The Oiltrans Msukaligwa Warriors premier cricket team convincingly beat the visiting Impala 1 CC of Nelspruit by 126 runs in an exciting match played at the EHS grounds on Saturday.
The match was reduced to 35 overs due to wet conditions.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, the Warriors got off to a shaky start, losing three early wickets on an unpredictable pitch with only seven runs on the board.
The eventual score of 274/8 set by the Warriors was largely due to youngsters André Thomas and Berno van Niekerk who got together and put on a top-class batting display in a fourth-wicket partnership that yielded a phenomenal 193 runs.
Thomas was in rampant form and at times seemed to be enjoying himself in a private game of “go fetch”, whacking the ball to all corners of the field in his innings of 149 off only 80 balls. The Impala bowlers could only watch as the young man walloped a whopping 12 sixes and 14 fours.
His innings was not completely flawless, however, as he offered three or four chances of being caught, but the Impala fielders could not hold on to the catches in the outfield. He was eventually clean bowled, much to the relief of the visitors.
Their delight was short lived when Van Niekerk took over where Thomas had left off and went after the bowling. He racked up 61 runs off 86 balls which included 8 fours and two sixes. Van Niekerk’s demise came when he steered an off-cut shot into the hands of the point fielder. Nico Swanepoel and Gary Daniel then further frustrated Impalas by posting another valuable partnership of 40 runs.
The Impala innings never really got going due to some fine pressure-bowling by the Warriors which caused the wickets to fall at regular intervals. They could only muster a total of 148 runs, giving the Warriors victory by 126 runs.
Andrich Viljoen took 3/32 in his spell of seven overs and was backed by Corrie Swart who took 2/35 runs in seven overs.
In an away game, the Warriors Promo side faced a fired-up All Stars side at the Middleburg Columbus field and were set a huge task after the home side batted first and posted a score of 198/10. The Warriors side was then dismissed for a score of 62, losing by 136 runs.
The Oiltrans Msukaligwa Warriors premier side will travel to Nelspruit this weekend to play against Nelspruit Cricket Club and the Promo side will play at home.
