Three in a row for Old Boys

A great batting display backed up by some tight bowling saw WHS Old Boys romping to a 142-run victory against Wanderers in the 50-over Premier League final on Saturday.

Old Boys amassed 322 runs for seven wickets off their 50 overs and Wanderers never got close as they were all out for 180.

It was the third year in a row that Old Boys had cliched the title, while their one-sided victory suggests that they are now the undisputed kings of Namibian club cricket.

Both teams of course were missing their top players, currently on national duty in UAE, but Old Boys’ depth and especially their rising young stars played a major role in their success.

After being sent in to bat by Wanderers, Old Boys lost the early wicket of Wesley Anderson, bowled by Louis Peters for 3, but Gerhard Janse van Rensburg and Dylan Leicher, who are both only 17 years old, soon put Old Boys in charge.

They batted with maturity beyond their years, with Leicher going after the bowling, while Van Rensburg was more circumspect, but kept the scoreboard ticking with some exquisite cover drives.

They shared a second wicket partnership of 94 when Wanderers’ young seam bowler Francois du Plessis finally got the breakthrough, trapping Leicher lbw for 51 which came off 69 balls and included five fours and one six.

That, however, was just a taste of things to come as Old Boys captain JP Kotze attacked the bowling from the onset with a swashbuckling innings. He hit the hapless Wanderers bowlers to all corners of the field, and shared a century partnership with Janse van Rensburg at 10 runs to the over, as they took the total to 245, before Kotze was dismissed for 84 off only 50 balls (8×4, 5×6).

Janse van Rensburg followed shortly after, run out for 85 (5×4, 3×6), but there were still some solid contributions from Zhivago Groenewald (30) and Dirkie Theunissen (34 not out) as Old Boys reached an imposing 322/7.

Du Plessis was Wanderers’ most successful bowler, taking three wickets for 44 runs, while Peters took 2/69.

Wanderers got off to a quick start, with Niko Davin and JC Balt putting on 54 runs at nearly seven an over, but Davin’s dismissal by Donovan Zealand for 40 off 35 balls (3×4, 2×6), initiated a mini collapse as they lost Balt (15), LP van der Westhuizen (2) and Colin Schoonbee (4) in quick succession.

Michau du Preez led a middle order revival, putting on 63 runs with Olivin Glen Spyron, but Leicher got the breakthrough, bowling Du Preez for 54 off 62 balls (3×4, 1×6) and Glen Spyron for 25.

Further down the order Peters added 10 not out, before the whole side was dismissed for 180.

For Old Boys, four bowlers took two wickets each, with Leicher taking 2/12, Groenewald 2/41, Zealand 2/39 and Malan Kruger 2/20.

Old Boys captain Kotze, who won the player of the match award was elated with their performance.

“I’m very excited, we’ve worked very hard this season, and we’ve got a very young team and with exciting young players and that’s the future of Namibia. We put in lots of hard work, we did extra training and arranged net sessions on our off days, so I think we deserved this win and I’m just happy for the team and this group of youngsters who pulled it off today,” he said.

“I think we summed up the day perfectly, we batted well and built partnerships and overall it was a very good performance, batting and bowling. Winning is a habit and I think we’ve built a winning culture in this team and that pulled it through for us throughout the season. Winning is a habit, we build by it, we stand by it, and thats our motto in this team,” he added.

The scorecard:

https://cricclubs.com/NamibiaCricket/viewScorecard.do?matchId=594&clubId=11299

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