Ottoman had up until then had a good run thus far after gaining promotion to the 1B at the end of last season, as they had won Group A to qualify for the AMA20/20 Semi-Finals. Winning the toss in this match and choosing to insert Cape Town on a pitch that provided no obvious clues as to how it would play, Ottoman did not begin too badly either – Riyaad Peters recovering from two early fours slashed over the slips to capture the first wicket through a slip catch in just the third over.
However, that brought Telo to the crease to join Clinton Botha, and things rapidly fell apart for Ottoman from there. Telo gave early warning of his intentions with two straight drives for four in his first five balls faced, but initially these went almost unnoticed amidst the early drama of Peters being suspended halfway through his next over for bowling his second high full toss of the innings. With runs already leaking from the other end with worrying regularity even at that early stage, it was an unsettling occurrence that Ottoman didn’t need – and Telo and Botha took immediate advantage by cracking three fours off the next over between them – taking Cape Town to a healthy 67 for one from their six powerplay overs.
It was the signal was the start of Telo’s immense charge, and with Botha regularly taking singles to feed him the strike, the carnage began in earnest. Two sixes and a four in the ninth over took Telo to 48* from just 24 balls faced, and having by then already added 76 in seven overs with Botha, in a crucial turning point Telo was then dropped on the boundary from the last ball of the next over, in the process reaching only his second career AMA20/20 half-century from 27 balls faced. Another six and a four from his blade in the 13th over registered the 100 partnership between Telo and Botha from just 63 deliveries (Telo’s share being 67 of them), and in the over thereafter he was dropped again on 78* as the Ottoman fielding began falling apart under the pressure.
Over 16 saw all of Cape Town pass their previous best AMA20/20 total of 168, the 150-run partnership (from 87 balls) and Telo’s hundred (from just 49 balls, with four sixes and twelve fours). He was immediately dropped a third time thereafter, and a fourth time in the over following that as well, as Cape Town clocked up 200 on the board. These were all from desperate fielders on the rope as blow after booming blow was sent sailing powerfully towards – and generally over – them, as Telo peppered the arc between deep mid wicket and a straight long on to score all but seven of his 24 boundaries there. Finishing with relish, three sixes and a four from his bat in the penultimate over posted the 200-run partnership with Botha for the second wicket, having needed but 16 overs to compile, and put Telo just a blow away from 150. It was not to be though, as he was out in the final over, the ball after Botha was rewarded for his supportive efforts by reaching his second AMA20/20 fifty of the season – from only 44 balls faced with two fours – but the shattered Ottoman side was nevertheless left with a target of almost two runs a ball to chase from the outset.
It was an all but impossible task, and Rory Cullinan only emphasised this by, for the second time this season, dismissing both opening batsmen in the first over - Matthew Olsen catching the first to hold his 50th career catch for the Cape Town First XI. Wasiem Amien and his captain Taariq Behardien prevented a complete rout by then adding 47 for the third wicket in 6½ overs, but once Cape Town finally broke through this resistance Ottoman had little else to offer. Amien stood firm for six further overs to ultimately top-score, striking four fours and a six in his 31-ball knock, but he fell as the last of thee batsmen to lose their wicket with the total on 88 as Tom Main struck twice in the 13th over with his left-arm spin.
From there it was just a matter of batting out the remaining overs, with Ottoman still requiring 150 from the last seven overs with six wickets down. Josh Bent helped shorten the waiting time considerably by capturing the last two batsmen of note in the first over in a competitive match granted to his off breaks, and the final two wickets fell to successive deliveries in the over following that as Ottoman quickly subsided to hand Cape Town a crushing 113-run win. Not one to be kept out of the action, Telo had also built on his devastating batting contribution to finish with four catches in the field.
Thus Cape Town’s 2011/12 AMA20/20 campaign had followed the exact same script used the season before – putting aside a poor opening pool match to still qualify for the Semi-Finals by not tasting defeat again in the round robin stage, and then securing their place in the Final to book a rematch against the same team that had defeated them in their first match. On that occasion Cape Town then went on to avenge their first-day defeat and claim their first WPCA title in more than 14 seasons –hopefully history is therefore not yet done repeating itself!
Match photo's