Combative Border hit the right notes
A win and a draw has coach Plaatjes smiling
BORDER cricket brought the curtain down on a mixed season with a three-day draw and one-day win over Gauteng in Johannesburg over the past weekend.
It ended the season on a high for the team as they defeated Gauteng by a massive 91 runs in Sunday’s Provincial One-Day Challenge at the New Wanders Stadium.
“To finish on a high in the last game was great for the morale of the team,” said Border coach Frank Plaatjes.
“It was a very good all-round performance from the guys and I was happy with the result.”
Border batted first and scored a competitive 257/7 on the back of Marco Marais’s superb 79-ball century.
Marais (100) and Kabelo Sekhukhune (41) combined for a top 116-run third-wicket stand that set Border up, before the tail finished things off with cameos from Clayton Bosch (24), Sithembile Langa (26no) and Phaphama Fojela (22no) which put them in charge.
The bowlers then all chipped in, with Langa, 3/27, leading the way, while Sinovuyo Ntuntwana and Bosch managed two wickets each, with Gauteng all out for 166.
“Marco batted extremely well. If you had to put it in perspective he won the game for us. He actually won the game for us because to score a hundred off 79 balls is really something special,” said Plaatjes.
“If you look at the youngsters who played on Sunday, like Langa who bowled extremely well and Kabelo, who’s partnership with Marco was just superb, I think it is a very exciting time for Border cricket and these players will be looking to establish themselves in the new season.”
In the Sunfoil 3-Day Cup match Gauteng were on top for almost the entire match, but inexplicably didn’t enforce the follow-on on the final day after bowling Border out well short of their first innings score.
Devon Conway was the star, scoring a double century, while four other batsmen scored half centuries as Gauteng ended on 492/3 declared.
Border struggled with the bat as Sekhukhune’s 44 was the highest score as they were all out for 223.
Instead of enforcing the follow-on, Gauteng then came back out to bat and reached 81/1 when the captains agreed on a draw to end the contest.
“They batted us out of the match in the first innings and there could have only been one winner from that point, so for us to stick in there and force a draw showed determination from our guys,” said Plaatjes.
Border finished their 2016-2017 three-day campaign fifth in pool A, having won two matches, lost three and drawn five.
“We could have finished the season with five or six wins. We were in strong positions in a number of matches and then threw some results away,” said Plaatjes.
The Border players can now look forward to the Border golf day taking place at the East London Golf Club next week Friday, before the end of season awards takes place that same night.