LTT beat Phalaborwa in nail-biter game

In a very entertaining clash on Sunday, Louis Trichardt beat Phalaborwa Cricket Club by a mere 15 runs. The match was a nail-biter until the bitter end, and it produced some excellent performances from individual players.

The match was played at the Louis Trichardt oval and the home side batted first. Dirk van den Berg (40) and Nimesh Watekar (35) put up a solid opening partnership. When they departed, Leon Olwage (20) and Dewald Joubert (36) kept the scoreboard ticking.

Phalaborwa then introduced their spinner, Prince Ngobeni, and he ripped through the wickets. Prince ended with an excellent bowling analysis of 6/55 in 10 overs. He claimed no fewer than six of the top seven batsmen’s scalps. Hector Ngobeni continued where he left off and took 3/15 in his 2,1 overs.

For Louis Trichardt, AJ Fourie (11) and Warno Smit (13) made useful contributions. Stoffel du Toit (15) and Jandré Hancke (10 not out) helped to take the score to 235. The last wicket fell in the 37^th over.

Phalaborwa’s batsmen looked dangerous right from the start. Nhlamulo Mboweni (14) and Ntsako Sono (68) opened the batting. Ntsako was in prolific form, scoring his 68 runs from only 36 balls, hitting no fewer than five sixes. When he was caught off the bowling of Dirk van den Berg, Hector Ngobeni (50) and Shelton Ngobeni (18) continued the attack.

At 146/3 it looked as if victory for the visitors was a mere formality, but Jandré Hancke (2/43) and Leon Olwage (2/32) struck, causing a mini-collapse. Jabu Ngobeni then added 33 runs to keep things interesting, but his only support came from Freedom Chauke (14).

When the last wicket fell in the 48^th over, the score stood at 220.

Louis Trichardt’s most successful bowler was off-spinner Dirk van den Berg. He claimed 3/38 in his 10 overs.

The Limpopo Impala promotional league will take a bit of a breather now, with the next matches only scheduled for 13 January. Louis Trichardt will then come up against Nkowankowa at the Duiwelskloof oval. Eltivillas, the other local side, are scheduled to play against Seshego.

Sport - Date: 30 November 2018

Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

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