It was debut appearance in the Western Province Cricket Association First Division A for Hottentots-Holland Cricket Club (HHCC) when they hosted Ottoman Cricket Club at the Navy Sports Grounds in Gordon’s Bay this past Saturday (14 October). The local lads, however, suffered a disappointing start to the new club cricket season, as the hosts were outplayed and lost by nine wickets.
HHCC lost the toss and were sent in to bat first. They lost wickets at regular intervals and never got the chance to build their innings eventually scoring a lowly 160 all out in 42 overs. Abdul Aziz Temoor (50), Waleed Smith (26) and Mieftaah Oliver (24) contributed with bat in hand.
In the second innings, Ottoman made very light work of the total as they cruised to a nine-wicket victory in just 32 overs as star player Mujaahid Toffar scored 100 not out.
Commenting on their maiden outing in the First Division A league, HHCC captain Waleed Smith admitted that the team lost their wickets cheaply against Ottoman CC and the bowlers similarly allowed the opponents to control the game.
“We will work on our batsmen to maintain a positive and aggressive mindset but also play smart cricket,” he said. “In the field we want our fielders to back our bowlers at all times and take any half chances that come our way.”
On Sunday, the first team of HHCC travelled to UCT to face Pinelands in their first AMA T20 game. HHCC batted first and came out all guns blazing as they smashed their way to 184-9 in 20 overs. Smith was in fine form, smashing 69 off just 27 balls, and was well supported by Mieftaah Oliver (49 off 37 balls). With ball in hand HHCC kept the pressure and never allowed Pinelands in the game. Shameel Abels (2-31) and Yaaseen Smith (2-34) were the pick of the bowlers as HHCC secured a good 35-run victory.
This coming Saturday (21 October) sees HHCC first team face Northerns Goodwood (away), the second team will host Belhar while the third team will host Rondebosch CC.
On Sunday (22 October), the HHCC first team will travel to Pinelands to face UCT and Brackenfell CC in AMA T20 clashes, while the ladies team will host Pollsmoore at the Navy Sports Grounds.
Somerset West Cricket Club (SWCC) also opened their league season in the WPCA First Division B with defeat following a narrow loss to Yorkshire CC in an away fixture played at Chucker Road.
SWCC won the toss and opted to bat first, which proved to be a good decision as the opening batsman got off to a good start and shared a 48-run partnership before the loss of the first wicket. SWCC then lost wickets at regular intervals and managed to post a total of 245 in their allotted 50 overs – a competitive total for the first outing of the season. The best batsmen for SWCC were Larry Morkel (73), Wiehan Meyer (45) and George Hlazo (44).
SWCC bowled well at times, but could not make regular breakthroughs and this allowed Yorkshire CC to reach the target with eight balls to spare, winning by five wickets. The best bowlers for Somerset West were: Robbie Uys (2-34) and Wiehan Meyer (1-56).
On Sunday (15 October), SWCC faced St Augustines in the first-round of the AMA20 competition at Edgemead Cricket Club.
SWCC won the toss and elected to field. Their bowlers stepped up from the previous day and bowled with enthusiasm and accuracy to restrict St. Augustines to 69. Varun Kalidindi (2-7), Wiehan Meyer (3-15) and Robbie Uys (3-28) impressed with the ball.
SWCC lost two early wickets but Tim Boyd (24) and Wiehan Meyer (27*) managed to secure the bonus point victory in just 10.4 overs.
The second round of the AMA T20 competition (First Division B fixtures) will be hosted by SWCC on Sunday 22 October. Matches start at 10:00.
