Stephen Cook backed up his Test century on debut with another ton in the Momentum One Day Cup, as the Highveld Lions edged out the Warriors by four runs in Johannesburg on Friday.
In a match that was impossible to predict, the Lions, and Matt McGillivray in particular, held their nerve to win their third match of the tournament. The Warriors only needed 12 off the last two overs, but some excellent bowling at the death from Carmi le Roux and McGillivray saw the hosts hold on.
It took some outstanding work from Cook to get them there, though. Cook, buoyant from his Test debut, and the century that came with it, almost batted through the innings to produce his eighth List A century.
The rest batted around him with Alviro Petersen, who was looking for an incredible fifth MODC century in a row, scoring 37, and Bjorn Fortuin (45) the best supporting acts. They eventually posted 252-8, restricted thanks to Sisanda Magala, who took 5-43.
The response was blistering from JJ Smuts, who smashed 30 before departing in the seventh over. Another handy innings from Colin Ingram (60) looked to have set the Warriors on their way to a fourth victory of the competition, but a combination of quick wickets and slow run-scoring set them back.
With five wickets in hand, the 53 runs required from the final 10 overs looked good, but despite Christiaan Jonker’s 55, the lower order were unable to deal with the pressure, while the bowlers at the death were. They fell four runs short of the mark, to set up a memorable victory for the Lions.
