A disciplined bowling display, spearheaded by Brett Luck’s three wickets, powered the CBC Crusaders to a 101-run victory against Benoni Scimitars to clinch the Eastern Storm Veterans’ League title at Willowmoore Park on October 6.
After setting the Scimitars 267 to win, Luck and his fellow bowlers dismissed the Benonians for 165 in a dominant all-round bowling performance that saw Robert Mutch and Willie Bernhardt take two wickets each.
Benoni got off to a steady start, with Johann Nel and André Steyn putting 48 for the first wicket, before Johan Fourie had Steyn caught by Thys Neethling for 21 in the eighth over.
No 3 Craig Turton joined hands with Nel to put together a 19-run stand before being stumped by James Nelson off Bernhardt for eight in the seventh over.
Eddie Taute and Nel combined for 60 for the fourth wicket but Taute fell to Bernhardt for 23 before Nel was caught and bowled by Luck in the 23rd over, falling for a well-crafted 68 off 75, studded with eight boundaries.
Nel’s wicket reduced Benoni to 135/4, sparking a middle and lower-order collapse. They lost six wickets for only 30 runs as Luck, Mutch and Bernhardt ran riot.
Mark Robey and Roland Braun were run-out by Mutch and in between the duo’s wickets, Luck bowled Jan Grobbelaar.
Dirk Bloem was bowled for a duck by Luck in the 25th over, before Mutch cleaned the tail with the dismissals of Nicholas Hennessey and Alwyn Labuschagne to help the CBC to the league title with 13 balls to spare.
Earlier, after being sent out to bat first, the Boksburg-side teed-off from the word go, spearheaded by Pieter Booysen’s 86 off 59.
Benoni started well with the ball, with Nico de Klerk edging Craig van Dyk behind to Turton with the first ball of the fourth over after the batsman and fellow opener, Luck, stitched together 30 for the first wicket.
Luck and Ahmed Bharoochi added 32 runs to the scoreboard before Luck fell to Van Dyk, leaving CBC on 62/2 after six overs. Bharoochi and Nelson steadied the ship with the latter contributing 34 runs before retiring hurt.
Bharoochi, suffering from a calf niggle, soldiered on but was trapped LBW for 44 by Johan Kruger in the 17th over. Booysen and Nelson then joined hands, putting together 46 before Nelson was dismissed by Bloem in the 24th over.
After the Benoni bowlers’ decent spells in the middle overs, the wheels came off in the last five overs, conceding 67 runs as Booysen’s innings, studded with nine fours and a single maximum, powered CBC to 266/5.
Van Dyk was Benoni’s peak of the bowlers with two scalps while Bloem, Jan Grobbelaar and Johan Kruger took one each.
• In the third-place play-off, Kyle Smit smashed 101 off 41 deliveries, including 14 boundaries and one six, guided the Benoni Sabres to a 10-wicket victory against Actonville Spurs veterans.
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