Gauteng win big against EP

In an exciting game of high scores and low wicket hauls, Gauteng pulled ahead of the EP target to finish their innings on 245/5 with a few balls to spare off their allotted 45 overs.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, EP set about creating a formidable total. With the runs coming freely, it was the spinning combination of Crookes and Eksteen that had to put the brakes on the run rate. Dylan Jennings achieved his first stumping on debut, when he caught Benfield out of his crease. The next wicket to fall was Bryant, in devastating form before he was run out off the fielding of Bacher. Callaghan's wicket was taken by skipper Eksteen's bowling, caught by Rutherford. Leaving Bradfield to finish his innings four runs short of a century when he ended on 96*.

The Gauteng innings was an impressive one, reaching 7 runs an over before the first wicket fell on 106 as Andrew Hall fell short of his crease after a series of close calls in previous overs. Rutherford too looked in form before he was stumped off Peterson's bowling. Bacher became the second run out vistim of the Gauteng innings - the decision going to the third umpire. Toyana and Crookes were well matched as they kept to the required run rate until Crookes wicket fell, a few short overs from the end, off the bowling of Kruger. His innings finishing on 49.

The decision by Rushmere to bowl Abrahams in the last few overs was to prove decisive for the visitors. The required run rate at that stage was 6 per over but after a few misdirected balls and an overthrow, the rate came down until Dylan Jennings was able to hit a four to clinch the win off his first ball.

The man of the match was named as Derek Crookes for his contribution to the bowling (figures of 9 overs 1 for 28), a spell of bowling that helped pull back the tide of the runaway EP batsmen.Later in the evening it would also be Crookes who struck some mighty blows to the boundary and through the gaps to bring the required rate within the reach of the Gauteng batsmen.