Cold weather and frequent bouts of light rain notwithstanding, Cape Town got their 2022/23 season off to a rip-roaring start with a Super Over-determined outcome, matching reigning League champions Durbanville blow for blow right down to the final delivery in both the main game and the subsequent tie-breaker. It was only Cape Town’s second Super Over in their 76 matches contested in the format since it was first introduced into Western Province club cricket in late February 2006, and though it did not go their way on this occasion, it might just as well have done so.
That Durbanville even got close to matching Cape Town’s imposing total of 166, despite the smallness of the venue’s outfield, was almost entirely due to the batting efforts of Jaco Castle – Cape Town’s nemesis on more than one previous occasion as well. Opening bat Leon le Roux had initially laid the foundation, striking two sixes and three fours in his 30 from 20 balls to keep the Northern Suburbs outfit up with the required rate at 48-1 after the initial six-over PowerPlay, but once he edged down the leg side to give Nicholas Scott his second such somewhat fortuitous dismissal in six deliveries, it was left to Castle to maintain the momentum. There would be a third wicket for Scott in the following over too, as he polished off the remainder of the Durbanville top order in an impressive spell under pressure throughout, and at that stage Castle had achieved a scoring rate of no better than a run-a-ball.
However, he then finally found an ally in Carlos Koyana to shore up the steady loss of wickets at the other end, and with the latter turning over the strike to him with regular singles, Castle set about his work with a will. A second six signified his moving up to the next gear, which was closely followed by three fours and his third six over the course of the next three overs as well. The six brought up the fifty partnership with Koyana from just 36 balls, and though the latter perished to Darren Rolfe in the same over by offering yet another gentle leg side lob to the keeper, by then it was game on – with 24 needed from the final three overs. Hope remained for Cape Town as Brendan Young bowled a telling 18th over to the new man that conceded just three singles, which was then followed by Rolfe striking again in the over after that.
However, as long as Castle remained, Durbanville were always in the running – and having struck a fourth six to reach a 34-ball fifty, his efforts left Durbanville needing six off the final delivery to force the tie. A miscalculation had left Cape Town believing that they had already secured the win though, so perhaps the concentration levels for that last ball weren’t what they should’ve been. Regardless, against all odds Castle duly lofted it over long on to force the Super Over – which he then duly proceeded to win for Durbanville by smashing two fours and a six from it. By contrast, Cape Town had the only positive lbw decision of the match go against them from the final ball of their own Super Over batting effort, with again just one run needed to make the tie lasting this time.
Earlier in their own innings, Cape Town had chosen to bat first despite heavily overcast skies, but got off to a relatively slow start with William Hantam needing nine deliveries to get off the mark. Once he finally got going with a sizzling cut through backward point though, the Durbanville bowlers quickly had their hands full trying to contain a regular flow of boundaries – especially as Hantam’s opening partner Mathew Goles had hit his straps from the outset. Their fifty partnership was duly posted in the seventh over, by which stage the pair had already hit a six and nine fours between them. The best still lay ahead though, as three sixes followed during the ninth over, sweeping Goles to a 27-ball fifty and boosting the opening stand to 95 (Cape Town’s best first-wicket stand in the format since October 2010) before the latter was unluckily out, caught by a second fielder on the rebound from a dropped catch (54 off 30 balls, with three sixes and seven fours).
Next over Hantam crashed a six and two fours off consecutive deliveries from Durbanville skipper Nathan Swartz to reach a 35-ball fifty of his own, and after 14 overs Cape Town were looking good at 133-3. However, Swartz bounced back strongly, castling Hantam (61 off 42 balls, with two sixes and nine fours) as the first of two wickets in his final over while conceding just a single as well. Thereafter only a brief counterattack by Young, striking a six and two fours off the start of the 18th over, really came close to providing the big finish that Cape Town would have been eyeing. Instead, Durbanville closed things off nicely by conceding just seven singles from the final 15 balls of the innings, leaving the door open just a crack for themselves. However, Castle duly ensured that this opportunity would not be wasted.
Leave a Reply