Maqonda Ndlovu
The Windhoek Jets claimed the 2023 Richelieu T20 Franchise tournament after beating the Etosha Wildcats by 18 runs in the final on Sunday afternoon.
The Etosha Wildcats won the toss and elected to bowl first.
The Jets scored 164 runs for the loss of two wickets (164/2) in their allocated 20 overs.
Captain Jan Frylinck led from the front, scoring 63 runs from 47 balls, while Shaun Fouché chipped in
with 59 from 46 with the bat before starring with the ball, taking
three wickets for 24 runs in his four overs. Niko Davin and Zane Green contributed 19 runs apiece to put up a decent total, giving the bowlers something to work with.
In reply, the Wildcats, who had been the form team leading to the finals after losing just a single game from six matches, could only
manage to post 146/6.
The JJ Smit-led team never got going as their approach to the game became their biggest downfall with the top order’s attempt to hit every ball for boundaries, costing them early wickets.
Michael van Lingen fell for 10
runs from 11 balls, while J.P. Kotze followed for 20 runs from 14 balls.
The collapse continued as Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton was sent back to the stand after a quick fire 30 runs from 29 balls, with Smit knocking 35 runs from 38 balls.
Darren van Dyk tried to stabilise the sheep, but soon found himself running out of balls as he played a well-calculated 21 runs from
19 balls (not out), with Bernard Scholtz lasting just two balls for a single run.
Danie van Schoor scored 16 runs from 12 as Dewald Nell scored seven runs from six balls (not out) in a bid to save the match.
Fouché was named Man of the Match, with Frylinck scoping the Player of the Series award.
National team coach Pierre de Bruyne said the tournament had “confused him in a good way” because of a lot of good performances from the players.
“We had a mixture of national squad players, fringe players and under 19 players and a few club
players putting up their hands to be counted. I was very pleased with the standard of play displayed.
The tournament has also given me a perspective on how big our player pool can be at the moment,” he
said.
He said this is a pleasing feeling, as he would rather have selection headaches rather than headaches from a lack of players, especially approaching a very important five T20 series against Zimbabwe at the end of October.
“That tournament will basically feature players who will participate in the World Cup qualifiers in
November. I would like to have continuity within the selection, I want to give those guys a fair chance at selection,” he explained.
De Bruyne said fielding was
below standard, something the clubs should address immediately, while bowling showed some good signs.