The Cape Town First XI booked their first AMA20 semi-final berth since they shared the Premier League title with Brackenfell back in 2019/20, as they romped to a crushing 118-run victory over Primrose in their final round robin match. The result secured the runners-up spot in Pool A for Cape Town, booking them a clash with fellow ex-Premier League demotees Rylands on 1 November, after the latter ended top of their respective pool.
Played on the rather small Edgemead CC “B” field, Cape Town’s top three enjoyed themselves immensely – smashing 14 sixes between them after being asked to bat first. Although it backfired on them horribly, Primrose’s decision at the toss seemed the logical one in the circumstances – the match was played under heavily overcast skies throughout, on an unknown surface following rain the day before. And indeed, it initially seemed as though batting would be a struggle throughout for Cape Town, when they eked out just three singles off the bat from the opening two overs.
But then, seemingly out of nowhere, both openers Josh Chippendale and Tristan Coetzee crashed drives wide of mid off for four in the third over, and Cape Town were on their way. Chippendale cracked two sixes and two fours off the next over, followed by a third six in the over after that to pass 1 500 career runs for the Cape Town First XI. And at the other end, Coetzee landed two sixes of his own in the seventh over, thereby posting a 39-ball fifty partnership for the first wicket.
Coetzee holed out on the boundary two overs later, but Chippendale continued moving up through the gears – reaching a 34-ball fifty before smashing four sixes and a four off the eleventh over, which ultimately cost 32 runs (only the six sixes that Durbanville’s Jaco Castle clobbered off a Greg Smith over back in February 2015 have produced a more expensive over, in the almost 560 matches contested by Cape Town going back to 1997).
At 120-1 after twelve overs, Primrose were consequently facing the real prospect of having to chase down a target on the wrong side of 200 runs, but opening bowler Jameel Ismail picked up the wickets of Chippendale (for 82 off just 46 balls, with eight sixes and five fours) and Jordan Bowers (31 off 17 balls) in successive overs, to eliminate that particular threat to his side – although not before Bowers had hit him for four sixes off the last five deliveries that he faced from him immediately prior to holing out.
Those twin dismissals gave Primrose breathing space though, as off-spinner Rashid Sayed and fellow opening bowler Yusuf Keet then combined to regain a measure of control – both struck twice (Keet picking up two in three balls), as only singles were achieved off the bat for the next three overs. A late flurry brought 15 from the final two overs though, and Cape Town ultimately posted 188 from their 20 overs – only twice in their 99 T20 matches played to date have they had a higher total (but have never hit more than the 14 sixes achieved on this occasion).
Primrose were consequently left with a formidable target to chase down, but it seemed reasonable to assume that in their turn, they too could take equal advantage of the small boundaries on offer. But that never came close to happening. Cape Town began the defence of their total with a maiden over, after which left-arm spinner Michal Lord shared the new ball to strike in each of his opening two overs – as a prelude to bagging two more scalps in his third over too. With paceman Lifa Ntanzi ironically using a slow full toss to pick up a wicket with his first delivery as well, Primrose collapsed to 14-5 inside the six-over PowerPlay as a result – and the contest, such as it was, had been decisively settled.
Thereafter it was largely a matter of going through the motions. Abdul Abrahams offered some resistance, using Ntanzi’s pace to ramp two fours over third man, but first Ntanzi himself and then off-spinner Jade Schoeman undermined his support at the other end. Having just hit his fifth four to bring up the Primrose 50, Abrahams then fell himself – and it said something about the nature of the contest that Coetzee, having bowled out all his regular bowlers, then brought himself on to bowl and promptly took the final wicket, sealing Cape Town’s biggest-ever win by a margin of runs in a T20 match.
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