Windhoek Jets lead at halfway stage

The Green Windhoek Jets lead the log at the halfway stage of the Castle Lite T20 Franchise series which got underway at the United field over the weekend. 

The Jets, who are the defending champions, have won two of their three matches to date with the third being rained out, to lead the log on five points, followed by the Fish River Eagles on three, and the Etosha Wildcats and the Naankuse Lions on two points each. 

On Friday, the Jets beat the Naankuse Lions by six runs, after posting 137/6 and then restricting the Lions to 131/4.

Dylan Leicher with 40 runs off 48 balls and Jan Izak de Villiers with 34 off 24 were the Jets’ best batters, while Jack Brassell took two wickets for 25 runs and Tangeni Lungameni 2/43 for the Lions. 

In reply, the Lions lost three early wickets but a century stand between Shaun Fouche (68 not out) and Faf du Plessis (44) took them close, but not close enough, as they fell six runs short. 

On Saturday, the Jets got off to a solid start against the Fish River Eagles,  reaching 92/4 after 13 overs with Gerhard Erasmus scoring 58, but then the rains came down and the match had to be abandoned. 

On Sunday, though, the Jets were back to winning ways, with a comprehensive 53-run victory against the Etosha Wildcats.

The Jets scored 171/9 with Fungayi Hlupo scoring 38, Zane Green 36, Gerhard Erasmus 34 and Jan Izak de Villiers 32, while Ben Shikongo (2/37), Nyasha Nyashadzaishe (2/32) and Ettienne Beukes (2/31) each took two wickets for the Wildcats. 

In reply, the Wildcats never got close to the target, losing regular wickets, and were eventually all out for 118. 

Liam Basson was their top scorer with 29 runs, while PD Blignaut (2/19) and Dylan Leicher (2/23) were the Jets’ top bowlers. 

Brilliant Balt century 

The Fish River Eagles’ campaign got off to a winning start on Friday when they beat the Etosha Wildcats by 12 runs. 

Their opening batter JC Balt led the way with a great century, scoring 115 not out off only 66 balls (7×4, 8×6) as they reached a formidable 170/4, while Danie van Schoor took 2/22 for the Wildcats. 

In reply, the Wildcats gave a valiant chase, with Joshuan Julius scoring 69, but they eventually fell 12 runs short after reaching 158/7, with Zhivago Groenewaldt taking 3/21. 

After their abandoned match against the Jets on Saturday, the Eagles could have joined the Jets at the top of the log with a victory against Naankuse Lions on Sunday, but in stead they suffered their first defeat, going down by three wickets.

In a thrilling match that went down to the wire, the Eagles posted 160/7 with JP Kotze scoring 65, while Samson Chivi took 2/24. In reply, the Lions scored 161/7 with the winning runs coming off the last ball of the match. 

Gerhard Janse van Rensburg scored 50 for the Lions and JJ Smit 30, while Junior Kariata (2/36), Addo Ita (2/24) and Handre Klazinga (2/34) took two wickets each for the Eagles. 

The Etosha Wildcats got their only victory to date on Saturday when they beat the Naankuse Lions by 53 runs. 

The Wildcats posted a formidable 183/6 with Dian Neethling scoring 39 not out and Niko Davin and Liam Basson 30 each, while Tangeni Lungameni took 2/33 for the Lions. 

In reply, the Lions were bundled out for 130, with JJ Smit scoring 73 off 55 balls (6×4, 5×6), while Bernard Scholtz took 3/24.

JC Balt is currently the top batter of the series with 134 runs at an average of 134,00, followed by JJ Smit with 107 at an average of 35,66 and Joshuan Julius with 106 (average 35,33), while Handre Klazinga is the top bowler with six wickets, followed by Danie van Schoor, Bernard Scholtz and Tangeni Lungameni with five wickets each.

The tournament will be concluded at the United field this weekend when each team will play three more matches, and with only three points separating all four teams, the outcome is still wide open.