A week after everyone else in the Premier League had already finished their last match, the Cape Town First XI finally wrapped up their arduous ordeal of the 2025/26 club cricket season, winning the battle of the basement convincingly against Rylands at the AW Mukuddem Oval to at least hand the latter the Premier League’s wooden spoon. The result meant nothing to Rylands, who went into it six points adrift of the safety of tenth position, such that their relegation to the First Division A was therefore already a fait accompli. The five-point haul for the win could not save Cape Town from the relegation zone either, but their victory was nevertheless crucial – it moved them to within just two points of Ottoman and the safety of tenth place, thus making it at least possible that a successful legal challenge of their points overturned in the match of 22 November against Ottoman would still allow Cape Town to swap places with them and escape relegation after all.
In a situation that was as much a mutual agreement as a correct call at the coin toss, the visitors had elected to field first. It was certainly an outcome that better favoured Cape Town though, as their long-suffering bowling attack finally found a rare helpful pitch on which to operate. With the ball gripping off the surface under heavy skies, it took Alex Draai just two deliveries to seam one sharply enough to disturb the castle of the first of the home side’s batting stalwarts. At the other end, off-spinner Jade Schoeman was given the new ball for the first time – and responded with two wickets in an over, en route to a dominant opening spell of 8-0-13-2. When medium-pacer Jordan Bowers struck with his first delivery not long thereafter, to claim a maiden First XI scalp, Rylands had consequently lost their top four with just 23 on the board, and had Cape Town swarming all over them.
The middle order tried to break the shackles, Siyabonga Venge forming the fulcrum of the resistance as the home side more than doubled their score from there without further loss. However, Bowers produced another magic delivery to knock over the centurion from the last time these two sides met at this venue, and a frenetic shot-a-ball innings from Rylands player-coach Mujahid Behardien thereafter did not inspire great confidence. Already missed on the boundary when 4* as the fielder had to sacrifice holding the catch in order to prevent a six, Behardien then aerially carved three fours attempting all manner of shots – before finally holing out straight to the waiting fielder positioned on the deep mid wicket rope.
His antics, and the more composed efforts of Venge at the other end, had allowed the home side a measure of recovery from 23-4 to 95-5 as a result, but that was to prove the highwater mark of their achievements. Held back until the 33rd over, the eventual introduction of Michal Lord’s left-arm spin initiated a dramatic retreat that cost Rylands their last five wickets for just ten additional runs. Behardien’s scalp was the first, from just Lord’s second delivery, and in the very same over he dispatched the established Venge too from another mishit stroke. The tail had nothing to offer, and Rylands were bowled out before the end of the second Powerplay – Lord running through the remaining batting with alacrity to record his Cape Town First XI career-best figures, and the best bowling figures achieved to date in Cape Town’s short history of playing at this venue.
With the sun having by now put in its appearance, and still half an hour to go before the scheduled lunch break, the visitors began their pursuit of just 106 for victory in good conditions – against a dispirited opponent with nothing to play for. In his 50th appearance for the side, Josh Chippendale took full advantage by cracking four boundaries off the fourth over, as the visitors charged to 40 without loss after just five overs. Chippendale’s breezy 32 from 23 balls was ultimately enough to give him the honours of being the side’s leading run-scorer for the season, narrowly edging out Mathew Goles – who stayed to the end to hit the winning runs. Big shots cost both Cape Town openers their wickets in quick succession, but with Goles settling in, a big Cape Town win was never in question. Indeed, long before the end, the home side had already switched to using part-timer bowlers just to get things over with – lunch having been skipped in order to finish proceedings as early as possible. Jack Newby’s friendly leg-spin even bagged him a wicket in each of his first two overs as the visitors did their best to oblige, but when Goles pulled a long hop to the rope almost immediately thereafter to at least provide a high note with which to bring their long and torturous season to an end, Cape Town still had more than 30 overs left in hand.
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