Clash of the titans

Old Boys will be aiming to make it three titles in a row, while Wanderers will be desperate to reclaim the title that they last won in 2019.Wanderers did have the satisfaction of winning the T20 title when they beat MR24/7 Welwitschia by four runs in November last year, but it is the 50-over trophy that they will want to have back in their cabinet.They had a great season, remaining unbeaten, to finish top of the log on 26 points after winning five and drawing three of their eight matches, while Old Boys finished second on 22 points, with five wins, one draw and two defeats. One of those defeats was in their first round encounter against Wanderers on 13 November last year, when Wanderers won by four wickets, but not much should be read into that result, as Old Boys were playing without their national players, while Wanderers called up three national players who had just returned from the T20 World Cup. Their second round encounter on 22 January was much more indicative of their comparative strength as the match ended in a dramatic tie.Old Boys, who were just missing national captain Gerhard Erasmus due to injury, were dismissed for a 175 runs with only their young opener Gerhard Janse van Vuuren making much of an impact with 64 runs, while JP Kotze added 23 and Donovan Zealand 20.Wanderers' national bowlers, Bernard Scholtz and Karl Birkenstock were the chief destroyers taking four wickets each.Wanderers lost their first two wickets with only two runs on the board, but they recovered well, with Birkenstock scoring 29, JJ Smit 32 and Ruben Claassen 25. Wanderers seemed to be heading to victory when Michau du Preez spearheaded a lower-order fightback, but after having drawn level with the total on 175, he was bowled by Ruben Trumpelmann for 35 as the match ended in a dramatic draw.Trumpelmann was Old Boys' stand-out bowler, taking three wickets for 15 runs off 10 overs, while Divan La Cock took 2/29.That result, however, might also not have much bearing on tomorrow's final, since both teams will be without their national players, who left for Dubai yesterday to represent the Namibian Eagles against UAE and Oman.Old Boys will be missing five players in Erasmus, Trumpelmann, Craig Williams, Zane Green and Tangeni Lungameni, while Wanderers will miss four in Smit, Birkenstock, Scholtz and Jan Frylinck.As such their squad depth could play a key role and here Old Boys might hold the edge.They have experienced campaigners like captain JP Kotze, who is the second top run-scorer this season with 259 runs at an average of 43,17; Malan Kruger and Zhivago Groenewaldt, as well as some exciting upcoming youngsters like Van Rensburg, Dylan Leicher, Divan La Cock and Donovan Zealand, who is the second highest wicket taker in the league with 13 wickets. Wanderers also have experienced players like captain Nicholas Scholtz, Niko Davin, Michau du Preez, Ruben Claassen, Danie van Schoor and Dewald Nell, and upcoming players like JC Balt and Louis Peters, but with the exception of Davin (fifth amongst the batsmen with 217 runs) and Balt (10th with 176 runs), none of their other available players feature in the top 10 rankings. In the end, though, statistics won't count for much and it will come down to the performance on the day and who wants victory the most, and the opposing captains said they are both ready for a great match. “We are really looking forward to a great final between the top two teams in the league. Our national players will leave a big gap in terms of skill and experience, but I believe we have enough quality and depth to be competitive. We are positive about the final, we have nothing to lose and we will just go out and enjoy ourselves,” Wanderers captain Nicolaas Scholtz said. “Our preparations have gone well and we are looking forward to a great match. We will miss our national players, but we have some exciting youngsters with a lot of potential,” Old Boys captain Kotze said. “The two sides have matched each other the whole season, and I think the final will once again be very competitive – it can go either way,” he added.

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