Warriors prosper then suffer late collapse against Tuskers

The Dafabet Warriors reached a challenging 181 for seven in their CSA T20 Challenge match against the Moothee Ram Tuskers at the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday.

On the face of it the Warriors should be satisfied with their total, but they should have reached the 200 mark considering they were 156 for two halfway through the 17th over with Matthew de Villiers and Matthew Breetzke pounding the bowling all around The Oval in a partnership of 45 in four overs.

But when De Villiers, in a rich vein of form, was dismissed for 54 in 40 balls, the innings deflated like a burst balloon with the Warriors losing five wickets for 16 runs, all of them soft. The main beneficiary was pace bowler Bamanye Xenxe who picked up 4/41 in his four overs despite receiving some early punishment.

Tuskers’ skipper Michael Erlank claimed 2/21 in his spell while left-arm spinner Sean Whitehead took 1/33.

The late clatter of wickets was a boon to the home side who looked to be on the receiving end of a total past the 200 mark with Warriors’ opener Muhammad Manack (54 in 34 balls including nine fours) particularly aggressive up front, giving himself room to crash many of his boundaries through the off side against some loose bowling.

He and De Villiers added a sparkling 94 for the second wicket after the early loss of Modesi Litheko before Manack was caught at cow corner. As it turned out, only three batters, Manack, De Villiers and Breetzke, reached double figures.

The Tuskers received a double blow in the field with Hardus Viljoen (0/13 in two overs) unable to complete his spell or even field after apparently twisting his ankle, while Cameron Shekleton seemed to dislocate his shoulder, also in the outfield.

MOOTHEE RAM TUSKERS: Andile Mogakane, Michael Erlank (capt), Wayne Parnell, Ntando Zuma (wkt), Cameron Shekleton, Hardus Viljoen, Sean Whitehad, Sean Gilson, Marcello Piedt, Chad Laycock, Bamanye Xenxe

WARRIORS: Modiri Litheko, Muhammed Manack, Matthew de Villiers (capt), Matthew Breetzke (wkt) JP King, Patrick Kruger, Thomas Kaber, CJ King, Aphiwe Mnyanda, Wesley Bedja, Kerwin Mungroo