Mark Ward
It’s down to the wire in the race for the Western Province Premier League honours.
To add to the intrigue, leading contenders, Claremont and Durbanville will clash in the penultimate match of the season with only one point separating the two sides.
Claremont gained valuable league points after they beat Western Province Cricket Club by seven wickets, at the Wally Wilson Oval on Saturday.
As matters stand, Claremont is at the top with 77 points from 20 games with Durbanville on second, one point behind while the Western Province Cricket Club remain in third spot on 67 points.
This makes for an exciting weekend of action which in all probability will decide the destiny of the title.
Claremont’s bowlers applied the pressure from the outset after sending the home side to bat, to restrict them to 150 runs and prepare the path for the side’s seven wicket victory.
Gavin Kaplan (32) and Jordan Woolf (36) were the only two batsmen to show intent for the home side while Claremont’s bowlers, Gavin Dickenson 3/32 and Josh Breed 3/49, hauled in six wickets between them.
Matthew de Villiers (35*) and Breed (28*) were the two batsmen to drive Claremont to victory.
Kai Greig (31), Zaheer Lorgat (4) and Daniel Smith (41) also contributed to Claremont’s 15th win of the season.
Coach Allison Johnson, a former Barbados and Western Province seamer, however, cautioned against getting too excited about winning the league title and called on the club’s supporters to attend Saturday’s match at their home ground in Constantia.
Johnson has been running between coaching his side and plotting the fortunes of the West Indian team that is participating in the over 50 World Cup being staged currently in Cape Town.
“It’s been a bit hectic but it’s good for the game. But we (Claremont) are indeed in a good position to win the league. But we must still reach that point. We are prepared for the match and we are definitely putting every effort into it to win,” said Johnson.
Durbanville, meanwhile, had to work hard to beat Brackenfell by 36 runs. The home side batted first and amassed 180/5 with Jean Strydom top-scoring with 59 runs with Ruben Senekal adding a gritty 43 runs off 31 balls, which included three sixes.
In other action, the matches between Cape Town Cricket Club and Rondebosch, Green Point and Bellville and, Kraaifontein and UWC were abandoned; Durbanville beat Brackenfell by 36 runs and; Rylands won by 47 runs against Ottoman
Fixtures:
Cape Town v Kraaifontein; Claremont v Durbanville; Green Point v Rylands; Bellville v UWC; Rondebosch v Brackenfell; WP Cricket Club v Ottoman
