When the second half of the 2015/2016 Eastern Premier League recommenced on Sunday, January 17, skipper Kurt Francis and his men knew that a win at Prince George Park, in Boksburg, would be the only option for the Benoni outfit in their first clash of 2016.
A delayed start, due to a wet pitch, saw the match reduced to 44-over innings both ways.
Northerns, batting first, faced a difficult period as the wicket was slow and the ball was moving around substantially.
With the team six wickets down and with not many runs on the scoreboard, a valiant fight-back was needed to get them to a respectable total.
The fight-back was achieved through Werner van Lingen (24 runs), Francis (33 runs), Stefano di Bartolomeo (56) and Stiaan Jordaan (22 runs), who dug deep and helped push the team to a score of 195.
Di Bartolomeo batted out of his skin to reach his half-century.
The Northerns bowling innings was a team effort, with the majority of the bowlers chipping in to have Boksburg all out for 158 runs in the 43rd over.
Club veteran Mark Robey said that the BNCC spinners managed to bring the team back into the match, while Di Bartolomeo (3/13 in 3.5 overs) came on at the end to wrap up the tail.
He also reserved praise for spinner Stiaan Jordaan, whose figures of 2/23 in nine overs were crucial in securing the win.
“Stiaan bowled really well and built up a lot of pressure,” said Robey
“It did not look as if he had a break over December, as he hit his line and length from the word go.”
Other wicket contributions with the leather came from Ernest Kemm (2/40 in nine overs), Robey (1/24 in five overs), van Lingen (1/17 in three overs) and Lee Cothill (1/22 in seven overs).
The win (despite BNCC missing a bonus point by two runs) will give the defending champions a major boost in their quest for the play-offs.
They will strive to continue their winning way with a comprehensive victory over KwaThema, at Willowmoore Park B, on Sunday, January 24.
- Meanwhile, at Northern Areas on the same day, skipper Jaco Kruger’s BNCC Promotion XI overcame some disciplined and seaming second innings bowling from KwaThema to achieve a four-wicket win.
Their opponents, batting first, limped to score of 88 all out in 29.3 overs, with Kruger (4/19 in 10 overs) and Stefan Jordaan (5/25 in 10 overs) doing the bulk of the damage.
The captain shuffled around his batting order and instructed his men to play their shots before the business end of the season.
“It almost backfired on us, but we eventually managed to chase down the target with ease,” said Kruger.
Twayne Stewart (26 runs) and Divan Prinsloo (23 runs) helped get the team to 89/6 after 23 overs.
