De Villiers and brilliant fielding lead Warriors’ victory march; Du Plooy lifts Dolphins

An outstanding 61 in 43 balls from skipper Matthew de Villiers and some brilliant fielding led the Dafabet Warriors to a bonus-point six-wicket victory over WSB Western Province in their CSA T20 Challenge match at St George’s Park on Friday night.

Earlier, excellent fielding and catching and disciplined bowling had helped the Warriors to restrict Western Province to 134 for nine after the visitors had won the toss and chosen to bat first.

Although Warriors’ opener Modiri Litheko went cheaply, De Villiers and Muhammed Manack played with clinical precision to add an impressive 91 off 60 balls for the second wicket. Both men were dropped in their respective innings, signalling one of the great divides between the teams, but both played supremely well.

De Villiers struck his second half-century in as many matches, driving, pulling and cutting with power and authority, while Manack, after a quiet start, blossomed in the latter part of his innings, striking seven fours and six, before he was caught in the deep.

By that stage, victory was assured and the bonus point almost so. Although De Villiers (7x4s, 1x6) was bowled by legspinner Josh Breed, JP King saw the Warriors home for their bonus point in 15.3 overs, with three balls to spare.

With most teams winning at St George’s after batting first, it made sense for Western Province to do the same. But their problems began in the third over when the out of form Edward Moore edged his drive off paceman Kerwin Mungroo low and well wide of wicketkeeper Jean du Plessis who somehow managed to clutch the ball with his left glove with a full-length dive.

It was a sign of things to come after some aggressive hitting by Valentine Kitime when Muhammad Manack pounced at cover in the fourth over to throw down the only stump available to him to run out Joshua van Heerden for a duck.

Kitime played some brave cricket to race to 27 off 16 balls when his pull to midwicket was held up in the strong easterly wind for Aphiwe Mnyanda to take a good catch.

That meant three wickets in the power play but Western Province didn’t heed the warning, preferring to progress at full throttle when a more measured approach was called for. There was a hint of recovery when Oliver Whitehead and Daniel Smith added 32 at a run a ball for the fourth wicket before Whitehead fell in a similar fashion to Kitime, lofting his pull to midwicket off Wesley Bedja for Patrick Kruger to take a comfortable catch. Bedja struck again in the 10th over, inducing an edge off Smith’s loose drive to the keeper.

Half the side was now out for 65 and worse was to follow as Josh Breed struck a full toss from left-arm wristspinner Thomas Kaber straight to Bedja at long-on. There was a brief reversal of the constant pressure from the Warriors when Juan James and Raeeq Daniels added 40 in 29 balls for the seventh wicket before James was caught on the midwicket boundary off Mungroo for a brisk cameo of 32 in 21 balls.

The dismissal that symbolised the home team’s brilliant outcricket came when Daniels was caught at long-off by De Villiers. Seeing that he was about to cross the rope with the ball, he tossed the ball back into play and Kaber dived full length to complete the catch.

Asakhe Tsaka was then yorked by Bedja, for the seamer to complete his best T20 figures of 4/22, before Dane Paterson at least finished the innings on a good note, hitting the final ball for six.

Mungroo finished with 3/26 and Kaber 1/24 to complement Bedja’s effort, but the Warriors’ intense, dynamic outfielding, as well as some fine catching, was largely responsible for Western Province falling short in their innings.

DAFABET WARRIORS: Modiri Litheko, Muhammad Manack, Matthew de Villiers, JP King, Patrick Kruger, Jean du Plessis, Thomas Kabet, Aphiwe Mnyanda, Mathew Boast, Wesley Bedja, Kerwin Mungroo

WSB WESTERN PROVINCE: Edward Moore, Valentine Kitime, Daniel Smith, Joshua van Heerden, Oliver Whitehead, Juan James, Josh Breed, Asakhe Tsaka, Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Dane Paterson, Raeeq Daniels

DU PLOOY LIFTS DOLPHINS TO 155

Leus du Plooy slashed a brilliant half-century to catapult the Hollywoodbets Dolphins to 155/9 in their CSA T20 Challenge match against the Eastvaal Renault Dragons at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on Friday night.

The Dragons need 156 runs to win in 17 overs. The contest was reduced to 17 overs a side after a late start due to rain.

Du Plooy made a bold statement in his debut match for the Dolphins with a sensational half-century. He unfurled his full range of shots as he raced to a 31-ball 60 that featured six fours and three sixes. This is his 24th T20 half-century, and he faced 22 deliveries to reach the milestone.

The 30-year-old shared a productive 95-run third-wicket partnership with Khaya Zondo, who contributed 43 runs (5x4, 1x6) to the total.

The toss went Wihan Lubbe's way and the Dragons' captain asked the visitors to bat first. The Dolphins had the worst start possible. They lost Tshepang Dithole for a duck in the first over.

Onke Nyaku, who took the new ball for the Dragons, made life difficult for the visitors by landing the ball in threatening areas. His wicket-maiden put the hosts on the front foot. Alfred Mothoa kept the pressure on with a brilliant opening over of his own.

However, Khaya Zondo, who opened the batting for the Dolphins with Dithole, was not going to sit around and wait for the delivery with his name on it. The seasoned campaigner shifted pressure onto the Dragons by going after Nyaku in his second over. Zondo was the aggressor during his 35-run second-wicket partnership with Jon-Jon Smuts.

He changed his approach after Leus du Plooy's arrival at the crease. Their match-defining partnership was broken when Zondo was stumped by Meeka-eel Prince off a delivery from Lubbe. The Dragons breathed a sigh of relief when they sent Du Plooy back to the dressing room two balls later.

The two scalps were the beginning of a great fightback by the hosts. The Dolphins slipped from 130/3 to 155/9 in four overs in an incredible collapse. None of the batters who came in after Du Plooy and Zondo reached double figures.

Alfred Mothoa was phenomenal at the death with the ball for the Dragons. The experienced pacer finished the match with three wickets for 26 in four overs, and all three of his wickets came at the death. Caleb Seleka, who accounted for Du Plooy's wicket, was the second-most successful bowler for the Dragons with two wickets for 23 runs in four overs.

DRAGONS: Ludwich Schuld, Meeka-eel Prince (wk), Janneman Malan, Wihan Lubbe (capt), Diego Rosier, Dian Forrester, Lesiba Ngoepe, Achille Cloete, Onke Nyaku, Caleb Seleka, Alfred Mothoa.

DOLPHINS: Khaya Zondo, Tshepang Dithole, Jon-Jon Smuts (capt), Leus du Plooy, Gomolemo Phiri (wk), Andile Simelane, Eathan Bosch, Romashan Pillay, Nqobani Mokoena, Tristan Luus, Anrich Nortje.