BNCC make it three wins on the trot in the Eastern Premier League

Skipper Kurt Francis and his Benoni Northerns Cricket Club (BNCC) Premier XI notched up their third win in as many weeks on November 12.

Mark Robey celebrates a wicket for the Benoni Northerns Cricket Club (BNCC) Premier XI against CBC Old Boys on November 12.

This time Francis and his men enjoyed a comfortable 155-run victory over rivals CBC Old Boys at Northern Areas.

Batting first, Northerns were surprised from the very first delivery when the in-form opener Ernest Kemm was dismissed without troubling the scorers.

After scoring two successive centuries in his last two innings it once again proved that cricket is a funny old game.

BNCC batter Spurs in Benoni battle

His partner at the top of the order Vaughn Humphrey took charge though and got his team off to a strong start with another half-century before he top-edged one and was caught on 51 runs.

Rhenier Jordaan (27 runs), Rian van der Merwe (35 runs) and Francis (35 runs) all contributed with the bat while the final batting pair of youngsters Harley Steyn (14 not out) and WP Myburgh (16 not out) showed discipline to get BNCC to a total of 246/9 in their 50 over batting innings.

With the ball left-arm seamer Steyn (2/14 in six overs) and right-arm fast bowler Lance Humphrey (2/11 in 6.2 overs) were excellent up front and hardly gave the CBC top order a sniff.

Coach Nicolaos Moragemos will be concerned about the fitness of his main strike bowler Humphrey who was forced off with a knee injury.

Stefano di Bartolomeo proved troublesome to his former clubmates.

He bagged figures of 3/16 in five overs while Kemm (2/10 in five overs) and Mark Robey (1/19 in 4.4 overs) helped clean up the CBC batting order for 91 runs in 31 overs.

Francis commented on the win: “I am super proud of the boys this weekend.

“There were a few ups and downs with the bat, but in the field and with the ball we were clinical throughout the innings.

“I am extremely happy with the start of our season, but we all know there is still a long way to go.”

This Sunday a truly tough test awaits the Benoni team.

They will travel to the Barnard Stadium to play bitter rivals and defending league champions Kempton Park Cricket Club.

Meanwhile, the club’s Promotion League XI also achieved a win.

Playing Wattville Cricket Club at Northerns’ B-Field it was an easy day at the office for skipper Twayne Stewart and his team.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat first BNCC absolutely obliterated their visitor’s bowling attack.

Young Aron Visser got some valuable batting time in and smacked 142 runs not out off 132 deliveries to stake his claim for a return to the Premier XI.

He was backed by the in-form Tian van der Walt (67 runs), Divan Prinsloo (50 runs) and the skipper himself who hit 45 runs from 29 balls to steer his team to a first innings score of 363/6 after 50 overs.

Brandon Ward and Shawn Wessels bagged three wickets each to wrap up Wattville for 71 runs after 19.2 overs – a sizeable 292-run victory.

This weekend all Promotion League teams have a bye.

CLICK HERE for a GALLERY of images taken during the Premier League match.