NCC have it all to do after shaky start
THE NORTHERN Cape Cricket are up in Centurion this week and are set to take on Northerns in their second CSA Three-Day Provincial Cup match, starting today and running till Saturday, and the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge encounter that is scheduled to take place on Sunday.
In their first outing of the season, Northern Cape were hammered by Western Province at Newlands earlier this month, going down by 10 wickets in the threedayer, but they managed to win the One-Day Challenge match by a single wicket. In that game Western Province were dismissed for 188 and the NCC team reached the target for the loss of nine wickets, getting home with 26 balls to spare.
After one-dayer Northern Cape coach Loots Bosman sounded the warning that his team will need to pull up their socks despite the win. “Yes we won the One-day match and I am not happy as yet, as we still need to play smart cricket and do well as a team. Our bowling was OK and have closed the gap as a bowling unit, while the batting needs to improve drastically and quickly because we will be up against tougher bowling attacks.”
And that “tougher” challenge may very well be what they will be facing from today.
NCC SQUAD
Driaan Bruwer, Jacques Snyman, Giovanni Joseph, Aubrey Swanepoel, Farhaan Sayanvala (c), Mtabozuko Nqam, Avumile Mnci (wk),Desmond de Koker, Kagisho Mohale, Zakhele Qwabe, Nangamso Mqaleni, Akhona Kula, Sinovuyo Ntuntwana. SINETHEMBA Qeshile fell one run shy of a maiden century as the Warriors enjoyed a progressive third day of their Four-Day Domestic Series encounter against the VKB Knights in Port Elizabeth yesterday.
The 19-year-old made 99 (187 balls, 12x4s) and was an integral part of the hosts adding 140 for the final three wickets to amass 457.
Lutho Sipamla then grabbed two wickets as the Knights reached stumps on 154/4 thanks to half-centuries by Luthando Mnyanda and Pite van Biljon – still trailing by 24 at St George’s Park.
It capped another good day for the Eastern Cape franchise, who had started out on 329/7. Qeshile, playing in just his seventh firstclass game, was batting with Sisanda Magala at the time and the Knights would have been hoping to roll them over quickly.
But the latter made 36 and added 87 for the eighth wicket before he departed, with the former following 30 runs later when he was one short of three figures – Standard Bank Proteas paceman Duanne Olivier the one to disappoint him when he had him caught at third slip by Keegan Petersen.
It was nonetheless an impressive innings and continued the growth of the rookie batsman after he smashed his previous best score of 69.
Anrich Nortjé (16 not out) and Sipamla (11) then further frustrated the Central Franchise, before pick of the bowlers Olivier (4/119) ended the innings.
The same two Warriors bowlers also did it with the ball by getting rid of Grant Mokoena (1) and Petersen (15) to leave the Knights on 23/2. But they fought back through Mnyanda’s 52 (105 balls, 8x4s, 1x6) which was part of a battling 85-run third wicket stand with Van Biljon.
Although the former fell with Rudi Second (7) following, Van Biljon remained unbeaten at stumps with his 58 (123 balls, 9x4s, 1x6) carrying the day four hopes of the Knights.