Wicket Wasps deliver the ‘sting’ in early season cricketing clash

With the dawn of the 2019/2020 cricket season, local cricketers took to the pitch over the weekend and bowled supporters over in epic clashes.

Saturday’s T20 match saw the Gladiators travel to Dumbe to face the local side at the Dumbe Oval.
The home side went in to bat first and completed its 20 over innings at the crease with an impressive score of 226 for the loss of six wickets.

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Top bowling performances for the visiting Gladiators came from Jaques Sander – who took two wickets for 34 runs in four overs, Ulrich Venter – who took one wicket in his four overs for 25 runs, and Bonginkosi Mkhonza – whose four over spell saw the loss of two wickets for Dumbe at a cost of 35 runs. Dumbe’s Marcel Hinze scored 65 runs off only 37 balls, including 14 fours, before he had to depart the field.

Leon Solms followed suit, putting 63 runs on the board for the hosts off 35 deliveries, before he was caught and bowled by Gladiators’ Bonginkosi Mkhonza.

Solms reached the boundary plenty of times, with two sixes and eight fours. Chasing down Dumbe’s total proved impossible for the Gladiators, which was unable to respond with the clinical ferocity of the host and was down eight wickets for only 119 runs, at the end of its 20 overs at the crease. Phillip Venter top scored for the Vryheid side (28 runs off 27 balls, including four fours), before he was stumped by Charl Beneke of Dumbe.

The only other Gladiators to enter double figures were Bonginkosi Mkhonza – who put 17 runs on the board before being stumped by Ralf Niebuhr, Jacques Sander – 13 runs off 10 balls including two sixes, before being caught and bowled by Leon Solms, and Cameron Aitken – who was not out on 11 from 13 balls. Dumbe’s best bowling figures came from Ralf Niebuhr, who took three wickets in four overs for 20 runs, and Tiaan Erasmus, who conceded only 10 runs for two wickets in three overs.

At the time of going to print, no results were available for Saturday’s other T20 match between Mr X and Pak CC at Cecil Emmett Park. However, it has been confirmed Mr X defeated Pak CC ‘quite comfortably’.

Sunday’s Limited Overs match between Mondlo and Wicket Wasps saw the Mondlo team endure an unrelenting onslaught, with the Wasps unleashing its mighty sting on the opposition.

Wasps won the toss and went in to bat first, decimating any hope Mondlo may have had of a reasonable total. In its 50 overs at the crease, Wasps managed to tally up an astounding 425 runs for the fall of eight wickets, effectively destroying the Mondlo bowling line-up and lighting up the outfield with boundary after boundary, including 55 fours and 10 sixes.

Most prolific with the bat were Ashlee van den Heever (89 runs off 36 balls), Adriaan Kruger (73 off 116) and Karl-Johann Ewert (64 off 28). Opening batsman, Tiaan Forbes also reached a half century off only 36 deliveries.

Of the bowlers, Hubert Bredenhann take two wickets for 66 runs, while Skhumbuzo Nyoka managed two wickets for 94 runs in his eight overs. As Mondlo made its way to the crease to chase the near impossible total set by the Wasps, the writing was soon on the wall as the bowling attack proved as destructive as the batting.
This left Mondlo only able to reach make 38 runs, with no players reaching double figures.

Siyabonga Masondo and Siphamandla Africander were the only two Mondlo batsmen to reach the boundary, with one four apiece. John Bevan took five wickets for 12 runs in his five overs, while Thulani Zondo took two wickets for eight. Jaco Davel claimed one for seven and Karl-Johann Ewert took one wicket for 11.

In the end, after only 12,3 overs, Mondlo faced an overwhelming defeat at the hands of Wicket Wasps, which won by a staggering 387 runs.

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Also read: Gladiators shape the future of local cricket

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