Northerns finish top on net run rate
Eighteen matches of the league stage of the 2015/2016 Eastern Premier League have been completed by Benoni Northerns Cricket Club’s (BNCC) Premier XI and the defending champions have, by the skin of their teeth, finished in top spot.
Skipper Kurt Francis and his men managed to pip Brakpan’s United Cricket Club to the top of the league standings on the net run rate calculation, having finished the league tie on 69 points.
On Wednesday, March 16, this final calculation, confirmed by the Eastern Cricket Union, determined that BNCC had squeezed ahead on net run-rate.
It was remarkably close, with United achieving a net run-rate of 1.59, in contrast to BNCC’s 1.628 (a tiny difference of 0.038).
BNCC will play CBC Old Boys who, despite a catch-up game this weekend versus neighbours Boksburg, are guaranteed to finish fourth in the first semi-final, while United will play Kempton Park in the other semi-final, on Saturday, April 2.
The final will be played between the winners of the respective semi-finals on Sunday, April 3 on Sahara Park Willowmoore’s main oval, for a spot at the National Club Championships, in Pretoria, later in April.
A completely rained-out finals weekend would see the number one placed team automatically qualify as the Eastern Cricket Union’s representative team at the Club Championships.
