Elgar the hero for Spartans in win over Stars
FOR many who turned up at Centurion yesterday, the main attraction was AB de Villiers. Well, they got a bit of De Villiers, but they got so much more of Dean Elgar, and it was just as worthwhile.
Elgar has long been angered by suggestions that he is a red-ball specialist.
So given a chance yesterday to open for the Tshwane Spartans in a key Mzansi Super League match against their provincial neighbours Jozi Stars, Elgar was keen to cash in and make a point.
It was a typical Elgar innings in that there were some ugly shots, some pretty lofted drives against the spinners and he was struck a couple of body blows by the Stars’ Australian import Dan Christian. Elgar has stated many times that pain helps him to focus and that is precisely what he showed in carving out a glorious unbeaten 79, that came off only 52 balls, and included five fours and four sixes.
It was a cleverly constructed innings, that saw lots of hard running between the wickets and then when the opportunities offered themselves he sought out the boundary with plenty of purpose.
The key partnership in the Spartans innings came between Elgar and his skipper De Villiers. The hosts had lost wickets off consecutive balls to Simon Harmer’s off-spin, the second of those saw Theunis de Bruyn bowled by one that shot out of the rough and crashed into his stumps. Both batsmen had to put whatever concerns that may have caused them out of their minds, and utilising all their experience, they added 68 for the fourth wicket.
De Villiers produced some typically sparkling stroke-play; one back-to-back sequence saw him late cut Dwaine Pretorius for four followed by a delicious paddle sweep that flew over fine leg for six. Just when it looked like he would take the Spartans home he held out to long off for 39 (21b, 2x4, 3x6), leaving Elgar to anchor the chase.
The winning runs came off the outside edge of Sean Williams’ bat with
Jozi Stars innings
R Rickelton c Cloete b Mendis ............................... 14 R Hendricks c Sipamla b Mendis ........................... 55 HvanderDussencCloetebSipamla ................... 18 D Christian c de Bruyn b Bosch .............................. 10 D Vilas not out ........................................................ 25 P van Biljon run out (de Zorzi/Cloete) ................... 42 K Rabada not out ..................................................... 3 Extras (b 4, lb 4, w 11) ............................................. 19 TOTAL (For 5 wickets, 20 Overs, RR: 9.3) ........... 186 Fall of wickets: 1-54, 2-92, 3-112, 4-112, 5-183 Bowling: L Sipamla 3-0-43-1; C Bosch 4-0-42-1; E Hawken 1-0-10-0; S Williams 4-0-14-0;
R Frylinck 3-0-27-0; B Mendis 4-0-37-2;
D Elgar 1-0-5-0
Tshwane Spartans innings
G Cloete b Rabada ................................................... 5 D Elgar not out ....................................................... 79 C Bosch lbw Harmer ................................................ 9 T de Bruyn b Harmer ............................................... 0 AB de Villiers c Rickelton b Pretorius .................... 39 T de Zorzi lbw Harmer ............................................ 18 R Frylinck c van Biljon b B Hendricks ...................... 5 S Williams not out ................................................... 13 Extras (b 7, lb 6, w 7) ............................................. 20 TOTAL (For 6 wickets, 19.3 Overs, RR: 9.64) ....... 188 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-51, 3-51, 4-119, 5-160, 6-171 Bowling: S Harmer 4-0-26-3; K Rabada 4-0-35-1; B Hendricks 3.3-0-34-1; D Christian 2-0-11-0;
E Leie 3-0-41-0; D Pretorius 3-0-28-1
Result: Tshwane Spartans won by 4 wickets
three balls to spare, giving the Spartans a crucial win after they had lost three of their first four matches.
Once more Kagiso Rabada struggled; he bowled a brilliant yorker to dismiss Gihahn Cloete in his first over, but when his team needed him at the “death” he let them down, conceding 24 runs off his last two overs.
Earlier a Reeza Hendricks half-century anchored the Stars’ innings with the opener making 55 off 48 balls (7x4, 1x6) that included some delightful drives. The innings finished well with Stars captain Dane Vilas (25) and Pite van Biljon sharing a partnership of 71 for the fifth wicket off only 30 balls, to see the Stars post 186/5. Van Biljon made 42 off only 13 balls, smashing three fours and four sixes.