Salem dent Station Hill’s hopes of league title with 6 wicket win
Mattison grabs 5 wickets, Scheepers scores classy 53
Station Hill Cricket Club’s bid to win a second league title for the first time in five seasons received a major blow when a well-drilled Salem outfit triumphed over their Port Alfred rivals by six wickets at Hospital Fields on Saturday.
Coming into the match, log-leaders Station Hill held a slim points advantage over their second-placed rivals on the Grahamstown Cricket Board Second League log. Their defeat however, meant Station Hill dropped to fifth spot on 26.6 points, with Salem moving to the summit on 34 points.
Other teams positioned above Station Hill on the log are Sidbury (27.6) and Cuylerville (27) in third and fourth position respectively.
Station Hill could only manage 137 in their scheduled 50-over fixture on Saturday with Salem’s Mike Mattison, who ended up with 5/32, proving too hot to handle for the local team.
Station Hill after being put in to bat, got their innings underway in overcast conditions with opening bowler Ross Pittaway troubling openers Rustin Baartman and Franklin Jacobs.
The first wicket fell with the total on two when Baartman was needlessly run out after a mix-up, as both opening batsmen found themselves at the same end. Salem wicketkeeper Peter Amm had the easy job of whipping off the bails after collecting the ball.
The Station Hill top order were at times guilty of playing risky shots when building an innings patiently was required. However the overcast conditions helped the Salem bowlers who kept a tight line and length, with seam movement.
All-rounder Jacobs, who accumulated 12 with two fours, was next out when he scooped the ball to Pittaway, who grasped the easy catch off his own bowling.
Young Sipho Saki strode in and gave evidence of his potential as he tried valiantly to keep the innings on track with Roy Mwalo in a partnership of 44. Mwalo played his role in rebuilding the Station Hill innings until Mattison clean bowled him for 17 (3x4).
Lyndon Coltman was next in, bludgeoning two fours in his innings of 11 before Mattison rearranged his stumps. Mattison continued to wreak havoc, following it up with an LBW appeal that was upheld to dismiss Dayne Jacobs for nought.
Some of the Station Hill batsmen showed early intent but got out just as their innings were starting to show promise. Andley Jones and Angelo Fraser with 17 not out and 16
respectively, were among them but did not reckon with Mattison who helped clear up the lower order to end up with a well bowled five-for.
Both teams would not be happy with “Mr Extras” for different reasons.
Station Hill would have been disappointed that the extras (19) were the second-highest score among the batsmen and Salem would have wanted to cut down on the unnecessary “give-away” runs.
As they came out to bat, Salem’s opening batsman, Anthony Scheepers, made his intentions clear from the start that in chasing 138 for victory they would want to get matters over speedily, despite his fellow opener having to exit the piece early, bowled for three by Jacobs.
Scheepers hit the ball to all parts of the ground despite the early loss of a wicket, amassing 10 fours and one six in his innings of 53. In fact, the ball often got lost temporarily in the thicket up on the hill as the sixes rained down.
Scheeepers and former EP batsman, Amm, who at the age of 62 is still active in the game, put on a 63-run partnership before Amm was run out for 21. Peter, brother to the late EP star, Phillip Amm, showed that he had lost none of his batting craft that has defined his long and storied career. Mixing caution with aggression, the vastly experienced Amm showed a textbook defence and was quick on the pull shot before ending up short of his crease after a good throw from the square leg boundary. Lorimer Pittaway walked in and soon had the Station Hill bowlers on the back foot with a quickfire 21, which included three sixes, before being bowled by Jacobs. Scheepers was bowled by Rudi Williams for an entertaining 53.
His exit was preceded by a solid partnership of 34 runs with Wayne Howarth, who showed he meant business early on by pummeling the Hill bowlers to all parts of the ground. It was all over by the time the next batsman walked in, and it wasn’t long before Howarth with only a few to get for victory, ended off the match with a huge six to see Salem finish on 139/4 off only 19 overs.