Green Point keep title hopes alive, WPCC tighten grip at the top
Guy Sheena of Green Point takes a catch in the slips to dismiss Dan Cooke of Claremont during their Western Province Cricket Association Premier League match in Constantia on Saturday.
Image: Mark Ward
Mark Ward
Green Point reignited their Western Province Premier League title ambitions with a commanding victory over Claremont at the Arderne Oval on Saturday. The win lifts Green Point to 40 points from 15 matches, keeping them firmly in touch with the leading pack. Log leaders Western Province Cricket Club sit on 50 points, closely followed by Rondebosch in second place on 48 points, so the heat is on as the season heads for the home straight.
Despite being bolstered by the return of all-rounder Josh Breed, Claremont could only amass 117 runs in 30.6 overs after they were sent in to bat. The visitors’ seamer Riaaz Teladia was in top form and removed both openers, Joshua Pretorian (2) and Dan Cooke (2), in the second over to leave Claremont reeling on 2/6.
From there, it proved an uphill battle for Claremont, as the wickets tumbled and they were unable to recover from their shaky start. Teladia set the tone with an incisive opening spell, with Guy Sheena playing a key supporting role, slicing through the middle order to finish with impressive figures of 2/18.
In-form Riaaz Teladia of Green Point has reason to smile after dismissing both Claremont openers during his stint with the ball in hand, in a Western Province Cricket Association Premier League fixture in Constantia on Saturday.
Image: Mark Ward
Joshua Pistorius of Claremont plays defensively during his side's WPCA Premier League match against Green Point Cricket Club.
Image: Mark Ward
Meanwhile, Western Province Cricket Club underlined their title aspirations with back-to-back victories at the Wally Wilson Oval over the weekend. On Saturday, they produced a dominant display to defeat Victoria by 168 runs after setting the visitors a formidable target of 297/6 in their allotted 50 overs. Ben van der Merwe, who opened the batting with Derek Mitchell (9), produced a scintillating performance with the bat, scoring 104 off 113 deliveries, while Nic Barlow added a valuable 88. Oliver Whitehead produced a great all-round performance. After scoring 38 (3x4, 2x6) off just 20 balls, he proved his worth with the ball by taking 5/27 in nine overs as the home side skittled Victoria for 129 in 29.1 overs.
Claremont Cricker Club's Josh Breed is beaten by a pace delivery during his side's Premier League match against Green Point, at the weekend.
Image: Mark Ward
Returning 24 hours later, WPCC secured a five-wicket win over Durbanville after restricting the visitors to 190 in 48.5 overs. In their chase for victory, Givon Christian anchored the innings with an unbeaten 68, with Van der Merwe adding 38 runs. Oliver Whitehead was the standout bowler for WPCC, returning figures of 2/44, along with Jayden Rossouw (2/40), Zaman Ahktar (2/34), Bulumko Brukwe (2/31) and Justin Behrens (2/29), who each took a brace of wickets.
Victoria, meanwhile, bounced back to beat Ottoman by 54 runs at Chukker on Sunday. Victoria reached 165/8 and bowled out the visitors for 111 in 40.5 overs. Jordan Fourie (4/26) was the standout bowler for Victoria, with excellent support from Jesse Kriel, who took 3/10 in 2.5 overs. Victoria has now moved to ninth place on 26 points from 15 games.