A swashbuckling unbeaten century from 2017-18 Border player of the season, Marco Marais, was not enough to get the home side off to a winning start in the Africa Cup T20 competitions Pool C against Namibia at Police Park on Friday afternoon.
Despite Marais carrying his bat and plundering a superb 103 off 62 balls (8x4; 7x6) to lead Border to a daunting 193/4 at the end of their 20 overs, Namibian openers Stephan Baard (86) and Lohan Louwrens (63) upstaged that effort with a scintillating 143-run opening stand off just 75 balls.
The Border bowling attack was woeful against the gleeful openers, as too many half-trackers and not enough pace change-ups allowed them to slog the ball around the ground, at just under 12-runs to the over.
Despite a late fightback from the hosts, led by spinner Bongolwethu Makeleni (3/32), who removed both openers, as well as a couple of runouts, it was a case of too little too late, as Namibia crossed the line with two balls to spare. Namibia won the toss and elected to field. Border showed their intent from the start, sending in middle-order slugger, Marais, as pinch-hitter to open with the attack-minded Gihahn Cloete.
The pair got off to the perfect start aided and abetted by some poor fielding, allowing Cloete to bring up the Border 50 with a flat six at the end of the fifth over.
Cloete was first to fall in the 10th over bowled by Bernard Scholtz for 44, with Border on 86/1. Marais then found a willing partner in Mncedisi Malika, that allowed him to bring up the Border 100 with a six in the 12th over. He brought up his own half century with another maximum in the next.
Marais then picked up the rate in the 15th over, launching two maximums and a boundary as Jan Frylinck's over went for 18.
Malika was then caught for 23 off the bowling of Scholtz in the 16th, which didn't slow Marais down at all as he slammed 17 off Christopher Coombe’s 17th over with another two sixes and a four, as Border flew past 150. Two wickets in the 19th over saw Coombe remove Christiaan Jonker (8) and Jerry Nqolo for a first ball duck, after which Marais slapped the last ball through the covers for four to bring up his century.
Only six runs then came off the final over as Border reached 193/4, a total that they would have been very happy with before Namibia turned the tables. Namibia's Coombe (2/30), and Scholtz (2/31) were the pick of the bowlers.
Border will now be desperate for a better day on Saturday, needing wins over both Mpumalanga in the morning and Kenya in the afternoon to give themselves a chance of taking top spot on the log, in the buildup to their final match against Eastern Province on Sunday afternoon...