Old Boys beat Spurs in a tense battle

Old Boys were without Devon Botha and Carlton Johnson due to injury. -

CBC Old Boys wicket-keeper Dylan Bennie knocked a half-century on his side's way to victory.

CBC Old Boys claimed a nail-biting 14-run win over Actonville Spurs in Actonville as the home side raced to 267 runs which proved enough in their Eastern Cricket Premier League clash on November 11.

After being sent to bat first, Old Boys, who were gunning to return to winning ways following a loss the previous week to Benoni Northerns, showed their intention early on.

An injury-impeded Ryno van der Merwe showed his class as he defeated the odds to score an important 69 which combined with Mark Pearse’s 35, Craig Parker’s 42 and Dylan Bennie’s 58 helped the Boksburg outfit put enough pressure on the scoreboard.

The visitors set the target in 49.5 overs and it was over to Spurs skipper Mekyle Pillay and co to take on the mark.

And take on the mark they did.

Spurs were all dismissed for 253 runs after 49.3 overs but not without giving the visitors a fright of a second defeat in as many weeks.

Openers Ahmed Mohammed and Saahil Khan produced some classic innings of themselves as they ensured that their side started the chase to a flying start with 40 and 50 runs respectively.

It also ensured that Spurs was well in line with the required run rate to topple the men from Boksburg.

CJ van der Walt (40), Ridwaan Daya (34) and Imraan Manack (36) also added heavy extras to set up a nervy finish if you were a supporter of either team, or an entertaining ending if you were a neutral.

Brilliant bowling was also on show on the day and if it weren’t for the talent on show, the scores could’ve probably entered the 300s.

Spurs’ van der Walt took 3/65, he was joined by Old Boys’ Rynard de Lange (3/48) in the hat-trick category.

De Lange’s teammate, Sherwin Pillay (4/47), together with the former, proved to be the messiahs in their team’s defence as Old Boys claimed the important win.

Old Boys skipper Casey Arnold said: “We had a big desire to win. They are a good team but we stayed calm and Sherwin and de Lange bowled us to victory.”