A dramatic collapse in the Warriors’ 226 discovery saw Cape Cobras on Wednesday as the second defeat in several Momentum One-Day Cup matches.
To make the most of the Cobra circumstances, the Cobras invited the Warriors to bat first. However, the half-centuries of Cintemba Qashile (64) and Matthew Brietzke (55) put them up for a match-winning total of 226/6, reducing the game to 44 overs per-side affair after consecutive rain breaks.
By the beginning of the 14th over, the rain was interrupted twice, but Breitzek got his eye. He dominated the two partnerships when the Warriors were at 97, scoring 55 for 71 before falling in the 23rd over. Skipper Doody then joined hands with Kayishail for 69 runs. While the second missed by a half-century of just seven, Qeshile remained unbeaten after scoring 64 runs, who were dismissed for just 73 balls and included half a dozen fours.
The Cobras were also not precariously placed at 45/1 in the 12th over, but it all went down very quickly as they lost captain Zubair Hamza and Tony de Zorzi in five overs. The Cobras were barely able to muster a 30-run partnership when JJ Smuts returned to claim his second skull – Jean du Plessis – which opened Floodgate. By the start of the 29th over, slipping from 92/3 to 110/6, they lost three wickets for just 18 runs.
Benjamin Ward and Onke Nyaku again made brief resistance, only to see Glenton Stuerman’s continued success in the 34th over. He eventually began four overs, 81 runs short of his revised target of 230.
Brief Score: The Warriors scored 226/6 in 44 overs (Cintemba Kychel 64, Matthew Brietjek 55; Jihad Abrahamus 2-32) to Cape Cobras 148 in 40 overs (Tony De Georgie 30; JJ Smuts 3-28, Rudy Second 3- ) Defeated. 20, Glenton Stuurman 3-26) 81 runs (DLS method) – Low in 44 overs due to rain; Revised target: 230);