Three North Coast all-rounders recently led the over-30 KwaZulu-Natal Coastals action cricket team to inter-provincial glory.
Captain Keowan Reddy (Ballito), Donovan Kruger (Salt Rock) and Clinton Singh (Westbrook) were part of the 10-strong team that took gold in the SA Action Cricket IPT in Krugersdorp from August 13-18.
Their Coastals team was one of two from KZN, joining another from the Midlands and 10 others from across the country, with each team playing each other in a round robin format.
Photos: Action Sports SA.
Action cricket is an indoor format of the sport with eight players per team, each of whom bats for four overs and bowls two overs in one 16-over innings apiece.
KZN Coastals have been one of the dominant teams in over-30 action cricket over the past few years, winning in 2021 and 2022, but losing last year’s final to Central Gauteng.
This meant the men travelled to Krugersdorp with a plan to restore their winning streak, but they struggled through a slow start to the tournament, winning just one of their three first day games.
the semi-final
match-up.
They were up-and-down over the remaining three days of group matches, but would scrape into the semi-finals with an overall record of seven wins and four losses.
“It took some real grit to get through two must-win games on day four and we still had to wait on other results before we knew whether we had made finals day,” said Kruger.
Once qualified, the men from KZN were drawn against hosts and tournament favourites, North West Gauteng.
“It was a nail-biting semi-final in a loud arena with plenty of hometown support,” he said.
Photo: Action Sport SA.
“But the boys played with real pride for the badge and silenced the crowd with a convincing win.”
As if by fate, that set up a final against Central Gauteng in a rematch of last year’s title game.
KZN started poorly, but rallied in a memorable effort to exact sweet revenge and claim their third title of the past four years.
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