CBC vs Kempton ends on a cliffhanger
The agonising outcome for Old Boys meant that Kempton skipper Johan Fourie and his side sneak into the last berth of the play-offs courtesy of a better net run rate.
CBC Old Boys had a mountain to climb ahead of their ultimate round-robin Eastern Cricket Premier League top 6 home encounter against Kempton Park on Sunday, March 10.
With Kempton Park lying in third and Old Boys in fourth ahead of the clash, the latter side had to beat Kempton by a bonus point to book the third and last play-off spot to join Alberton and Benoni.
The home side rose to the occasion, with its senior and trusted players putting their hands up.
Sent to bat first, Old Boys posted a mighty and challenging 260/8 in their allotted batting overs of 50. To earn the bonus point, Old Boys stand-in captain Dylan Bennie and co. had to restrict the visitors to a total under 208.
It was a big ask, considering the opposition, but an ask the home side almost managed to match when the visitors were all dismissed for 210/7 in their allotted overs.
But there would be another twist to the clash’s stipulations.
As per Eastern Cricket rules, teams are handed three hours and 15 minutes (03:15:00) to complete their 50 bowling overs, and if they do not, the repercussions include suspensions, points deduction or cut runs.
According to one of the umpires, who preferred to remain anonymous, the away side exceeded the time limit by 15 minutes – the technical cricket term for the offence being ‘slow over rate’.
The matter was taken to Eastern Cricket to investigate, with the verdict said to have come out on the evening of Thursday, March 14 – after the Advertiser had gone to print.
The Advertiser will keep a close eye on proceedings and report accordingly.
Quizzed on the matter, Kempton skipper Fourie said: “It’s part of cricket. For Kempton to qualify for the semi-finals, we had to make sure we didn’t lose with a bonus point and that’s what we did.”
The skipper sure did his bit to ensure that his side’s season stays alive – he finished with an unbeaten 82 runs.
He wasn’t the only hot striker on the day. Old Boys’ Grant Thomson also produced a blinder of an innings when his side needed him the most, with a score of 84.
Follow us:
For more #hyperlocal news at your fingertips, visit Benoni City Times, Springs Advertiser, Brakpan Herald, African Reporter and Kathorus Mail.
