The Croxley Wits Cricket Club came out on top of all three 20/20 games they played over the weekend.
On Saturday, March 24, Croxley Wits played against the Randburg Cricket Club (RCC), beating them by three runs. RCC won the toss and elected to field first. Wits managed to put up a modest 124, before being bowled out in the last over of the innings.
“29 runs from 20 deliveries”
Hancke von Ravenstein top-scored with 29 runs from 20 deliveries. He was supported by Gareth Benton, who scored 20, Jason Ferreira who scored 25 and Nono Pongolo who added a further 20 runs to the final innings.
Defending their modest score, Croxley Wits came out firing, dismissing RCC’s top three batsmen without any of them scoring. RCC were 3 for 3 after 2.2 overs.
Great bowling by Nono Pongolo and Duraal Patel ensured that Wits put pressure on RCC from the start. Pongolo finished the game with figures of 2 for 23 after 4 overs, while Patel had figures of 2 for 21 after 2.5 overs.
Von Ravenstein, Kevin Crowie, Ferreira and Jonathan Heyensworth each took a wicket, dismissing RCC for 121.
Soweto Cricket Club
In Croxley Wits’ first game on Sunday, March 25, they played against the Soweto Cricket Club, who elected to bat first. Soweto’s batsmen put up a fight and managed to score 151 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs.
In a great bowling display, especially in light of Soweto’s final score, Hancke von Ravenstein took 2 wickets for 11 runs in his 4 overs. Kevin Crowie provided great support for his opening partner, taking 1 wicket for 7 runs in his 4 overs.
Chasing a score where the required run-rate was over 7.5 runs per over, Wits came out blazing. An opening partnership of 82 runs between von Ravenstein and Gareth Benton set up a good foundation for the victory, before Benton was dismissed for a well played 41.
Von Ravenstein was supported by James Pagin and Jason Ferreira, before he was dismissed for a match-winning 76. Wits successfully chased down the score with more than an over remaining.
Wits versus Lenasia South
In their second game of the day, Wits took on Lenasia South Cricket Club. Wits won the toss and elected to bat, since their opening batsmen had showed good form earlier in the day.
The decision paid off as Wits scored a massive 160 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs. A good batting display from Ferreira, who scored 65 off 50 balls, set the foundation for a big score from Wits. Ferreira was supported by James Pagin, 24 runs, and Douglas Clack, 31 runs.
After a strong start in their innings, Tokologo Tau dismissed one of Lenasia South’s opening batsmen. The wicket started Lenasia’s collapse, as Tau took two more wickets. He ended the game with figures of 3 for 30 in 4 overs. Wickets from Ferreira and Patel provided good support for Tau.
Croxley Wits managed to dismiss Lenasia for 149, giving them an 11-run win, and making it a successful weekend as they continue their climb up the Gauteng Cricket Board’s 20/20 club tournament log.
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