Western Province Blitz capped a triumphant unbeaten campaign by clinching the CSA One-Day Cup crown after they crushed the North-West Dragons by 107 runs in the final at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.
It was a dominant Western Province’s first outright win in the competition for 12 years after going unbeaten in the round-robin phase with six wins and one rain-ruined no-result.
Province largely owed their win to a record-breaking fifth-wicket partnership of 199 in 188 balls between skipper Kyle Verreynne and player of the match Mihlali Mpongwana who both scored centuries enabling the home team to total an impressive 307 for eight in their innings after being put in to bat by the Dragons.
The Dragons’ reply kept up with the run-rate for the most part but they lost wickets at regular intervals without putting together the kind of partnership required to take the match deep. The innings was sustained by a defiant 70 in 79 balls from skipper Wihan Lubbe but he was involved in only one half-century partnership (with Migael Pretorius) and that proved insufficient. When Lubbe was superbly caught and bowled by Abdullah Bayoumy in the 36th over, the final result was inevitable as the visitors’ innings fell away to 200 all out in 40.4 overs.
Both Verreynne and Mpongwana enjoyed outstanding all-round matches. It was Verreynne's second ton of the competition (both scored against the Dragons) while it was Mpongwana's maiden List A hundred. In addition, wicketkeeper Verreynne held four catches with the gloves while medium-pacer Mpongwana sliced through the Dragons’ middle-order, taking 3/32 comprising the scalps of Senuran Muthusamy, Lesiba Ngoepe and Ruan de Swardt. Bayoumy claimed late wickets (3/24) as the North-West innings was wrapped up and was also responsible for the brilliant run-out of Dragons' opening batter Meeka-eel Prince.
The overall quality of the Province attack was also to the fore with pacemen Nandre Burger (1/29) and Beuran Hendricks (1/20) particularly impressive.
Earlier, Verreynne and Mpongwana rescued Western Province from a poor start after they had been asked to bat first on grassy, spicy pitch that initially helped the seamers.
Initially, it seemed that Lubbe’s decision was a good one as paceman Migael Pretorius, in particular, extracted early movement on a slowish pitch.
Openers Jonathan Bird and Tony de Zorzi were both dismissed driving too early to deliveries that stuck in the surface: Bird lofted Pretorius to mid-on while De Zorzi was magnificently caught by a diving Raynard van Tonder in the covers. And when David Bedingham, who had struck some pedigree drives, was superbly caught and bowled by Duan Jansen, the home team looked in trouble on 39 for three in the eighth over.
Verreynne entered the fray at this stage with Province under severe pressure, but he never allowed this to affect his positive outlook. First, accompanied by Valentine Kitime (18), he added 42 for the fourth wicket, but by far the most significant liaison – a Western Province record for the fifth wicket in this format – was his partnership with Mpongwana that defined the innings.
As the sun and a stiff breeze dried out the initially tacky pitch, batting became easier for the pair and they began to dominate the Dragons’ bowlers whose lack of self-discipline made life increasingly easy for the batters. Verreynne’s great strength lay in his quick hands, particularly square of the wicket, while the tall Mpongwana used his long levers to get forward to power drives, particularly through the off-side.
Verreynne’s 111 came in 103 balls while Mponwgwana’s 105 took 109 balls.
By the time Verreynne was run out by Van Tonder in the 47th over, Province had gone from vulnerability to a position of strength that was not affected by a clatter of late wickets.
For the Dragons, Pretorius was the best bowler, claiming 2/51 in his 10 overs while Kerwin Mungroo was the most successful with 3/66.
WESTERN PROVINCE: Tony de Zorzi, Jonathan Bird, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (capt, wk), Valentine Kitime, Mihlali Mpongwana, Abdallah Bayoumy, Kyle Simmonds, Beuran Hendricks, Dane Paterson, Nandre Burger
NORTH WEST DRAGONS: Lesego Senokwane, Meeka-eel Prince (wk), Raynard van Tonder, Wihan Lubbe (capt), Senuran Muthusamy, Lesiba Ngoepe, Ruan de Swardt, Migael Pretorius, Duan Jansen, Caleb Seleka, Kerwin Mungroo