Ngumbela all set for final
Fear Not, Tubs ready to battle it out for honours after hard-fought campaign
It is all set up for the grand finale when the 30 year anniversary of the annual Ngumbela Historical Cricket Tournament takes centre stage at the Ngumbela Sports Grounds in Healdtown on Sunday with the champ of champs final.
Only two teams remain – the winners of the Healdtown stream, Fear Not Cricket Club, and the victors of the Alice stream, Township United Brothers (Tubs) – who will now battle it out to see who will be the 2019 Ngumbela Tournament champs.
“We have players who have come from all over the country playing in the teams here, and they want to finish the tournament with a win before heading back,” said tournament organiser Foster Tshona.
“Supporters will be here in their numbers and it is going to be a grand occasion.”
Heading into the respective zone finals, it looked like it could be a repeat of the 2018 final as both defending champions Lamyeni Hard Catch, from Healdtown, and runners-up Five Great Powers, from Alice, had made it to the last knockout round again.
But in a cruel twist, both teams were beaten by their respective challengers, meaning the repeat of last year’s final had to happen in the third and fourth placed play-off.
In the Healdtown final Lamyeni batted first and were in all sorts of trouble, with eight wickets down for under a hundred, before they fought back to make 183 all out.
That was, however, not enough as Fear Not chased it down comfortably for the loss of just two wickets.
The Alice final was a low scoring affair as Five Great Powers were bowled out for 122 batting first, while Tubs cruised past the score for the loss of four wickets.
So with both Fear Not and Tubs enjoying solid wins, they will both head into the champ of champs final in good form and high spirits.
With Healdtown having held on to the title over the last few years Alice will be hungry to take it back.
“I don't think Alice will be able to take the title from Healdtown as they have had a very strong section, but anything can happen on the day,” said Tshona.
“In all we are very happy with the way the tournament has gone this year. The results have been fantastic. We have had a lot of exciting matches, and the final should be another.
“Just to celebrate the occasion will be great. We have the former CEO of SA cricket, Gerald Majola coming, as well as a number of other dignitaries from CSA, the Department of Sport and others. They will all be bringing gifts, so it will be very special.”
The Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture head Bulelwa Tunyiswa is also excited for the final, and sent her well wishes ahead of the match.
“Today is one of the historical moments in the Eastern Cape as we are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Ngumbela Cricket Development Tournament,” said Tunyiswa.
“The initiative by Mr Ngumbela has not just contributed to cricket development but has also put the province on the map of sport development in South Africa.
“This day therefore needs to be celebrated by all, young and old, from the breadth and length of our country.”
The action gets under way at 10am on Sunday morning.
We have players who have come from all over the country and they want to finish the tournament with a win before Leaving