It was another demolition job when the University of Fort Hare sealed an emphatic triumph over the University of Zululand in the final of the University Sport South Africa (USSA) B Cricket Week at Police Park yesterday.
It was a big statement from Fort Hare who cruised through the week unbeaten, with their four wicket win over Sefako Makgatho University (SMU) on day two proving the closest they ever came to defeat.
Having been relegated from the A division last year and with this year’s A week cancelled and no promotion/relegation possible, Fort Hare knew they would be playing B week cricket again next year. However they were eager to show that they belong at the higher level, which they certainly did.
“I am very happy with the win,” said Fort Hare interim coach Jongile Kilani.
“As I said at the start of the week we are here to make a statement and I feel that we did that and deserve to be in the A week.’’
The final between themselves and Zululand saw the week’s two unbeaten sides go head to head. However the quality of Fort Hare was just too much as they claimed a thumping 79 run win.
Having set Zululand 135 to win after scoring 134/4 on the back of Mkhululi Calana's 62 not out, they then bowled out Zululand for just 55 in 17.4 overs.
Zululand's opening partnership of 21 in 4.5 overs between Xolani Shobede and Siyanda Madela seemed to indicate they would make a good thing of the chase, but Madela's dismissal, bowled for five by Edwin Toroveyi, began the slide that saw them lose all 10 wickets for 34 runs.
Shobede with 20 battled valiantly but when he fell third out, also bowled by Toroveyi with the score on 37, the rest of the wickets tumbled.
Athi Dasha 3/4 off 2.4 overs was the pick of the bowlers, as he cleaned up the tail, while Toroveyi 2/10, Unathi Mzileni 2/11 and Calana 1/7 all backed him up well.
Batting first Fort Hare found themselves in a spot of bother early on as a great opening spell saw them at 12/3 in the third over.
However this then saw the revival of the innings led by Calana.
Lwando Makhongolo (4) was the first wicket to fall, caught by Zululand captain Njabulo Gumede off the bowling of Siyanda Mnguni.
Opening bowler Vela Mjadu then claimed a double strike in his second over as he removed Sive Xaluva for a first ball duck, caught by Siyanda Madela, and then three balls later Aviwe Sentwa (5) followed, caught by Xolani Shobede.
Calana was then joined by Chumani Ngcokovane and they began rebuilding the innings.
They took Fort Hare past 50 in the ninth over, before Ngcokovane, having score a circumspect 15 from 29 deliveries, was dismissed with the first ball of the 15th, caught by Shobede off the bowling of Madela.
This however was Zululand's last success and opened the floodgates as Fort Hare captain Phumelela Payi and Calana went for broke.
The 67 runs came off the last 35 balls of the innings.
Calana brought up his well played half century, with Fort Hare then reaching 100 at the start of the 18th over.
They added another 34 runs to end on 134/4 with Calana on 62 off 55 balls, and Payi on 34 off 21 balls with four fours and a maximum.
In the other play-off matches Durban University of Technology turned the tables on SMU by crushing them by nine wickets to finish third overall for the week, with SMU fourth.
The University of Venda claimed fifth place with a 44-run victory over the University of Limpopo.
Demolition job by Fort Hare
It was a big statement from Fort Hare who cruised through the week unbeaten, with their four wicket win over Sefako Makgatho University (SMU) on day two proving the closest they ever came to defeat.
Having been relegated from the A division last year and with this year’s A week cancelled and no promotion/relegation possible, Fort Hare knew they would be playing B week cricket again next year. However they were eager to show that they belong at the higher level, which they certainly did.
“I am very happy with the win,” said Fort Hare interim coach Jongile Kilani.
“As I said at the start of the week we are here to make a statement and I feel that we did that and deserve to be in the A week.’’
The final between themselves and Zululand saw the week’s two unbeaten sides go head to head. However the quality of Fort Hare was just too much as they claimed a thumping 79 run win.
Having set Zululand 135 to win after scoring 134/4 on the back of Mkhululi Calana's 62 not out, they then bowled out Zululand for just 55 in 17.4 overs.
Zululand's opening partnership of 21 in 4.5 overs between Xolani Shobede and Siyanda Madela seemed to indicate they would make a good thing of the chase, but Madela's dismissal, bowled for five by Edwin Toroveyi, began the slide that saw them lose all 10 wickets for 34 runs.
Shobede with 20 battled valiantly but when he fell third out, also bowled by Toroveyi with the score on 37, the rest of the wickets tumbled.
Athi Dasha 3/4 off 2.4 overs was the pick of the bowlers, as he cleaned up the tail, while Toroveyi 2/10, Unathi Mzileni 2/11 and Calana 1/7 all backed him up well.
Batting first Fort Hare found themselves in a spot of bother early on as a great opening spell saw them at 12/3 in the third over.
However this then saw the revival of the innings led by Calana.
Lwando Makhongolo (4) was the first wicket to fall, caught by Zululand captain Njabulo Gumede off the bowling of Siyanda Mnguni.
Opening bowler Vela Mjadu then claimed a double strike in his second over as he removed Sive Xaluva for a first ball duck, caught by Siyanda Madela, and then three balls later Aviwe Sentwa (5) followed, caught by Xolani Shobede.
Calana was then joined by Chumani Ngcokovane and they began rebuilding the innings.
They took Fort Hare past 50 in the ninth over, before Ngcokovane, having score a circumspect 15 from 29 deliveries, was dismissed with the first ball of the 15th, caught by Shobede off the bowling of Madela.
This however was Zululand's last success and opened the floodgates as Fort Hare captain Phumelela Payi and Calana went for broke.
The 67 runs came off the last 35 balls of the innings.
Calana brought up his well played half century, with Fort Hare then reaching 100 at the start of the 18th over.
They added another 34 runs to end on 134/4 with Calana on 62 off 55 balls, and Payi on 34 off 21 balls with four fours and a maximum.
In the other play-off matches Durban University of Technology turned the tables on SMU by crushing them by nine wickets to finish third overall for the week, with SMU fourth.
The University of Venda claimed fifth place with a 44-run victory over the University of Limpopo.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos