SA20: Jacks wanted to make up & powered Pretoria Capitals to victory

Will Jacks clearly wanted to make up for missing out on runs in the Pretoria Capitals’ first match, as the 24-year-old Englishman powered them to a comprehensive 37-run victory over Sunrisers Eastern Cape in their SA20 match at Centurion on Saturday.

Opener Jacks scored just six against the same team two days ago at St George’s Park, but on Saturday he was raining sixes on a capacity crowd as he plundered a wonderfully-entertaining 92 off just 46 balls, the foundation of the Pretoria Capitals’ mighty total of 216/6 after they had been sent in to bat.

Jacks began by hitting left-arm spinner Jon-Jon Smuts for three fours in the opening over, and he then graduated into smiting sixes, collecting eight of them in all, in a superb display of crisp ball-striking.

Phil Salt, his opening partner who was man of the match in the Capitals’ opening game, fell lbw for one to Sisanda Magala’s first delivery, and Rilee Rossouw kept the momentum going in the powerplay with 20 off 15 balls.

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But the Capitals needed a substantial partnership to post the sort of massive total which could be defended on a belting batting pitch and quick, small outfield. Jacks found the partner he wanted in Theunis de Bruyn, who initially fed him the strike but then launched into overdrive himself as he stroked 42 off 23 balls, including four sixes.

The pair added 111 for the third wicket off just 56 deliveries, and there was sheer carnage at one stage as they needed just 14 deliveries to go from 100 to 150, hitting six sixes in that time.

Magala eventually returned to have De Bruyn caught behind as he tried to scoop, and Jacks fell in the next over, top-edging a hook at Marco Jansen.

It meant Pretoria Capitals did not have the finish they wanted – from 150/2 after 13 overs, they added just 66 runs in the last seven overs.

Magala’s 2/28 in four overs was a great effort considering the battering the other bowlers took, while left-armer Jansen conceded just two runs in the 18^th over and finished with 1/31 in his quota of overs.

Offered resistance

Sunrisers Eastern Cape were then restricted to 179/7 as only Aiden Markram (46 off 29), opener Smuts (28 off 25) and tailenders Jansen (36* off 20) and Brydon Carse (26* off 13) offered much resistance.

Wayne Parnell (3-0-20-2) struck with the new ball, removing Sarel Erwee (8) and Jordan Cox (0) with successive deliveries, but Markram and Smuts provided hope for the visitors with their stand of 67 off 47 balls for the third wicket.

But once Jimmy Neesham (2-0-13-1) trapped Smuts lbw with his first delivery, the Sunrisers quickly crashed to 104/6.

Markram was nearly given a reprieve when he tried to hit Eathan Bosch (4-0-33-1) wide of long-on, but the mis-hit went straight to Migael Pretorius, who had the catch under control, but then let it slip behind him, before showing incredible reactions to catch the rebound one-handed and claim the key wicket.

The other dangerman, Tristan Stubbs, could only score 12 before he inside-edged a wild drive at leg-spinner Adil Rashid into his stumps.

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