Wins for Swallows, Makana Sona and Salem

Swallows thrashed Port Alfred by a bonus point 8-wicket win while Makana Sona and Salem also recorded impressive wins in the Grahamstown Cricket Board (GCB) leagues over the past weekend.

Willows travelled to Salem with a fairly young side against hosts Salem in their GCB 1st League fixture on Saturday. Willows won the toss and sent Salem in to bat. Willows’ bowlers were on fire and bowled beautifully during the first session of the game, putting Salem under pressure with the score on 135/6 at one stage. The experienced duo of Buster Brotherton and Justin Dollery came to Salem’s rescue with a splendid 100-run partnership to take the score to a massive 287. Brotherton ended as top scorer with a brilliant 86 while Dollery batted beautifully for his 74. Captain Bradley Wilmot also contributed a hurricane 37 runs with his aggressive batting. For Willows, young 14-year old seamer Caleb Jattiem bowled with extreme and sheer pace and was the standout bowler for Willows. He picked up an impressive 4/34 (6) as he recorded his best bowling performance for Willows. Veteran Melville Daniels bowled a steady spell of 2/40 (10) while Christiano Jasson took 2/56 (10). A mammoth run chase awaited the young Willows side as they were up for the task at hand. The young opening duo of Enrique Strydom (16 years) and Larson McKaizer (14 years) were in sublime form up front facing the quality experienced bowlers of Salem. The two youngsters put Willows in a firm and driving position with an astonishing 104-run partnership, giving their side a chance to win the game. Strydom ended up with a classy and flamboyant 52 runs while debutant McKaizer was unlucky not to make his half century and even more, scoring a solid 46 runs. Willows then lost wickets at regular intervals as the experienced bowlers of Salem showed their class and composure, putting the Willows batters under immense pressure. While the Willows middle and lower order batsmen failed to continue the momentum and solid foundation set by the openers, the home side’s bowlers cashed in as wickets continued to tumble. In the end, Willows fell 71 runs short, scoring 216 all out (46). Renaldo Roth took 3/29 (6), Brotherton 2/39 (10), Wakeford 2/48 (10) and Dollery 2/13 (3).

Log Leaders Sidbury hosted Makana Sona on Sunday. Sidbury batted first and couldn’t withstand the bowling onslaught of the young Makana Sona bowling attack, being bowled out for a mere 71 (14.3 overs). Captain Likhaya Sam was the destroyer-in-chief with excellent bowling figures of 5/26. He was well-supported by fellow opener Lusanda Qinela with 3/40 and Lelethu Cekiso with 2/3. Sidbury bowlers didn’t make things easy for Makana in defending their low moderate target and continued to fight until the end. Sam was the top scorer for Makana with 24 while Phumelela Mbiza and Limile Tshona both contributed 13 runs. In the end, Makana fought hard to reach the target and eventually reached it with 8 wickets down, handing them a 2-wicket bonus point win.

Swallows travelled to the coast to take on the struggling Port Alfred side in their GCB 2nd League fixture on Saturday. Port Alfred batted first and was out for a low 76. Mueed Fritz and Lance September both bowled brilliantly and clinched three wickets each. Swallows’ batsmen reached the target in no time and batted aggressively from the outset. Mornay Kohl (35*) and Renato Visagie (19*) were unbeaten in the end. Swallows won by 8-wickets and a bonus point.