NEW kid on the block, Phil Wilson made an immediate impact in his first outing for Pinetown Cricket Club’s 1st XI on Sunday when he contributed in no small way to a two wicket victory against Chatsworth United.
He put in a match-winning performance of 6/30 in his allotted ten overs to reduce the hosts, whose line-up included Sunfoil Dolphins stars Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Keshav Maharaj, to 103 all out in just 26.5 overs.
Phil, a former Rhodes University student now working in Kloof, claimed the prized scalp of Vaughn when the hard hitting left hander got a leading edge to Nick Pentz at mid-on. Phil also bagged the wicket Maharaj caught at square leg. A return to the attack later in the innings saw him claim his sixth wicket and put the visitors firmly in charge.
A measured start by Pinetown’s opening batsman, Grant Olivier, wasn’t enough to stop a middle order collapse which saw them slump to 33/4. Keshav’s bowling ensured the regular fall of wickets which kept United in the contest. The game hung in the balance when Pinetown lost their eighth scalp and were still 16 runs short of their target.
Number eight, Andrew Dyer (26*), steadied the ship for Pinetown as they eventually clinched victory in the 43rd over, handing new coach James Pentz the perfect 50th birthday present in the process.
In Pinetown’s 2nd XI clash with Berea Rovers, the men from Durban batted first and amassed a mammoth 309/9 despite Grant Romeril’s sublime effort with the ball which saw him clinch 6/52 in ten overs.
A spirited response with the bat saw Pinetown’s men fall agonizingly short as Michael Harvey (54), Romeril (52), Matthew Helm (48) and Dale Kinsey (31) saw their side to 281 all out, 29 runs short of victory.
This weekend sees Pinetown’s 1st XI return to their Lahee Park headquarters when they take on Chatsworth Sporting on Sunday. Play gets underway at 9am.
