Siseko Dalamba club claims cup
In a closely contested match, the Siseko Dalamba Cricket Club won the Enoch Mgijima Mayor’s Cup cricket tournament at the Dumpy Adams Sports Complex in a closely contested match against rivals Spartans at the weekend.
Dalamba captain Anathi Joe said though the team had been nervous about playing in a final they soon settled down.
Dalamba won the toss and decided to bat first. Joe said they started well in the first innings with the batsmen scoring 214.
“That score was made by three players, and is remarkable in T20 cricket. We outplayed them with our bowling and fielding, but it was a tight match. When we won the toss, I trusted in our batting which is why I chose to bat first.
“We have played against the Spartans before. We wondered if their bowlers would be able to handle the T20 format of the game. The last over while we were fielding was really difficult.”
He said the uneven field was challenging and although they feared whether they would get any prize money due to the financial situation of Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality, they had played for the love of cricket.
The tournament had helped them get ready for the Border cricket league.
Dalamba coach Viwe Ngoqo said the Spartans opening batsmen sent chills down his spine.
Justin Kuyler for Spartans had a wonderful day at the office with the bat and he put his trust in Joe, who had played with Kuyler for four years in the Border league.
Joe had impressed him with his decision-making and captaincy.
Ngoqo said the team would not be happy if they did not get their prize money.
“We were looking forward to getting the prize. Not all our complaints about the condition of the facilities were attended to by EMLM,” he said, adding that although the team was given money to buy glue to secure the pitch mat, the nets were still in a bad condition.
EMLM had not commented by the time of going to print.