Easterns finish third in Pool A of Africa T20 Cup
The pinnacle of Pool A was not to be for Easterns after they lost two of the three matches in the Africa T20 Cup at their Sahara Park Willowmoore home this weekend.
The provincial team finished third in Pool A and will not advance to the finals weekend in Kimberley on September 24 and 25.
Instead, it will be Namibia who advanced to the top of the pile after they won all their matches in Benoni.
Easterns’ solitary win came against Western Province on Sunday afternoon.
South Western Districts (SWD) edged Easterns by a nervy six runs on Friday, followed by a seven-wicket ‘crushing’ against eventual Pool A winners, Namibia.
On Friday, SWD (batting first) posted a competitive 146/5 in their 20 overs.
In their response Easterns lost important early wickets, finding themselves at 43/3 midway through the eighth over, but former Benoni Northerns Cricket Club all-rounder Grant Thomson produced a captain’s innings of 50 runs (42 balls, four fours and a six).
Thomson got good help down the order from Matthew Arnold (36 runs not out from 24 balls, including two fours and two sixes) that almost got Easterns to the target.
Thomson was dismissed with 27 runs still required from 13 balls.
Arnold made it uncomfortably close at the finish, but could only get eight runs off Sammy Mofokeng’s final over instead of the 15 runs that were needed.
On Saturday, Easterns faced Namibia.
Batting first, the home team put up a competitive 149/4, which was built around an unbeaten 40 runs from skipper Thomson.
Wesley Coulentianos (31) and Wesley Marshall (30) also contributed to give Easterns a fighting chance but a quick-fire 76 runs from 44 deliveries by Namibia teenage opener Lohan Louwrens set the tone for a big Namibian victory.
The 18-year-old hit five sixes and six fours as the Namibians chased down a 150-run target with nine deliveries to spare, dumping out the hosts in the process.
On Sunday, three wickets from seamer Kofi Apea-Adu ensured Easterns ended the Africa T20 Cup with a consolation win.
They beat Western Province by 11 runs in a dead rubber match.
Apea-Adu’s figures of 3/25 helped the host union defend their 163/8 by bowling out the visitors for 152 in 18.2 overs.
An opening stand of 67 runs between Tumelo Bodibe (40 runs) and Wesley Marshall (31 runs) helped Easterns to the highest total set over the weekend.
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