Pitch wins as ACC cricketers thump Railways
What was pleasing to witness was the spirit in which the game was played
AFTER a bye last weekend and four good practise sessions under their belt, the Amanzimtoti Cricket Club first team was itching to get back on the field to play.
Railways, on their home ground Maidstone, was always going to be a difficult game as Railways have proved to be an unpredictable team and to play them on their home ground had the boys a little on edge on their arrival. The pitch was in poor condition with more sand than grass showing.
The brains trust decided to bat first if Tegan managed to win the toss, as they felt that even if ACC only managed to score around 80 runs, they believed the pitch would get worse and the Toti team could defend that score. Tegan won his first toss of the season and into bat the team went.
Fears about the pitch were soon evident, with Jarryd and Wesley losing their wickets with the score on 12. Desigan bludgeoned a quick 31 before he too went out. The next three wickets fell at 42, 45 and 56 runs. Jordan, batting at number six, saw Tegan go without scoring and Adam for 15. At 85 for seven, Justin joined Jordan and they put their heads down, dug deep and took the game away from Railways with a 101 run partnership before Justin was trapped LBW.
Bradley and Hennie helped Jordan move the score along to 208 all out at the end of 38 long and dangerous overs. Jordan finished unbeaten on 73. Although the partnership between Jordan and Justin was a magnificent effort, the entire batting order batted with a purpose to try and defend their wickets.
The pitch, unfortunately, was the winner.
Adam opened the bowling with a maiden and Bradley followed with a single off his first over. The next two overs produced a further 10 runs before the mayhem started in the fifth over. Adam took wickets with his second and fourth balls. His next two overs produced another five wickets. Bradley then weighed in with two wickets. Their number 11 batter decided not to bat and the game was over in 11.5 overs with their score on 29. Adam took seven wickets for nine runs and Bradley two for 12. A lot of batters on both sides will have woken up on Monday morning with bruises all over. Neither team went out to hurt each other but the pitch is in such bad condition that most batters got hit with balls that should not have done what they did.
The second team played their first T20 match on the oval against Lindelani. This game was a mismatch of epic proportions as ACC bowled them out for 47 runs and took two overs and two balls to pass their total.
The fourth team had a narrow loss to Umkomaas on Toti 2. What was pleasing to witness was the spirit in which the game was played. Umkomaas, in their first season in the league, is proving to be a breath of fresh air. They play with spirit and purpose and good sportmanship that is becoming a rare commodity in cricket today. Well done to Umkomaas.
On Saturday the fifth team had an easy win over Simplex, scoring 241 and bowling them out for 52.
The only junior results available were U11 North team results against UKZN. ACC scored 295 runs and bowled them out for 125. U13 North had a top of the table clash with Delta on the oval. This was a must win game for Toti to remain at the top. By all accounts it was a hard fought game with the result going in ACC’s favour. Well done to the team. When two teams play this type of cricket, then the real winner is cricket.
This Sunday the first team travels to face unbeaten DHS. Although ACC lost to them in the first round, the team are determined to show they have the talent and the will to beat a very good team. All cricket lovers who enjoy watching cricket of a high standard will want to join the team on Sunday morning at DHSOB for what is going to be a very interesting game.
