The visitors had put Cape Town in to bat on the first morning, but the pitch had precious little to offer in the way of terrors for the batsmen. Indeed, if anything shortish boundaries and a fast outfield seemed to encourage the home team batsmen to go for their shots. Unfortunately though, some rather poor execution in this regard led to probably eight of them becoming the architects of their own demise. Thus wicket-keeper Ryan Canning picked up five catches behind the stumps, while visiting captain Nick McConnachie accepted another three at mid on and mid off as Cape Town succumbed within barely 50 overs.
Player-coach Wayne Hendricks and their Derbyshire professional Dominic Telo had initially been building a promising platform for the home side at 49 for one, but both perished to ill-advised attacking strokes as five wickets tumbled in the space of 16 overs to Colin Birch's seamers and Mark Temple's left-arm spin. Paceman Aviwe Mgijima then got into the act as well after lunch to maintain the pressure, and it required a career-best bright and breezy knock at the end by number eleven Andre Olwagen to at least add a small touch of respectibility to the final total.
That it was a significantly below-par tally for the conditions was quickly proved by the Pinelands opening batsmen Colin Sher and Hayden de Kock. Untroubled by anything that the Cape Town bowlers could offer, de Kock cruised to an 81-ball fifty just prior to tea, by which stage the visitors were sitting very prettily at 92 without loss. Sher reached his own half-century from 93 balls four overs into the evening session, as the Pinelands openers took their team to within 40 runs of the home side's total before finally being parted.
By then the chase was on for batting bonus points though,and as a result no-one with the exception of Jonathan Schwerin stayed for any length of time thereafter as they took on the bowling. Cape Town's spin twins Hendricks and Matthew Olsen bowled the last 23 overs of the innings in tandem, sharing seven wickets between them as 87 further runs accrued during that time. Three-quarters of those came from Sher and Schwerin, as Pinelands declared at the expiry of their allotted 60 overs for batting points with a healthy lead of 60 runs. For Olsen, the third of his four wickets took him to 100 scalps for the Cape Town First XI. There remained just enough time in the day to send the home side back in to face one over, which they duly survived without loss.
On the second morning, the arrival of former international Justin Kemp for the visitors, in place of Canning, was to prove decisive in keeping Cape Town in check - as they made a far better fist of their second innings. However, it was Temple who wreaked the early damage, taking three wickets in a twelve-ball burst. Prior to that, a solid-looking Mark Ritchie had guided the home side to 57 for one - just three runs shy of clearing the first-innings deficit with nine second-innings wickets in hand - but Temple's breakthrough rapidly transformed the picture to 63 for four some four overs later.
However, Telo still remained to launch a counter-attack, hitting two fours and a six in the space of seven balls off Temple to ensure his removal from the attack. With Rory O'Brien proving as fluent as ever at the other end too, the pair added 65 in 15 overs to take the home side to within five minutes of the luncheon interval with six wickets still in hand. Then Kemp struck in the last over before lunch, castling Telo in a double-wicket maiden that significantly reduced Cape Town's prospects of getting back into the match during the afternoon session.
Still, O'Brien remained - and he went on the rampage immediately after the interval to smash 20 personally off the first three overs of the afternoon session. Just when another partnership seemed to be forming however, Pineland's Kent import Darren Stevens had O'Brien held at slip two short of his fifty, as the second of two wickets for him in the space of four deliveries. At 162 for eight the home side's efforts thus seemed done and dusted, but Olsen cracked five fours in three overs off Stevens to force his withdrawal from the firing line. Batting with a good mixture of aggression and defence, Olsen saw Cape Town passed 200 to keep their hopes alive of holding out long enough to force a draw, but that man Kemp duly wrapped matters up to set Pinelands a simple-sounding 155 to win from 49 overs.
As matters transpired, they cruised it. Somewhat ironically, it was their first innings heroes - the two opening batsmen - who were the only ones to fall in the second innings. With Pinelands never having a problem maintaining the asking rate of barely three to the over, their victory never looked in doubt. Indeed, once Mgijima and Schwerin joined forces, the result quickly became one of when rather than if. Both went to ther fifties within ten minutes of each other, with Schwerin particularly aggressive - striking ten fours and a six in all, he needed just 35 balls to complete his last 51 runs, while ending undefeated for the second time in the match. Mgijima also stepped up his pace at the death as the end came in a rush, the second half of their 109-run unbroken third-wicket stand taking just 42 balls to complete as the visitors cantered home to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory with more than ten overs to spare.
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