Young batting sensation Brandon Williams continued his good run of form with the willow for the first team of Macassar Cricket Club (MCC) on Saturday (12 November), top scoring for his side in their three-wicket defeat at the hands of Khayelitsha CC.
The sides met in a First Division D match at Riverside Oval in Macassar, with the visitors proving too strong for the hosts, who suffered their first loss of the season. Williams, who scored an unbeaten 116 and 62 for the Seagulls the previous weekend, was again his team’s standout performer, notching up 62 runs in their chase.
Khayelitsha won the toss and elected to field first on what seemed to be a bowling-friendly wicket. However, knowing the conditions of their homeground, the Seagulls’ batters set out to put on a defendable and respectable total for their side.
They, however, struggled to string any decent partnerships together as Williams seemed to be the only batter putting up any fight and the wickets fell around him. In the end, the home side were all bowled out for 144 in 41 overs, with only captain Chad Bailey (28) supporting Williams in the side’s target setting innings.
In answer to the 145-run target, the men from Khayelitsha went about chasing with a calculated approach, but not without any efforts from MCC. The home side’s bowlers used their knowledge of their homeground to the best of their ability, bowled tight lines, asking plenty of questions of visiting batters.
But in the end it was too little, too late as the visitors crossed the line in the 29th over, ending the match on 148/7. Aiden Salie (3/31), David Sebastian (3/31), Robin Pretorius (2/39) and Bailey (2/25) were the pick of the bowlers.
On the same day, the Macassar second team locked horns with neighbours Hottentots Holland CC in a Reserve D league outing at the Navy Sports Ground in Gordon’s Bay. Seagulls captain Philip Swartz won the toss and chose to bat, which seemed to be the wrong decision as the visitors regularly lost wickets and could not put any noteworthy partnerships together.
Only Swartz (44) presented some form of resistance, as his side slumped to 114 (all out) in 35 overs. In response, the HHCC batsmen made light work of the target, marching on to an emphatic seven-wicket victory in just 22,2 overs.
Steven Levendal (1/39), Tristan de Wet (1/17) and Masoud Joseph (1/26) were the best bowlers for Macassar.
. On Sunday (13 November), the Macassar first team were in action in a First Division D AMA20 semi-final against Mitchells Plain CC. After winning the toss, MCC sent in their opponents to bat. MPCC managed to score a reachable 118 in their 20 overs, but the Seagulls battled to reach the tally and ended short of the line, scoring only 109 runs to be knocked out of the competition.
