Etosha Wildcats and Windhoek Jets are the favourites to reach Sunday’s final of the Richelieu T20 Franchise Series after going to the top of the log during the group stages of the tournament.
The two sides were due to meet for the second time in the tournament yesterday afternoon, but whatever the outcome will be, both teams are well-placed to reach the final.
The Wildcats were still unbeaten after four matches and top the log on eight points, while the Jets were lying second on six points, after winning two and losing one of their three matches.
The Namib Desert Lions, have only won one of their four matches to date and are third on two points, while the Fish River Eagles have lost all three their matches to date and are bottom of the log on zero points.
On Wednesday the Wildcats notched up their fourth consecutive win with a commanding 10-wicket victory against the Namib Desert Lions.
After restricting the Lions to 117 for the loss of six wickets, the Wildcats’ openers Michael van Lingen and JP Kotze easily reached the winning target without loss, with just under eight overs to spare.
In the Lions’ innings, only captain Gerhard Erasmus offered any resistance as wickets fell at regular intervals.
Erasmus was in great form, scoring 68 off 53 balls (3×6, 3×4), before he was unfortunate to be run out at the non-striking end, when the ball deflected off his bat onto the stumps.
The next highest scorer was Karl Birkenstock with 15, while the only other batter to reach double figures was Handre Klazinga with 10 runs.
Danie van Schoor was the Wildcats’ best bowler, taking three wickets for 15 runs.
The target was never a problem for the Wildcats as Van Lingen and Kotze reached 117/6 off only 12,2 overs, with Van Lingen not out on 54, which came off 39 balls (6×4, 2×6), while Kotze was not out on 57, also off 39 balls (4×4, 3×6).
Yesterday, the Namib Desert Lions posted their first win when they beat the Fish River Eagles by nine wickets.
After being sent in to bat the Eagles scored 127/4 off their 20 overs, andthe winning target was easily reached by the Lions for the loss of one wicket with 6,3 overs to spare.
The Eagles got off to a solid start with Lawrence Lawler and Malan Kruger putting on 70 runs for the first wicket, but Malan’s dismissal for 33 by Handre Klazinga halted their progress.
Klazinga also dismissed Lawler for 41 off 44 balls (5×4), while Helao Ya France added 19, as the Eagles were restricted to 127/4.
Klazinga was the Lions’ best bowler, taking 3/25 off four overs.
Erasmus was once again in great form for the Lions as he and Karl Birkenstock chased down the target with ease. They shared an opening stand of 95 at more than 10 runs per over, before Erasmus retired on 59, which came off 36 balls (5×4, 4×6), while Birkenstok was dismissed for 47 off 28 (5×4, 2×6).
Jean du Plessis added 15 not out as the Lions reached 128/1 off 13,3 to complete a comfortable victory.
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