Maties remained unbeaten on day four of the Momentum National Club Championship, when they beat Madibaz PE in Pretoria on Saturday. The bowlers restricted the Madibaz to a meagre 84 runs in just 25.2 overs to set up Maties’ eight-wicket victory.
Justin Dill and Christiaan le Roux took a respective 3-22 and 3-24, while Dewald Botha and Stephanus Fourie took 2-14 and 2-20 respectively after Madibaz won the toss and elected to bat. The top-scorers for Madibaz were Curtis Samboer with 22 and Shakhir Abrahams with 21. Maties made quick work of the chase, reaching their target in just 20.4 overs for just the loss of Jean Marais (0) and Michael Sherrat (33).
In the other section one matches, University of Free State beat Burma Lads CC by seven wickets, while Tuks bounced back from their two-match losing streak with a comprehensive 63-run win over North West University. In section two, Crusaders beat Union Stars by a massive 117 runs when they met at Laudium Oval. Their rain-affected encounter was reduced to 41 overs a side, with the Crusaders posting 224-8 after winning the toss and electing to bat.
Riaan Minnie top-scored with 78 from 114 balls, leading his side to the competitive total, while Greg Oldfield (29), Michael Alexander (24) and Cameron Delport (23) kept the scoreboard ticking. Justin Jordaan was the pick of Union Stars’ bowlers, taking 3-33 in seven overs, with Waldo Lategan chipping in with 2-55.
The Crusaders’ unbeaten bowling attack put on yet another intensive effort to bowl out the opposition. Robert Cliff (2-12) and Michael Alexander (2-34) led the attack, with the rest of the bowlers – Kyle Simmonds, Nick Hewer, Jason Biddulph and Delport, bar Ruben Hattingh – taking a wicket each. Union Stars were bowled out with just under 11.5 overs to spare.
At Sinovich Park, United CC fought a tough battle against University of Johannesburg, falling just 20 runs short in the end. The only centuries scored on Saturday both came from this match, with Matt McGillivray hitting a brilliant 123 from 115 deliveries to lead UJ to 343-8 and United skipper Kevin Bennett leading from the front with a well-played 103 from 91 balls to spearhead the chase in their innings.
Other notable contributions came from Grant Roelofsen from UJ and Gionne Koopman from United, who scored 96 off 79 and 83 from 88 respectively. The ultimate difference between the sides was Keith Dudgeon’s 3-63 and the tight bowling from the rest of the UJ attack, which saw them to victory in the end.
In the final match of the day, Benoni Northerns bounced back from yesterday’s 29-run loss to the Crusaders, beating Erdinger Durbanville CC by three wickets. The section one log sees Maties move up to pole position with 18 points and the Madibaz bringing up second place on 14 and in section two, the Crusaders retain their top spot with 18 points and UJ are second, also with 14. Sunday is the last opportunity for Madibaz to fight for a place in the final, while the Crusaders look to be the favourites for the ultimate No 1 spot in section two.
