Ken Borland

Henry Davids and Roelof van der Merwe were the men who did most of the damage as the Nashua Titans hammered the New Age Impi by nine wickets with 26 balls to spare in their MiWay T20 Challenge match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.

 http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120226/Davids_vd_Merwe_destroy_the_Impi

Van der Merwe destroyed the New Age Impi middle-order as the Titans bowled them out for just 131, before Davids hit a whirlwind 55 off 35 balls to rush the “visitors” to victory.

The New Age Impi experiment has battled to get off the ground with the composite side crashing to their fifth straight defeat and only a meagre crowd coming to watch in Benoni, where the Titans of course play often.

Apart from Davids, Jacques Rudolph and Van der Merwe also enjoyed themselves with the bat, retiring to the changeroom with 47 not out and 30 not out respectively after the bonus-point victory was completed.

Left-handed Rudolph anchored the innings as he scored his runs off 39 balls, with three fours and two sixes, while Van der Merwe lashed three fours and a six from 20 deliveries.

But it was Davids who stole the show with a top-class innings, a delightful display of footwork and superb timing as he stroked seven fours and two sixes.

It was like the old pro against the interns as he moved around his crease and found the gaps at will, notching a 26-ball half-century before chipping offspinner Khaya Zondo to midwicket, where Paul Collingwood took a fine catch diving forward.

That left the Titans on 78 for one in the 10th over and in complete control, Rudolph and Van der Merwe completing the formalities as they added 59 in 39 balls.

The New Age Impi seamers were unimpressive and captain Collingwood needed to turn to the slower bowlers, with left-arm spinner Siyabulela Simetu continuing the good impression he has made in the competition as he took the new ball and conceded just 23 runs in his four overs.

The Impi had won the toss and elected to bat first for the first time in the campaign, and Zondo and Collingwood had given the innings a solid foundation as they put on 51 for the third wicket off 41 balls.

The Impi’s problems, as is so often the case, began with a run out, and Van der Merwe was the architect, defeating the batsmen’s efforts for a second run as he rushed in from the midwicket boundary and scored a direct hit at the bowler’s end to remove Collingwood for a bright 28 off 18 balls.

Zondo was still there, though, having come in first-wicket down and watched as another Englishman, Luke Wright, also scored 28 off 18 balls to give the Impi a quick start.

But 92 for three quickly became 99 for six as Ryan ten Doeschate chopped on off David Wiese for just a single, and Van der Merwe removed Zondo and Richard Cameron off successive deliveries.

Zondo, who scored 33 off 31 balls, backed away to try and cut the left-arm spinner, but was off-balance and only succeeded in edging a catch to sharp wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn, who had earlier stumped opener Adrian McLaren for four in Van der Merwe’s first over.

Cameron then chipped his first ball straight to extra cover and, although Ryan Canning ensured that there would be no hat-trick for Van der Merwe, he could not find the boundary as he was the last man out for 17 off 21 balls.

Van der Merwe finished his quota of overs with excellent figures of three for 28 and his fantastic fielding netted him another run-out, dismissing Simetu for five in the penultimate over.

The 27-year-old has not played for South Africa in over 18 months, but continues to send good messages to the national selectors, having now taken five for 91 in 14 overs in this season’s T20 Challenge.

Off-spinner Eden Links also had a profitable afternoon with two for 21 in his four overs, while seamer Wiese came on in the 12th over and was not easy to get away as he took one for 13 in three overs.

The Titans will be unhappy that their fielding at the start of the innings was not up to scratch, a couple of catches going down, but, led by the indomitable Van der Merwe, they eventually got the job done in some style.

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies worked his magic with the boot as he kicked the Lions to a hard-fought 27-25 (half-time 12-19) victory over the Cheetahs in their all-South African SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Jantjies scored all 27 of the Lions’ points through nine penalties, a SuperRugby record, missing just two attempts at goal.

Jannie Kruger (Northern Transvaal 1996), Willie Walker (Otago, 2003), Meyer Bosman (Cheetahs, 2006) and Derick Hougaard (Bulls, 2007) had all previously kicked eight penalties in a match.

