McCoy’s brace gets Royals past Pollard’s Cape Town
Obed McCoy grabbed a brace of wickets as leaders Paarl Royals won their fourth game in five outings with a convincing 59-run win over Kieron Pollard’s MI Cape Town yesterday.
With MI Cape Town pursuing 163 for victory at Boland Park, the out-of-favour West Indies left-arm seamer finished with two for 18 from three excellent overs to help send the visitors crashing to 103 in the penultimate over.
Pollard, the Cape Town skipper, was dismissed for a two-ball ‘duck’.
Royals top the SA20 standings with 18 points, five clear of Durban Super Giants, with Sunrisers Eastern Cape three back in third.
Sent in, Royals racked up 162 for three from their 20 overs, with Englishmen Jason Roy who made 68 runs and Jos Buttler with 54 slamming half-centuries.
Roy belted eight fours and a six in a 46-ball knock while Buttler, the Royals captain, struck five fours and a six off 42 deliveries, the pair gathering 116 in an opening stand.
All-rounder Fabian Allen, who last turned out for West Indies two years ago, suffered the ignominy of a first-ball ‘duck’.
The 27-year-old McCoy, whose last appearance for West Indies came six months ago, struck early as Cape Town slumped to 13 for three in the fourth over.
Connor Esterhuizen, who made 32, put on 39 for the fourth wicket with Sam Curran, who added 26 for the fifth wicket with Liam Livingstone, as Cape Town staged a fightback.
However, Curran and Pollard perished in the 14th over at the hands of leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, and McCoy sent down a brilliant 18th over, which cost only five runs and coughed up a wicket, as Royals closed
spritely.