fine bowling display that ultimately proved key for Kovsies in their nine-wicket triumph over Impala. The medium-pacer claimed three for 49 to help his side dismiss their opponents for 143.
He was well-supported by Siphamandla Mavanda (2/8), Christo van Staden (2/9) and AJ van Wyk (2/33) – the Johannesburg side bowled out in 33 overs.
Breezy half-centuries from Wihan Victor (53 off 52 balls, 8 fours) and Stephan van Vollenhoven (54 off 40 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) then powered the Knights representatives to victory with more than 30 overs to spare.
The National Club Championships was put together by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and encompassed the six outright winners of the Franchise regional play-offs, all playing against each other in a 50-over format.
All scorecards and stats from the past week’s action in Pretoria can be found at www.websports.co.za.
Awards:
Batsman of the Tournament: Pieter Malan
Bowler of the Tournament: Tashwin Lukus
Player of the Tournament: Andre Malan
