Weekend of emotions for Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s Premier XI

It was not to be for Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s (BNCC) Eastern Premier League XI in the play-off final against rivals Kempton Park Cricket Club at Willowmoore Park’s main oval on April 8.

The team lost by four wickets to a powerhouse Kempton Park outfit which included a number of players with provincial caps to their names.

It was always going to be a big ask for skipper Kurt Francis and his men who were forced to play a double whammy of weekend matches in succession after finishing in second position on the overall Premier League One table.

Their runner-up finish meant they had to face Brakpan’s United Cricket Club (who finished fourth in the league but managed to sneak in through the backdoor due to third-placed Alberton Cricket Club not fulfilling their required transformation targets) in a play-off semi-final on the main oval on April 7.

They knocked over United with minimal fuss on Saturday, scoring 279/5 after being put into bat first.

Ernest Kemm (82 runs from 102 deliveries), Rian van der Merwe (92 runs from 110 balls) and Aron Visser (42 not out from 46 balls) carrying BNCC to a big score.

They then proceeded to wrap up the United batsmen for 117 runs in their reply, Eden Links (52 runs from 78 balls) the top-scorer.

Mark Robey (5/22 in seven overs) was the star with the leather for BNCC as they marched on to the following day’s final.

Sunday would prove to be an emotional one for the men from Northern Areas.

The team bid adieu to club veteran Robey, who retired from Premier League cricket at the end of the match.

The tall former captain Robey made his Premier League debut for the club back in 2002.

The club also said farewell to talented opening batsman Kemm who has been a rock at the top of the batting order in recent times as well as a go-to wicket-taker with his left-arm spin.

On the field of play, BNCC were confident that they could defend their first innings score of 282/7, achieved in 50 overs.

Francis (88 runs from 65 balls) and Nicholas Lockyer (70 runs from 94 balls) were the star performers with the willow in that innings.

In their reply, Kempton Park pounced on BNCC’s opening speedsters Lance Humphrey and Kundai Matigimu.

Big-hitting Easterns semi-professional Wesley Marshall blitzed his way to a game-defining 95 runs from 90 deliveries while Titans all-rounder and Easterns skipper Grant Thomson carried his team over the line by the 46th over with a calm 69 runs from 61 deliveries.

That would wrap up the Northerns’ 2017/2018 campaign.

Although disappointed with the result, Francis was proud of his team: “It really was an amazing weekend of cricket for ‘The North’.

“We didn’t come out on top in the final, but the quality of cricket that we played was a big step up from the season before.

“We played 10 overs of bad cricket on Sunday that cost us big time, but I guess to win leagues against top teams we have to be perfect overall.

“It wasn’t only losing that hurt on Sunday, but also saying goodbye to two legends of the North, Mark Robey and Ernest Kemm, was tough.

“When one door closes another opens, so we are already looking forward to seeing what new talent we can produce.”

LISTEN to Caxton Radio Benoni’s Monday sports wrap to hear more:

https://soundcloud.com/benoni-city-times/caxton-radio-logie-g-weekend-sports-wrap-april-9

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