The batting trio of the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers – Matthew Christensen, Jean du Plessis and Jhedli van Briesies – on Thursday paved the way for the Badgers to their maiden victory in the Cricket SA Division 2 Twenty/20 series. The Badgers defeated the Mpumalanga Rhino’s at the Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn by 7 wickets.
The Rhino’s who were asked to bat first posted a competitive 176/3 in their allotted 20 overs thanks to an unbeaten partnership of 70 runs from 40 balls for the 4th wicket between Yassar Cook (26* from 24 balls; 1×6, 1×4) and Benjamin van Niekerk (46* from 23 balls; 2×6, 5×4).
The Badgers paced their run chase to perfection with match winning contributions from Christensen (57 from 52 balls; 3×6, 3×4), the captain du Plessis (52* from 38 balls; 4×4) and van Briesies (30* from 16 balls; 1×6, 2×4). The run chase was built around a partnership of 41 from 26 balls for the 2nd wicket (Blayde Capell and Christensen), 78 from 53 balls for the 3rd wicket (Christensen and du Plessis) and an unbroken 4th wicket stand of 48 from 89 balls between du Plessis and van Briesies.
The Badgers reached the target (177/3) with the last ball of the penultimate over and will now travel to Polokwane for their last match against Limpopo Impala on Thursday 27 March. The Impalas are the current log leader’s whist the Badgers will need a victory to avoid the last place on the log and the wooden spoon.
The summarized score card is:
MPUMALANGA RHINO’S 176/3 – 20 overs (Muhammed Mayet 25, Jurie Snyman 35, Herman Rolfes 28, Yassar Cook 26*, Benjamin van Niekerk 46*)
GARDEN ROUTE BADGERS 177/3 – 19 overs (Blayde Capell 27, Matthew Christensen 57, Jean du Plessis 52*, Jhedli van Briesies 30*, Herman Rolfes 2/35)
Garden Route Badgers won by 7 wickets.
