North West slay Warriors to reach One Day Cup final

A clinical bowling performance was the catalyst for the North West Dragons to steamroll the Dafabet Warriors and claim a seven wicket victory in their CSA One Day clash at St George’s Park on Sunday.

The win sees the North West side advance to the CSA One-Day Cup Division One final after a comfortable run chase that saw them reach their target thanks to a half century stand between Lesego Senokwane (37 off 63 ball) and Raynard van Tonder (23 off 36)

Earlier, a spectacular bowling performance by Ruan de Swardt put the North West Dragons in complete control as they dismissed the Warriors for 94 inside 35 overs.

The Dragons looked comfortable in their chase, losing just three wickets as they reached their target with 29.2 overs to spare.

Chasing 95 for victory, the Dragons made light work of the chase, reaching their target with 29.2 overs and confirming their place in next Saturday’s final.

The visitors lost just three wickets on their way to reaching the modest target with Meeka-eel Prince falling to Beyers Swanepoel for eight.

Lesego Senokwane (37) and Raynard van Tonder (23) added 59 for the second wicket before JP King removed both men within four balls of each other.

Wihan Lubbe (7 not out) and Senuran Muthusamy (7 not out) saw their side over the line, with the former Warriors man hitting a boundary to close out the match.

King finished with figures of 2/13 from 1.4 overs, while Swanepoel claimed 1/12 in five overs

De Swardt was deadly in the St George’s Park conditions to finish with four wickets and conceding just 17 runs in his 10-over spell to put his side in a commanding position as the Warriors faltered on their home patch.

Patrick Kruger was one of only two Warriors batsmen to get into double figures as he scored a valiant 44 from 76 balls including four boundaries.

Dragons captain Wihan Lubbe won the toss and put the Warriors in to bat first, a decision that his bowlers handsomely rewarded as they pinned the hosts down to 37/5 .

Kerwin Mungroo dismissed JP King for a seven-ball duck before Migael Pretorius claimed the wicket of Diego Rosier (11) as both openers were back in the hut and the score on 17.

They lost their next three wickets for the addition of just 20 runs when Sinethemba Qeshile was run out by de Swardt for nine, before the same player had skipper Matthew Breetzke caught by Lesiba Ngoepe for eight.

De Swardt removed Andile Mokgakane (0), was out caught behind by wicketkeeper Meeka-eel Prince to leave the home side reeling on 37 with half the side out inside 16 overs.

Duan Jansen removed Tristan Stubbs (7) before de Swardt added a third wicket to his name, Beyers Swanepoel fell for one.

The hosts finally crossed the 50-run mark in the 24th over, but that made little difference as they lost their eighth wicket, that of Renaldo Meyer, trapped leg before wicket for just two runs as de Swardt claimed his fourth.

Nealan van Heerden (4) was the ninth wicket to fall, after miscommunication between he and Patrick Kruger saw the former run out by Lesego Senokwane before Kruger’s resistance finally ended when Lubbe caught him with Mungroo picking up his second wicket.

Alongside de Swardt’s four-fer, Mungroo claimed 2/18, while Jansen and Pretoius claimed 1/17 and 1/35 respectively.

Dafabet Warriors: Diego Rosier,JP King, Sinethemba Qeshile [WK], Matthew Breetzke [C], Tristan Stubbs, Andile Mokgakane, Patrick Kruger, Renaldo Meyer, Beyers Swanepoel,Nealan van Heerden, Alfred Mothoa.

NW Dragons: Lesego Senokwane, Mika-eel Prince [WK], Raynard van Tinder, Wihan Lubbe [C], Senuran Muthusamy, Lesiba Ngoepe, Ruan de Swardt, Migael Pretorius, Duan Jansen, Caleb Seleka, Kerwin Mungroo