The Coastal Strikers once again got the better of the Rollers with a four-wicket victory on Sunday at the Brackenfell Cricket Club.
We started the rivalry on the front foot, helped in no small measure by the fact that the opposition were blind drunk the first time we ever played them, but in recent season Riaan van Eeden and his team have had the last laugh.
That again proved the case yesterday, though at one staged it looked as though we might sneak an unlikely victory.
Batting first on a slowish pitch, the Rollers got off to a solid – if not spectacular – start against some disciplined bowling.
Michael van Dewenter and Tim Sant put on 23 for the first wicket before the latter spooned a catch to cover with his score on 13, but with Ryan Cooper and Big Mike carried the score to 71, albeit it at not the quickest rate.
Predictably, a cluster of wickets soon ensued, with Michael (19), Ryan (35) and Nicky Rheeder all falling in the space of four runs.
Neville Cooper looked to have regained some form and marshalled the middle-order with a well-played 28, but the constant fall of wickets meant we never really had the platform to have a go in the latter overs, resulting in a rather meagre total of 128.
However, a rousing speech from the captain (not really) saw the Rollers rally early on, with Hannes Carlson (1/26) and Andrew Young (2/27) sharing new ball duties reducing the strikers to 39/3 after eight overs.
And when Ryan (1/18) picked up Riaan and Michael produced a brilliant run out to send Theo packing, a unlikely victory looked very much on the cards.
However, and not for the first time, captain Herman came in and stabilised the ship, taking the hosts from a precarious position at 68/5 to a comfortable four-wicket victory.
To make matters worse, the Rollers’ ‘get out of jail card’, drinking, also came short as the Strikers completed a clean sweep by beating us in a boat-race too.
So that finishes the first half of the season, and while we haven’t managed to go unbeaten, we have enjoyed some great results. The record so far reads Played 3, Lost 2.
BATTING Michael van Dewenter 19 Tim Sant 13 (3×4) Ryan Cooper 35 (4×4) Neville Cooper 28 (2×4) Nicky Rheeder 0 George Kamfer 3 Francois Geldenhuys 5 Hannes Carlson 1 Louis Pretorius 8 (1×4) Andrew Young 5 (1×4) Jacques Laubscher 0*
Extras 11 TOTAL: 128 all out (34.3 overs)
BOWLING Andrew Young 7-1-27-1 Hannes Carlson 7-0-28-1 Ryan Cooper 7-0-18-1 Jacques Laubscher 6-0-32-0 George Kamfer 2-0-4-1 Michael van Dewenter 2-0-9-0 Neville Cooper 0.3-0-9-0