Maties got their Varsity Cricket campaign off to the best start possible with a 7-wicket win over UCT at the NWU Puk Oval on Tuesday afternoon.
This was down to a tight bowling display and solid batting from Jean Bredenkamp (44) and the long haired left handed batsman, Fritz de Beer (48) that took the men from Stellenbosch to victory as they posted 137/3, chasing 134 for victory.
UCT needed to get their confidence back after enduring a thrashing from Pukke early on in the morning while Maties wanted to get their first win under their belts in this Cape Derby. The latter got exactly what they wanted, while UCT received their second loss of the day.
Jack Newby and Taariq Chiecktey once again got UCT off to a great start as fours and sixes cannoned from both batsmen’s bats in their opening stand of 49. Justin Dill then got Newby to mistime is pull shot which landed into the grateful hands of Jean Bredenkamp.
Chiecktey continued pummelling the Maties attack to all corners of the Puk Oval before hitting one shot too many as he fell to Botha, straight after hitting him for a six.
Two runouts followed as Maties strangled UCT’s momentum away from them. UCT struggled to gain momentum as Maties kept their foot on UCT’s necks leaving UCT at 110/8 with four overs still to go.
In the end UCT stuttered to 133/9 from their 20 overs. Dill ended on figures of 4/16 from his four overs, while Niel Botha took 3/28 in his four.
Maties started their chase with a mix of precision and power as Bredenkamp and De Beer consolidated after losing Tyler Smith early for 7.
They soon turned consolidation into domination with a 93-run partnership.
De Beer and Bredenkamp were cruising before UCT’s Luke Stevens thought he had De Beer caught at the deep, but the umpires ruled the chance in favour of the batsmen.
The next over UCT finally had a wicket as they had Bredenkamp caught at cover for 44 off the bowling of Jordan Leppan. It was though a little too late for UCT as Maties cruised to a win with captain Gerhard Erasmus hitting a quick 23 to take Maties home.
FNB Best Bowler: Justin Dill (Maties)
Samsung Man of the Match: Fritz de Beer (Maties)
Steers Best Batsman: Fritz de Beer (Maties)
By Wouter Pienaar
