For long stretches the visitors had seemed in total control of affairs, but ultimately they mistimed their run chase. Cape Town also dug deep when it mattered, clinching victory by bowling a tight final over - as they had done previously against Almar. Certainly they did not help themselves initially with some careless top-order batting after taking first strike, as their good fortune with the toss this season extended to four games on the trot. Picking up runs freely as they smoothly moved to 35 without loss after nine overs, it all seemed too easy - prompting a flurry of loose strokes against the bowling of Ian Wessels that handed him the first three wickets to fall in the space of just twelve deliveries.

Fortunately for Cape Town their middle order produced some solid batting form to stop the rot from spreading further, captain Jonathan Holgate reaching his first fifty of the season off just 58 balls, and sharing successive stands of 52 with a very composed Francois Vermaak (who narrowly missed out on his own maiden half-century for the First XI) and 64 with Lloyd Moore. Moore in particular finally found the luck that had so cruelly deserted him up to now, no slips having been in place when his first-ball edge flew at catchable height through the cordon. Thereafter he gradually found his touch to pass 3 000 career runs for the Cape Town First XI, and against less-than-threatening back-up bowling the home side was handily placed for a strong finish at 170 for four in the 38th over.

The return of seamers Mondli Mahlombe and Zarryn Meyer prevented the expected launch from ever quite happening though, both striking immediately in the first over of their second spells, and each adding a second wicket during its course as well. Nevertheless, the last few overs were sprinkled with enough boundary hits to ensure that Cape Town still ended with their second-highest Limited Overs total at the Boon Wallace Oval in the past 13 seasons.

For about the first two-thirds of the Victoria reply it never looked like being enough though. For once, the home side's new-ball bowlers were unable to make any early inroads, Lester Daniels leading the way as the visitors' opening batsmen appeared largely untroubled in posting fifty together in 13 overs. Tom Main hinted at a change in fortunes by dismissing them both in successive overs with his left-arm spin, but it was a false dawn - serving only to bring Liam Lewis and Gareth Dreyer together. Dropping anchor for the next hour-and-a-half, the pair then consistently milked the bowling to build one of the more remarkable hundred-partnerships compiled - it included just two boundaries, but no fewer than 59 singles as a well-spread field could do little to prevent the steady accumulation of runs.

Thus Victoria seemed perfectly positioned for a cruise to victory as they progressed ever onwards to 160 for two, with a batting powerplay still in hand. With Lewis in the process having reached an 83-ball fifty - with just one six standing out from his collection of ones and twos - he was the natural candidate to bat through to the end, despite visibly wilting towards the end of his knock as the constant running between the wickets on a hot day took its toll. At some point however, it therefore had to be Dreyer who needed to take the attack to the bowlers, secure in the knowledge that his team still had eight wickets in hand. This required acceleration never happened though, and once André Olwagwen eventually accounted for them both in the same over, the asking rate had been allowed to escalate almost unnoticed to the point that 50 were needed from the last five overs.

Despite the easy nature of the pitch, such a task rested almost squarely on the big-hitting abilities of the newly-returned Warren Wyngaard - especially once the sudden scramble for runs cost the visitors two further wickets in the following over too. Having him dropped on the boundary with just a single to his name thus did not bode well for Cape Town, especially when he immediately thereafter led an assault that clubbed 25 off the next two overs. Ultimately Victoria had left their push too late though, leaving themselves an unlikely twelve runs to get from the final over. Cape Town's player-coach Wayne Hendricks took the responsibility of bowling it on his own shoulders, three times beating Wyngaard's flailing bat with his left-arm spin, and inducing a catch on the boundary to boot, as the visitors ultimately could manage just two singles and a bye from those final six deliveries. Thus the home side's 2009/10 One-Day record remained intact, while Victoria were left still looking for their first victory of the season.
 

Match photo's