Opposite number Johan Goosen ensured the Lions had to work exceptionally hard for their victory, however, as he kicked even more impressively, landing all seven of his attempts at goal, including a 48m snap drop goal and a phenomenal 57m penalty.

The Lions effectively won the game when the 19-year-old Goosen was out of action, the Cheetahs flyhalf being yellow-carded between the 54th and 64th minutes for twice not rolling away in the tackle, before leaving the field with a head injury in the 68th minute.

Both scrumhalf Tewis de Bruyn and replacement flyhalf Sias Ebersohn missed relatively straightforward penalties while Goosen was off the field.

The Cheetahs ensured that they led from the ninth to the 71st minute as they scored the only try of the match, with prop WP Nel muscling his way over the tryline from close range in the ninth minute.

“If you concede two yellow cards and 16 penalties then you’re not going to win. We didn’t play badly, but bad discipline cost us. Johan Goosen kicked really well, but tactically, especially in the second half, we could have controlled the game better,” Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske said.

With both teams often floundering at the breakdowns, Goosen was presented with several penalties, but it was a credit to Jantjies’ composure that he also kept chipping away at the other end.

“The breakdown was always going to be scrappy, but it was a learning curve for us. It was definitely frustrating, maybe the guys aren’t used to the referee’s calls this early in the season, we struggled with the timing of getting our hands off the ball and leaving daylight. But Elton is an exceptional player, he’s proved it time and time again,” Lions captain Joshua Strauss said.

The match-winning penalty came with seven minutes remaining as Cheetahs replacement flank Ashley Johnson hit centre Doppies la Grange with a high tackle and Jantjies calmly slotted the kick from 40 metres out.

Scorers

Lions – Penalties: Elton Jantjies (9).

Cheetahs – Try: WP Nel. Conversion: Johan Goosen. Penalties: Goosen (5). Drop goal: Goosen.

The Bulls successfully used the boot of flyhalf Morne Steyn to subdue the Sharks and win their all-South African SuperRugby match 18-13 (half-time 0-0) at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
The first half was marred by scrappy play, poor handling and little vision on attack and it ended scoreless.
But the Bulls dominated the first half-hour of the second half, with Steyn, the franchise’s leading points-scorer with 991, kicking penalties in the 43rd, 49th, 53rd, 56th and 58th minutes.
The Bulls physically dominated the breakdown, but their own errors prevented them from gaining much momentum and they showed little ambition on attack, preferring to use up-and-unders by Steyn and the brilliant chasing and aerial skills of wing Bjorn Basson.
Steyn also used the time and space given to him by the strong driving of his forwards to stroke over a 68th-minute drop goal that gave the Bulls a healthy 18-6 lead.
The Sharks managed just two penalties from flyhalf Pat Lambie in the first 70 minutes, but began to keep ball in hand far more effectively during the closing stages as they stretched the Bulls.
The visitors scored the only try of the match as wing Lwazi Mvovo made a strong run down the right, before replacement flank Jacques Botes provided the support to complete the try, which was converted by Lambie.
But the Bulls defence held for the last nine minutes as the 2007, 2009 and 2010 champions made a winning start to the competition.
“It was a combination of eagerness and dew on the ball, but every time we got in their half, we just seemed unable to keep the ball. It was frustrating, but in the second half we picked up our focus and got some points,” Bulls captain Pierre Spies told a news conference after the game.
“There was good defence on both sides and there were no easy yards and no gaps out there. There was a lot of play between the two 10-metre lines and a lot of it was about field position and tactical kicking. The collisions were big, but we controlled the ball well in contact, which was important for us to build pressure,” coach Frans Ludeke said.
Sharks coach John Plumtree conceded that his team did not deserve to win.
“I’m proud of the way we came back at the end, but you can’t win games if you make so many basic errors. Our lineout did not function and we couldn’t dominate the gain-line. They stressed us, their box-kicks were outstanding, and we gave away 14 penalties, so there’s a lot for us to do,” Plumtree said.