Travelling captain Nicholas Lockyer won the pre-match coin toss in the Eastern Premier League encounter and opted to bat.
“The pitch had no grass on it at all and I know at this time of the year the decks are low and slow in the afternoon, so while the decks do a bit in the morning, it is the ideal time to bat,” explained Lockyer, who produced a lasting 67-run performance during his side’s batting innings.
The visitors went on to post a fairly defendable 264/7 in their allotted 50 overs, a total Lockyer was confident of defending, but it wasn’t to be as home skipper Jose van der Berg and company denied them this.
Despite Lockyer’s heroics, it was teammate Dylan Bennie who finished not only as his team’s top scorer but the day’s with 70 runs next to his name. Casey Arnolds (39), Bryce Parsons (31) and Mpho Ndzimande (20) also made significant contributions behind the crease.
The day for batsmen continued as Van der Berg made his team’s intentions clear with an opening score of 60. He was joined by Aidan Justus in passing the half century mark as he finished with 56.
It took the whole United batting line-up to emulate CBC’s score as the home side settled for the three points with their score on 264/ 9 after 50 overs of batting.
Andre Johnson (35), Brandon Grutter (29) and Peter Truwick (33) also put up their hands in the successful chase.
Asked whether he was happy with the result, Van der Berg responded, “Yes. Chasing down 264 is not easy against any side so the fact that we managed to do it is spectacular.”
His opposite wasn’t so impressed.
“I am disappointed with the result,” said Lockyer, who admitted to being involved in his first ever drawn match.
“I honestly thought that we had posted a target our bowlers could defend but our fielding let us down. Dropping seven catches didn’t help us at all; I honestly believe we should have won that game relatively easily but it wasn’t meant to be.”
