Ken Borland

There was heartbreak for the Central Gauteng Lions as they beat South-Western Districts in their last match of the CSA Provincial T20 Cup in Kimberley on Sunday, but not by a big enough margin to qualify for the quarterfinals.

The exit will be particularly galling for coach Wandile Gwavu, who led his team to the franchise T20 title earlier this year.

The Lions edged home by four wickets with just one ball to spare against SWD, and when Western Province beat Northern Cape by six wickets with 10 balls left later in the day, it meant three teams had finished with two wins each.

But WP’s nett run-rate (+0.17) was enough to lift them above the Lions (+0.04), who paid the price for a poor batting performance by the top-order on Sunday.

Chasing just 130 for victory, the Lions slipped to 88 for six in the 15^th over and were grateful to young Ruan Haasbroek, who finished the innings superbly with his determined 44 not out off 38 balls. Malusi Siboto (16*) provided great support as they added 44 off 33 balls to win the game.

Spinner Sean Whitehead was the best bowler for SWD, taking one for 18 in four excellent overs.

What will really hurt for the Lions is that they bowled so well after winning the toss to restrict SWD to 129 for six, especially their fiery pacemen Lutho Sipamla (4-0-23-2), Sisanda Magala (4-0-18-1) and Siboto (4-0-23-1).

Captain Jean du Plessis scored 41 off 38 balls, and Jhedli van Briesies provided a late boost with his 24 not out off 17 deliveries, SWD putting enough runs on the board to ensure they go through to the quarterfinals in first place in Pool A with a nett run-rate of +0.44.

But ultimately the Lions batsmen let down their bowlers.

Kyle Verreynne once again showed his mettle under high pressure as he took Western Province home to their tricky target of 164 in 18.2 overs with his 25 not out off 11 balls, ensuring they go through.

Zubayr Hamza continued his rebirth as a quality T20 player with his 62 off 50 deliveries, putting on 63 for the first wicket in 7.5 overs with Tony de Zorzi (30).

There were also welcome runs for young Jonathan Bird, who showed his talent with 42 off 23 balls.

Western Province had sent their friends from the Northern Cape in to bat and reduced them to 58 for five by the halfway stage as seamers Tshepo Moreki (4-0-23-2) and Wayne Parnell (4-1-30-3) bowled superbly, spinner Kyle Simmonds (4-0-27-1) providing great support.

But Evan Jones (50 off 35) and Beyers Swanepoel (39* off 18), both Pretoria products, then combined for a punishing end to the innings as Northern Cape shot to 163 for eight.

It was a testing target, but not enough to save the Lions.

While Northern Cape came within a whisker of upsetting the Lions, South-Western Districts suggested that Division II of local cricket will not be weak as they beat Western Province by three wickets with two balls to spare in the CSA Provincial T20 Cup at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Saturday.

A weak batting effort by Western Province after they elected to bat saw them slump to 49 for five as seamer Hershell America returned an outstanding three for 22 in his four overs. Western Province were lifted to 130 for seven by Aviwe Mgijima, with a run-a-ball 35, and Kyle Simmonds, who struck a determined 46 not out off 32 balls.

SWD’s other new-ball bowler, Renaldo Meyer, was also excellent, taking one for 20 in his four overs, while off-sinner Pheko Moletsane took two for 12 in two overs.

SWD were indebted in their run-chase to opener Yaseen Valli, who has been around the block for more than a week, as he steered them home with his run-a-ball 55 not out. SWD were five for two inside the first two overs, but Valli and the experienced Andre Malan (21) added 48 for the third wicket to settle them down.

Heath Richards, Moletsane, Meyer and Sean Whitehead then all reached double-figures as they helped Valli seal a big win over their local rivals. Western Province’s three left-arm quicks – Nandre Burger (2-21), Beuran Hendricks (4-1-18-1) and Wayne Parnell (1-29) all bowled well but had too much to do. 

The South-Western Districts Eagles ended a disappointing season by going down 31-47 (half-time 17-20) to the Border Bulldogs in their Vodacom Cup match in Queenstown on Saturday.

The Bulldogs went down early to a superb individual try by right wing Clinton Wagman, and conceded two more tries in the first half as they trailed 13-17 deep into injury time.

Border flyhalf Ntabeni Dukisa was on-song with the boot, however, and his two first-half penalties kept the home team in touch before fullback Logan Basson took advantage of an overlap on the left wing to score.

The Eagles relied on their rolling maul to score two tries through flank Shaun Raubenheimer and lock Grant le Roux, but the Bulldogs inched their noses just in front in first-half injury time when scrumhalf Ntando Kebe rounded off a slick move from broken play, Border’s handling being one of their greatest strengths as they ended their campaign on a high.

The Bulldogs took their confidence-booster into the second half and their third try came by way of a penalty try after the Eagles kept spoiling the ball at the ruck.

Dukisa once again kicked the conversion and then added a 48th-minute penalty to put Border 30-17 ahead, but the Eagles cut the gap to 30-24 when centre Cornelius Rautenbach cut through after a tap-penalty, fullback Deroy Rhoode converting.

The Bulldogs were quick to return to Eagles’ territory, however, with loosehead prop Armand Fourie dotting down after a series of forward drives. Dukisa converted and added a penalty and the Bulldogs were almost home and dry with a 40-24 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

Eagles left wing Baldwin McBean and Border replacement scrumhalf Lesley Deen-Ruiters exchanged tries to end the scoring.

Border were able to enjoy their first win of the season, after some close misses, in their final game and no one would have been more delighted than eighthman Lubabalo Mzwakali, who celebrated his 50th game with a brilliant performance.

SCORERS

Border Bulldogs – Tries: Logan Basson, Ntando Kebe, penalty try, Armand Fourie, Lesley Deen-Ruiters. Conversions: Ntabeni Dukisa (5). Penalties: Dukisa (4).

SWD Eagles – Tries: Clinton Wagman, Shaun Raubenheimer, Grant le Roux, Cornelius Rautenbach, Baldwin McBean. Conversions: Deroy Rhoode (3).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/vodacom-cup/news/120428/Eagles_go_down_to_Bulldogs