Back to back eight-wicket hauls from promising talent Darion Rabie helped Free State to their second victory at this year’s Momentum U13 Week in Benoni on Wednesday.
The right-armer now has a staggering 16 wickets in just three matches after the third day’s Time Cricket action.
There were some other impressive displays with the ball throughout the day which resulted in a few low-scoring, but exciting contests. Northerns, Northern Cape, Easterns and Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland all earned outright victories, while Gauteng, Eastern Province, Western Province and Zimbabwe played out challenging draws.
The clash between KwaZulu-Natal Coastal and Boland was abandoned.
After losing the toss and being asked to field first, Free State was clinical with the ball. The side from Bloemfontein struck at crucial times as Rabie tore through Border’s batting order, picking up six wickets for 23 runs to bowl out their opponents for 101 after 45.4 overs.
The Eastern Cape side could not recover from that poor start. Ricu van der Berg top-scored with a handy 45 to inspire Free State to a 96-run lead after the first innings. Needing only five wickets to claim victory, Rabie and Ian van der Merwe (3-20) combined to deadly effect, taking their side over the line by an innings and 70 runs. The former finished with impressive match figures of eight for 30 runs.
Enathi Khitshini’s five-wicket heroics were not enough to move South Western Districts into a winning position, as Northern Cape walked away with a first-innings victory. After winning the toss, the Kimberley based team made quick work of SWD’s batsmen, with Pharrell van Wyk taking three wickets to bowl them out for 109.
Khitishini’s 5-42 in reply with the ball proved to be in vain, as SWD lost their five wickets for just 85 runs in the second innings to help secure a first-innings win for Northern Cape.
It was a different story in the Mpumalanga-Easterns clash, as Lumphumlo Mhlongo notched up figures of six for 28 in Mpumalanga’s first innings.
They were then skittled out for just 79 before Easterns convincingly took the honours with a first innings win after they posted 168-7 in their reply.
Rounding up the other results of the day, KZN Inland had Ross Boast to thank after the St Charles College schoolboy brought up a marvellous hundred to earn his side’s first-innings success over Limpopo. Northerns picked up their second victory of the campaign, securing a first innings win against North West.
Day four of the U13 Week will resume on Thursday and live scores and scorecards can be viewed onwww.websports.co.za.
Photo: Cricket South Africa
