Dragons and Dolphins into semi-finals
North West Dragons 156/8 Rocks 153/6 North West won by 3 runs
THE Paarl-based Rocks suffered an incredible meltdown in the second half of their run chase, losing a match that seemed impossible to lose. Requiring 157, the Rocks, thanks to an opening partnership of 108 between the Malan brothers, Janneman and Pieter, were comfortably on course for a spot in the semifinals of the Cricket South Africa Provincial T20 Knock-out in Kimberley.
When Pieter was out for 46, caught on the long-off boundary, the requirement for victory was a seemingly simple one: 49 runs off 43 balls, with nine wickets in hand.
And yet the Rocks lost. Janneman Malan, who finished not out on 74, could only watch from the other end as his teammates kept gifting their wickets to the Dragons, in what was the most stunning capitulation of the competition.
The Rocks lost four wickets for nine runs in 15 balls, until Ferisco Adams reignited their hopes with a partnership of 32 for the fifth wicket alongside Janneman Malan.
Entering the final over, the Rocks needed just nine runs, but the loss of Adams for 21 to a run-out off the first ball – a decision that required several looks from the television official before being confirmed – put them under pressure. Duan Jansen hit his lengths properly, adding the wicket of Hardus Viljoen, and then denying Malan a boundary off the last ball, which would have meant a super over, to earn the Dragons a spot in the final four.
“Jeepers, these play-off games are about getting over the line, it doesn’t matter how you do it,” said Dragons captain Nicky van den Bergh.
“Jannas (Janneman) and Pieter had played so well, it felt like whatever we threw at them, they were dealing with it pretty well.
“Our only way in, it felt like, was to get a soft dismissal, which we got. When we got that one end open, we got a few on the bounce, and we pounced on that.”
Jansen finished with 2/19, while Lwandiswa Zuma (1/39) and Eldred Hawken (0/23) bowled some crucial overs towards the latter stages of the Rocks innings.
The Dragons were grateful for a 59-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Eben Botha (41 off 34 balls) and Lesego Senokwane (40 off 31) that provided them with a competitive total against what on paper was a more experienced Rocks team.
The Dragons take on Free State Knights in the semi-finals today.
In the earlier match yesterday, a devastating opening burst from Daryn Dupavillon and a well-timed fifth-wicket partnership of 98 between Jason Smith and Keegan Petersen saw the Dolphins earn a spot in the final four with a six-wicket win against the EP Warriors. Dupavillon picked up three wickets in the powerplay to rock the Warriors, whose aggressive batting has been one of the features of the tournament. However, they couldn’t recover from 37/4 with which they ended the powerplay, posting just 127/9. Dupavillon finished with career-best figures of 4/18. Although the Dolphins slumped to 33/4 at the end of the seventh over, Smith, who scored 60 not out off 41 balls, and Petersen, with 38 off 43 balls, smartly negotiated the chase. The Dolphins face the Titans in the first semi-final today.
THE dams have been producing some amazing bass this past week and the rivers have seen some massive scalies and trout.
The bass fishing is kicking off with fantastic specimens being landed by both boat and bank anglers.
The boat guys have had the advantage of getting to more spots and as such have seen more fish.
Pitching creature baits in the thicker cover has seen some giants in both Albert Falls and Midmar. Inanda Dam has done better with moving baits like chatterbaits and spinnerbaits.
All of the dams have seen good results with hollow body frogs fished in the shallows. Fish these on heavier set-ups with a faster retrieve reel.
Braid is essential in these areas and so is a solid rod.