Knights steal four-day series title
DE BRUYN: WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED
It was only a partnership of 10 runs and it was between the last pair in a match that ended in a heavy defeat for the Knights, but captain Theunis de Bruyn mentioned it as being one of the crucial moments on their way to the Sunfoil Series title.
Akhona Kula and Tshepo Ntuli took the Knights’ first innings last weekend in Paarl from 143/9 to 153 to get them one batting point – 150 is set as the milestone for the first batting bonus point. Even though the Knights went on to lose by 151 runs at the hands of the Cape Cobras, that single point made their life a lot easier against the Highveld Lions at the Wanderers this weekend, as they went on to record a superb victory by an innings and 121 runs.
“In Paarl, we may have lost badly but the two spinners got that extra point which turned out to be a massive moment because it meant this week we only needed 120 more runs than the Titans rather than 170 more. It just allowed us to believe a little bit more,” De Bruyn said.
With the Titans beating the Warriors by four wickets yesterday in Benoni, thanks to Heino Kuhn’s fabulous 165 not out, the Knights topped the table by only 1.78 points.
Fast bowlers Duanne Olivier, with a magnificent haul of 52 wickets at 18.13, and Marchant de Lange, who claimed 34 wickets, spearheaded the bowling, while De Bruyn (751 runs at 57.76) and Rudi Second (684 runs at 52.61) were the batting stars.
But it was not only that quartet that ensured the Knights claimed their first four-day title since 2007/8 – Shadley van Schalkwyk was a superb back-up seamer with 29 wickets and Mbulelo Budaza chipped in with 15 scalps. Pite van Biljon’s opportunities were limited to just four matches, but in that time he scored two centuries, including his matchwinning effort against the Lions, and averaged 45.28, while David Miller only batted in five innings but scored 335.
“This team plays for the man upstairs, and that’s why we have been blessed. In cricket, you cannot control the outcomes, but we have got a unit that believes we are playing for a bigger purpose. We’ve set high standards and, although we didn’t do well in the T20, we backed ourselves in this competition,” De Bruyn said.
“It’s been a rollercoaster season, but I believe we truly deserve to win the trophy. We’ve lost the least games – only two – and we bowled as a unit. The bowling was relentless from both sides and when the attack was switched on, they were really able to dominate all opposition batting line-ups.
“The batsmen also put the runs on the board for the bowlers to bowl at, Rudi Second worked on technical aspects of his game, he’s a wicketkeeper but as a batsman he’s dominated at four or five, while someone like Pite van Biljon only played four matches but played a couple of brilliant innings, like his hundred here,” De Bruyn said.