In possibly the worst of a long series of blows that the Cape Town First XI has endured since late November, they again lost – this time to a Rylands side that came into the match lying last on the Premier League points table. What makes this most recent defeat – now their fifth on the trot – even worse though, is that with the match points from their last victory over Ottoman also in serious jeopardy due to a mix-up over their submitted team list for that match, Cape Town face the real possibility of effectively ending the 2025 leg of the season level with Rylands in the relegation-bound second-last spot on the log – both just a point above Victoria. However, with Rylands’ star on the rise (they have now secured bonus point-wins from both of their last two games), and more importantly having a game in hand over Cape Town, and with Victoria themselves having two games in hand, the need for Cape Town to rediscover winning ways sooner rather than later in 2026 has never been more urgent.
Cape Town had elected to bat first upon winning the toss at the Boon Wallace Oval, but in uncertain conditions the choice was not a clear-cut one. As matters transpired, opening bowler Munowar Samsodien found the outside edge twice in his first three overs at one end, while his partner at the other end, Muneem Ebrahim, found swing to also strike in the game’s opening over – before going on to concede just 18 from his first seven overs bowled on the trot. As a result, the home side had distinctly the poorer start to an important game for both sides, finding themselves in a whole heap of trouble at 37-3 after twelve overs.
Once again it was left to Mathew Goles to rescue an all-too-often brittle batting line-up, and thankfully he was able to find a partner in Justin Gilliland to help stop the rot and set Cape Town back on the road to recovery. With the two opening bowlers reaching the end of their spells, the pair was able to make good progress thereafter, and by the first drinks break they had posted a fifty partnership together. That upward trajectory would continue for another 20 minutes after the break, by which time Goles had passed 5 500 career runs for the side and was on the brink of yet another fifty, while their stand had grown nicely to 72 in 19 overs.
However, at this juncture the introduction of Tom Newby’s off-breaks into the attack brought immediate dividends for the visitors as Gilliland nicked off, and with his demise for 39 from 64 balls, Goles had lost the last of his support – ultimately no-one besides those two would reach double figures. On a slow pitch of uncertain bounce that had the batters caught in indecision between attack or defence, Newby grabbed a second scalp too through the unusual manner of a bat-pad catch, a dismissal sandwiched by the demise of the remaining middle order to leave the home side drifting towards oblivion at 109-7 with just 16 overs remaining.
Their sole consolation was that Goles was still there. Having reached a second consecutive half-century (and eighth in the season thus far), he was left with just the tail as company though when Samsodien returned to the attack – and struck once more with the first ball after the second drinks break. With all the responsibility thus on his shoulders, and obliged to get whatever he now could, Goles lofted three sixes and a cover-driven four off the next five overs to reach the 80s – but then carved medium-pacer Waseem Mukuddem to backward point to end his 124-ball solo effort, having struck four sixes and five fours altogether. With only numbers ten and Jack remaining, Samsodien duly wrapped up the innings in the following over with his fourth scalp, bowling the home side out with six overs left unused.
One positive of their early demise was that the playing conditions afforded Cape Town a 20-minute go at the Rylands batting before the scheduled lunch interval, creating the opportunity to inflict some meaningful damage that might still provide hope upon the resumption of play. And initially things went according to that plan, as a sharp slip catch accounted for one of the visitors’ top two batters in the fourth over. However, three boundaries off the last over before lunch took the teams into the interval with the momentum resting with Rylands, who still had nine wickets in hand and an asking rate of less than three to the over.
Cape Town might still have made a game of it had they managed to strike early after the break, but Mujahid Behardien had little difficulty in piercing the field almost at will, providing the bulk of a 48-run second-wicket stand compiled in just nine overs to leave the home side firmly on the back foot. Trying to defend a constantly shrinking required rate meant that Cape Town had to keep the field up, providing more opportunities for a Rylands batting effort not afraid to take the aerial route.
An already bad situation then got even worse when their leading wicket-taker, Alex Draai, broke a finger just before the drinks break in fielding off his own bowling, and had to leave for hospital. Behardien and Bonga Makaka then pounced on the disorganised attack with relish, Behardien swinging over square leg for his third six to reach a 52-ball half-century, while Makaka struck a six and three fours over the course of the next four overs. These were all runs that the home side of course couldn’t afford to concede, and the net result was a 50 partnership compiled in just 40 balls, which all but put the game to bed by the halfway mark of the innings. Left-arm spinner Michal Lord at least managed to dismiss them both in consecutive overs, and off-spinner Jade Schoeman completed his first brace for the Cape Town First XI not long thereafter. But by then Rylands only needed eight more runs from 20 overs, and they unstoppably cruised to the bonus-point win that kept their hopes of avoiding relegation alive after a tough first two months of the season for them.
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