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Harmer, Stubbs power Sunrisers to victory

olympics20 January 2024 15:37| © MWP
By:Patrick Compton
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Player of the match Simon Harmer, with career-best figures of 4-18, and Tristan Stubbs, with a blazing unbeaten 66 in 37 balls, powered the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a five-wicket victory over Durban’s Super Giants in their Betway SA20 match at Kingsmead in Durban on Saturday.

The Sunrisers had to chase 160 for victory after DSG had finished with 159 for seven in their innings.

The teams were neck and neck at the end of the 15th over when the Sunrisers were 102 for five.

But the next three overs from Afghan wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad, medium-pacer Marcus Stoinis and Afghan paceman Naveen Ul Haq, were blasted for 48 runs by Stubbs and Marco Jansen (24 off 14) to effectively clinch the game.

Ul Haq had a sobering introduction to the SA20, disappearing for 42 in three overs and Jon-Jon Smuts was called on to bowl the final over – his first of the match – when the game was all but over.

Dwaine Pretorius didn’t get an over, a surprise, while Smuts could have been utilised earlier in the innings.

But credit to the Sunrisers, and in particular Aidan Markram (38 in 29 balls), Stubbs and Jansen.

Markram and Stubbs added a valuable 56 in 42 balls for the fifth wicket while Stubbs (5x4s, 3x6s) and Jansen (24*) helped their team race to victory with an unbroken stand of 66 in 29 balls.

For the Super Giants, Reece Topley impressed with his control, claiming 1-29, while Stoinis – despite his final over – could be well satisfied with his return of 2-27.

Earlier, Harmer bewitched DSG’s batters with a brilliant display of canny off-spin to help restrict the home team to a modest total after they won the toss and opted to bat first.

It looked bad for DSG when they slumped to 90 for five in the 13th over with Harmer tearing his way through the top order, but Wiaan Mulder, with a powerful 52 in just 29 balls – including 26 off Marco Jansen’s 19th over – gave the home fans some hope.

The allrounder struck three fours and four sixes in his innings in which a measured beginning (16 off his first 18 balls) accelerated into a glowing final product which was unluckily ended when he was run out by paceman Ottniel Baartman off the first ball of the final over when a drive from Keshav Maharaj glanced off his hand, leaving Mulder high and dry.

He and Dwaine Pretorius had added 61 in 39 balls for the sixth wicket.

The Super Giants will, however, have been slightly disappointed with their overall effort, with too many batters getting out to soft dismissals when they looked poised for bigger scores.

Heinrich Klaasen, DSG’s premier batman in this competition, began in scorching form and looked like he would tear apart the Sunrisers’ attack.

His knock of 31 in 17 balls included an on-drive off left-arm spinner Liam Dawson that bounced on top of the Friendship Stand, a monstrous hit of 105 metres that revived memories of Johan van der Wath’s straight drive off Andrew Tweedie years previously that completely cleared the stand.

But having smacked a four and three sixes in his innings, Klaasen rather tamely holed out to Marco Jansen at long-on to gift Harmer his fourth wicket.

The offspinner had earlier bowled with great intelligence to trap Matthew Breetzke leg before for 35 (24 balls, 5x4s, 1x6), have Jon-Jon Smuts caught reverse-sweeping and then have the dangerous Marcus Stoinis also caught by Jansen.

DURBAN'S SUPER GIANTS: Matthew Breetzke, Quinton de Kock (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, JJ Smuts, Marcus Stoinis, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj (capt), Wiaan Mulder, Naveen ul Haq, Reece Topley, Noor Ahmad.

SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE: Dawid Malan, Jordan Hermann, Aiden Markram (capt), Tom Abell, Tristan Stubbs (wk), Liam Dawson, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Ottneil Baartman, Daniel Worrall, Patrick Kruger.

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