|
THE Super League cricket competition in the Boland could not have ended in a more dramatic fashion than the match played at the Parys grounds on Thursday and Saturday.
It involved the two top Paarl teams battling it out for survival in the top flight of the Boland competition for the winner, and the dreaded drop to the Premier League for the vanquished.
The home side, Paarl Cricket Club, were slight favourites going into the match, if only by virtue of their superior points tally on the log, where the eight-point cushion of the home team meant a draw would ensure their continued presence in the competition at the expense of their opponents.
A win for Young Peoples would send Paarl back to the Premier League from where they have been promoted last year.
Paarl, sent in to bat, soon found themselves in the kind of trouble they have become used to over the past season, when their batting again let them down.
A combination of a lack of application and some good bowling from Jacques Krynauw (5/38) and Hubert Ontong (4/36) contributed to the host's paltry score of 114 in their first innings.
Only Cliffie Walters (40) and Courtley Pharaoh (23) offered any resistance.
Young Peoples replied with 160/9 with solid performances from Salieg Nackerdien (39*), Elroy Jansen and Brendon Gabriels (27 apiece). Ultalyn Ernstzen (3/38) and Zurich Muller (3/36) bowled well for Paarl. The home side started their second innings with a deficit of 46 runs and by stumps had already lost one wicket for 10 runs.
The second day started as one of survival for Paarl while Young Peoples were cock-a-hoop with confidence in a triumph that would keep them in the top league.
By lunch-time, with Paarl teetering on 92/6, everything pointed to an early finish to a game that had promised so much. Carlo Crotz (45) was the only batsman to show resistance up to that point.
After lunch, however, Zürich Muller set about turning around the fortunes of the home side and found able companions in Brent Martin and captain Manfred de Kock.
When Muller was caught just before tea he had frustrated the visitors for nearly three hours and in the process probably scored the most important 67 runs of his long and distinguished career at Paarl.
After tea De Kock and Alfredo Adams (36 7x4) rubbed more salt into the wounds of the visitors and when the captain was appropriately last man out for 36 runs, Paarl had a healthy 225 runs on the board, a lead of 179 and 25 overs for Young Peoples in which to score.
They got off to a rollicking start and after eight overs had 70 runs on the board and were seemingly poised for victory.
The introduction of the spinners, however, put a brake on the run chase and with wickets falling at regular intervals, the visitors soon found themselves fighting to stave off defeat.
Alfredo Adams (3/34) capped a wonderful all-round performance while Lynal Jansen (2/43) was also involved in a brilliant run-out that had a major influence on the outcome of the match.
At the end of 25 overs, the men from Dal Josaphat were reeling at 144/9, deperately trying to deny the Parys team an outright victory and section win.
In the end the draw was enough to keep Paarl in the top league at the expense of their beleaguered archrivals. |
SEISOEN SKOP AF. Die Boland skolerugbyseisoen het verlede op 'n opwindende noot afgeskop met 'n groot rugbytoernooi wat by Hoër Landbouskool Boland aangebied is. Aanskoulike, harde rugby het die dag gekenmerk wat volop aksie vir die komende seisoen belowe. Hier pak twee spelers van HJS en Paul Roos mekaar. Foto: Leon Steenkamp