Flooding in the Karoo is not something you see every day. Nor is the West Coast Rollers winning a game in 2017/18. Well, it just so happened that both of these rare events occurred this weekend…
After a nightmarish seven-game losing streak, the gloom was finally lifted against Squirrels at the Rondebosch Oval on Sunday. And in some style too.
Losing the toss and being asked to bowl in overcast conditions, the visitors started like a house on fire. Neville Cooper set the tone with a brilliant direct hit early on, before the returning Cornell Keulder (7-0-15-2) bowled a breathtaking spell, including the best ever set-up of the number 3 batsman.
Andrew Young (5-0-20-1) impressed, while James Lamprecht (5-0-31-1) got the big wicket of Brad van Beuge, but it was the combination of Tom Stapylton-Smith and Michael van Dewenter that broke the camel’s back.
Tom, hungover from the Cape Town 10s the day before, recovered from an iffy opening two overs to finish with figures of 7-2-9-1, while Big Mike returned to wicket ways with 4-1-7-3.
Captain Hannes Carlson, playing his last game before relocating to the South Coast, fittingly picked up the final wicket as Squirrels were dismissed for 82 – hardly a challenging target but, given out struggles this season, not beyond our stuffing up.
And so it proved early on.
Casper (4), Ryan Cooper (7), Simon Drennan (12) and James (3) departed in quick succession to leave the Rollers four down with less than 40 on the board, and 83 still looking mighty far away. But a rare innings of thought and composure from Jarryd van Wyk (20*), coupled with Andrew (26*) hoyking everything to the leg side, saw the visitors cruise to a six-wicket victory inside 14 overs.
After an initial period of shock following the win, the Rollers got proper stuck into the bar, and took the to the ‘hammer’ with youthful disdain as they celebrated a long overdue success.
A big thanks to Andre and his team for a great day out, and some outstanding spirit on and off the field. And a special shoutout to to the Haselaus for the support, and for Mark dishing out snuff for days.
SCORECARD
Batting Hannes Carlson 4 (1×4) Ryan Cooper 7 (1×6) Simon Drennan 12 (2×4) James Lamprecht 3 Jarryd van Wyk 20* (4×4) Andrew Young 26* (5×4)
Extras: 9 TOTAL: 83/4 (14 overs)
Bowling Cornell Keulder 7-0-15-2 Andrew Young 5-0-20-1 James Lamprecht 5-0-31-1 Tom Stapylton-Smith 7-2-9-1 Micheal van Dewenter 4-1-7-3 Hannes Carlson 0.2-0-0-1