Easterns, Gauteng, Border and North West have graduated to next week’s semi-finals, after the third day of the 2018 Africa T20 Cup in East London, Pietermaritzburg, Paarl and Oudtshoorn.
POOL A
KwaZulu-Natal Inland vs KwaZulu-Natal – KwaZulu-Natal Inland won by six wickets
Captain Kyle Nipper’s authoritative 67 was in vain, as KwaZulu-Natal Inland slipped to a disappointing defeat at the hands of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg. Nipper’s half-century stood at the fore, but ultimately lacked genuine support in a final total of 130 all out. KwaZulu-Natal’s chase was characterised by several starts but a lack of follow-through. The 18-year-old Matthew Montgomery eventually proved enough of a mainstay, striking an unbeaten 30 to guide his team to victory with 16 balls in the bank.
Western Province v Uganda – Uganda won by six wickets
Uganda won their second fixture in a row to temporarily go second in the Pool A standings. Western Province were able to post 152/6 in the first innings largely thanks to the half-century contributions from Qaasim Adams (65 off 39 balls, 10 fours, one six) and George Linde (52 not out off 31 balls, five fours, one six). After electing to field first, the Ugandan bowling attack came under a lot of pressure in the initial stages of the innings but came back strongly to restrict the opposition to a reachable target at the break. Uganda then batted beautifully as a unit to secure their six-wicket victory in the 16th over.
POOL B
South Western Districts v Zimbabwe Select XI – Zimbabwe Select XI won by five wickets
Fifties by Tarisai Musakanda and Ryan Murray carried the Zimbabwe Select XI to a relatively straightforward victory over South Western Districts at the Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn. Murray and Musakanda, who boast ODI experience, shared a formidable 124-run alliance for the fourth wicket, as the African nation surpassed a tough 149-run target with three deliveries to spare. South Western Districts’ effort with the bat was led by opener Zubayr Hamza’s commanding 75. The result left SWD without a win in the 2018 tournament, after four attempts.
Northerns v Gauteng – Northerns won by three runs
Northerns were able to win a close Pool B encounter against old rivals Gauteng by three runs in their final fixture of the competition. After being inserted to bat first, Northerns were bowled out in the 19th over for just 136 runs by an in-form Gauteng bowling attack. Undoubtedly feeling the total was well underpar at the innings change, the Centurion-based team found enough spark in their bowling attack to make it a competitive low-scoring encounter. Playing only for pride – with Gauteng having already secured their semi-final berth – Northerns held their nerve as Luvuyo Nkese (2-0-20-2) picked up two wickets with the final two balls of a tense second innings to restrict Gauteng to 133/8 in their 20 overs, falling three runs short of their target.
POOL C
Eastern Province v Border – Border won by three wickets
A late rally from all-rounders Jason Niemand and Clayton Bosch ensured Border a tight victory over Eastern Province at Buffalo Park in East London. Having restricted Eastern Province to 137 /7, Border reached 141/7 with six deliveries to spare. EP relished the hard-hitting Thomas Kaber’s near standalone 57 not out, but there was a severe lack of significant contributions from others. Batsmen three, four and five, in fact, shared just 10 runs. Niemand later struck a tidy 28 to Bosch’s unbeaten 32, as Border sealed a semi-final berth ahead of their Eastern Cape rivals.
Kenya v Namibia – Match tied (Namibia won in Super Over)
Namibia clinched the first super-over victory of the tournament after playing out a thrilling tie against Kenya. Both teams posted 183 runs in their respective 20 overs with Namibia’s Bernard Scholtz starring with the ball in the first innings, picking up 4-28 in his allocated overs. Namibia batted first in the super over – scoring 15/1 off the bowling of Elijah Otieno – before JJ Smit restricted Kenya to just six runs in his super over to help his team to a nine-run victory.
POOL D
Northern Cape v Boland – Boland won by four wickets
A telling five-for from captain and seamer Ferisco Adams and a brisk half-century from wicketkeeper-batsman Hanno Kotze spearheaded Boland to a comfortable victory over Northern Cape. Adams exploited challenging conditions at Boland Park superbly, restricting the visitors to an inadequate 141/8 with an entertaining haul of five for 23 in four tight overs. While Adams delivered a cavalier 73 from 50 deliveries at the top of the order, all-rounder Adams weighed in with a complementary 31 from 19, as triumph for the hosts arrived with 19 deliveries to spare.
Nigeria v Limpopo – Limpopo won by six wickets
Limpopo secured their first victory of the weekend against Nigeria in their final fixture of the tournament. Something had to give as Pool D’s two bottom sides faced off with both sides seeking their first victory. Nigeria posted 112/7 in their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Ruan Sadler was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings with his 3-26 in four overs. Limpopo were able to chase down the target within 15 overs thanks to a swashbuckling 63 not out off 32 balls (four fours and four sixes) from Lerato Kgoatle.
Photo: Gallo Images
