Gelvandale keen to get back to winning ways after first loss
GELVANDALE will want to bounce straight back with a win when they host Motherwell in an NMB Premier League cricket fixture tomorrow.
The Gelvan side slipped to their first defeat of the season against Buco Uitenhage last weekend – after going unbeaten through their first 10 matches of the campaign.
They have only two matches left in the season and two victories would in all likelihood see them to their very first title.
Their problem is that they have to negotiate their way past Motherwell, who beat United Brothers last weekend, and must then beat defending champions Mecer Madibaz 1 in their final fixture next Sunday.
What could count in their favour is that Eastern Province play KZN-Inland that weekend, so Madibaz 1 will be without a number of their players.
But Gelvan will not want to get too far ahead of themselves and look to first see off the Motherwell challenge at home.
Madibaz 1 have 26 points from six games and still have a possible 42 points to play for in their remaining seven fixtures.
They play Madibaz 2 tomorrow and Uitenhage on Sunday, and will be chasing a full haul of 12 points from that doubleheader.
Jendamark United, still in with a sniff for league honours, host much-improved PECC at Dan Qeqe tomorrow.
This weekend’s fixtures are (home teams first, 10am start): Tomorrow: United v PECC, E Media IT Heatherbank v SA Home Loans Union, Seaman’s Renault Old Grey v United Brothers, Madibaz 1 v Madibaz 2 Sunday: Schauderville v Madibaz 2, Gelvandale v Motherwell, Uitenhage v Madibaz 1; Northville v Super Spar Despatch ý LATEST standings, subject to ratification by the log-keeper: 1 Gelvandale 59 (11), 2 PECC 47 (11), 3 United 43 (9), 4 Despatch 33 (10), 5 Old Grey 30 (11), 6 Union 30 (8), 7 United Brothers 30 (11), 8 Uitenhage 27 (10), 9 Madibaz 1 26 (6), 10 Motherwell 18 (9), 11 Schauderville 16 (11), 12 Madibaz 2 12 (6), 13 Heatherbank 7 (8), 14 Northville 5 (7)
A CLINICAL 66-run derby victory by Willows Cricket Club again proved their dominance over arch-rivals Makana Sona with a 66-run win in their Grahamstown Cricket Board first league fixture encounter at St Aidan’s on Sunday, Chesley Daniels writes.
Willows’s Abner Accom performed brilliantly with bat and ball, scoring 54 runs and taking two wickets for 34 runs.
Earlier, Makana won the toss and sent Willows in to bat in a reduced 40-over match due to the rain and wet pitch.
Willows lost opening batsman Mohammed Sonday early but Accom (54) and Alveno Douglas batted aggressively, which swung the momentum back into their favour.
Veteran Melville Daniels (46) continued the onslaught and dispatched the bowlers.
Daniels’s hurricane knock included four sixes and four fours.
Captain and swing bowler Lunga Stamper was by far his side’s best bowler with excellent fixtures of three for 23 in eight overs.
The young Willows bowlers came out firing and put Makana’s batsmen under pressure throughout the game.
Ruwayne Brooks (3/34), Marquin Loutz (2/15), Accom (2/34) and Cole Wessels (1/14) were among the wicket-takers.
Makana Sona were bowled out for 114.