If a leisurely game of cricket on a hot afternoon next to the Mooi River is your cup of tea (or glass of beer in this case) then you would have enjoyed Maties versus UCT at the Ibbies Oval. If you’re a fan of all things Stellenbosch, then even more so, as Maties defeated their Western Cape neighbors by eight wickets on Thursday afternoon. It was a matchup that Maties controlled to painstaking perfection. UCT made 116/2 and Maties 118/2.
UCT got off to the most dreadful of starts, losing two wickets – that of Richard Tissiman and Ben Philpott, in the first two overs. This meant a repair job was needed before they could attempt to go on the offensive. Hillio de Abreu edged a ball to the keeper before Taariq Chiecktey was trapped leg-before.
The Capetonians were five down before the tenth over and a projected score in the vicinity of 115 was on the cards. But when Stuart Cox made the long way back, with the score 72/6, even that looked a long way off the mark.
UCT reached their hundredth run in the 18th over, at which stage they were seven wickets down. They eventually reached 116/9.
It seemed a simple enough target. But after six overs, Maties were 20/2 batting at a Geoffrey Boycot-esque run-rate. After eight overs they crawled to 28/2. Geoff would have been proud.
After the strategy break Maties started to gently pick up the tempo as a sufficient foundation had been laid. Jean Bredenkamp and Dewald Botha systematically started letting loose and the manner with which the pair handled the task at hand must be applauded. Botha made 41 off 27 and Bredenkamp 54 off 49.
Maties move into third spot on the table.
FNB Best Bowler: Kyle Simmons (Maties)
Edgars Active – Best Batsman: Jean Bredenkamp (Maties)
Steers Best Catch: Leon le Roux (Maties)
Samsung Man of the Match: Dewald Botha (Maties)
By Wouter Bertie Jacobs
