Ryan Rickleton continued his outstanding form with a 96-ball 99, before the DP World Lions scythed through the Gbets Rocks’ batting line-up to claim a 111-run victory in their CSA One Day Cup clash at the DP World Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
The Rocks innings started off badly and they never really recovered, despite the brief glimpse of hope the 75-run partnership between Farhaan Behardien and Leus du Plooy gave them.
Janneman Malan flicked Tladi Bokako straight to midwicket for one off five balls before he also dismissed Stiaan van Zyl in the same over for eight off four balls when he looked to play it into the legside, only to splice it to Bjorn Fortuin running around from mid-off.
Bokako then bowled Clyde Fortuin with a beauty that moved off the pitch and clipped the top of the off stump in the next over for 11 (8).
In the very next over Valentine Kitime spliced a rising delivery by Sisanda Magala to Evan Jones at mid-on to leave the Rocks on 26-4.
A counterattack followed, aided by some loose deliveries, by the experienced Behardien and Du Plooy to lift their total 73-4 at the end of the powerplay.
The partnership was going along well until Malusi Siboto broke through the defences of Leus du Plooy for 30 (42) and then Bjorn Fortuin had Behardien stumped for 36 (43).
Siboto dismissed Copeland for one run off five balls before bowling Hardus Viljoen clean through the gate for five off six balls to leave the Rocks on 114-8.
A 41-run partnership between Bamanye Xenxe and Shaun von Berg gave the Rocks a brief respite before Magala rushed Xenxe who skied the ball to mid-off for 13 (17).
Von Berg made a fighting, though ultimately futile, 47* (43) to equal his highest List A score. The last wicket fell when Siboto bowled Achille Cloete for 10 (9) for figures of 9-1-48-4. Tladi Bokako ended with figures of 6-0-62-3.
RICKLETON ONE RUN SHORT OF ANOTHER TON
Earlier in the day Von Berg, the newly appointed captain for the Rocks in Ferisco Adams’s absence, had won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Ryan Rickleton and Joshua Richard laid the perfect platform for the Lions as they put up 87-run opening partnership. They started off cautiously with only 16 runs coming off the first five overs on a pitch with some variable bounce.
However, some poor bowling by the Rocks helped the Lions’ openers take full toll in the remainder of the powerplay as they racked up 35 in the next five overs to be 51-0 at the end of 10 overs.Von Berg managed to dismiss Richards for 29 (48) in the 17th over, but the Rocks looked a bowler light as they had to use the part-time bowling services off Stiaan van Zyl and Leus du Plooy to get through the 10 overs that would usually be allocated to a fifth bowler.
Their overs meant that Reeza Hendricks, who came in at the fall of the first wicket, could ease himself into his innings while Rickleton motored along at the other side.
The 91-run partnership was threatening to take the game away from the Rocks, before a decisive second spell from Hardus Viljoen brought the Rocks back into the game.
First he dismissed Hendricks who dragged a wide ball back onto his stumps for a 41-ball 42, before rapping the gloves of Mitchell van Buuren for a duck as the ball looped to the keeper Clyde Fortuin for a comfortable catch.
Viljoen took the crucial wicket of Rickleton who fell agonisingly short of another century as he got an edge through to the keeper off an attempted pull shot.
The score went from 178-1 to 185-4 in the space of three overs, which meant that captain Dominic Hendricks and Wiaan Mulder had some rebuilding they needed to do.
Their partnership only until the 40th over when Cloete managed to get a ball to bouncing steeply to take the edge of Mulder’s bat, that was taken by Janneman Malan at point, for 13 (22).
Bamanye Xenxe then bowled a bouncer to Dominic Hendricks who only managed to pull the ball to Malan at deep midwicket. At this point the Lions had lost 5-48 in 12 overs.
Viljoen took a fourth wicket when he clean-bowled Sisanda Magala who had a big swing across the line and missed for 12 (17).
Bjorn Fortuin could only manage 9 (10) as the impressive Achille Cloete had him caught behind. The Lions innings was threatening to fizzle out, but they still had the prowling Evan Jones who came in and blasted 48* off 27 balls, which included a humongous six out of the stadium and onto the golf course, to lift them to 293/9.
Viljoen ended with figures of 10-2-66-4 while Cloete took 3-37 in his 10 miserly overs, but it wasn’t enough for the Rocks as they crashed to their third successive defeat.
The Lions on the other hand remain unbeaten as they have won both their games to date, this one with a bonus point.
DP WORLD LIONS: Ryan Rickleton (wk), Joshua Richards, Reeza Hendricks, Dominic Hendricks (c), Mitchell van Buuren, Wiaan Mulder, Evan Jones, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Malusi Siboto, Tladi Bokoka
GBETS ROCKS: Janneman Malan, Valentine Kitime, Stiaan van Zyl, Clyde Fortuin (wk), Leus du Plooy, Michael Copeland, Farhaan Behardien, Shaun von Berg (c), Hardus Viljoen, Bamanye Xenxe, Achille Cloete