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Free State collapse handing victory to Border
MWP
January 3, 2001
A stunning collapse by Free State saw them bowled out for just 154, handing
Border victory by 55 runs at Buffalo Park and giving them a bonus point for
the comprehensive nature of their victory. At the same time, the defeat left
Free State struggling to make the semi-finals.
An opening stand of 51 between Kosie Venter and Andrew Gait had made it seem
as though the victory target of 210 in 45 overs would be a walk in the park,
but once Venter played on to Tyron Henderson, the slide was on, with Border
captain Pieter Strydom, who had endured some difficult moments off the field
in 2000, playing the major role in knocking over the visitors with a return
of three for 30, which earned him the man of the match award.
The left-arm spinner finished the match when he had his Free State
counterpart, Gerard Brophy, stumped by wicketkeeper Ian Mitchell for 37, the
top score in his team's disappointing run-chase. Strydom had earlier also
accounted for Gait, who made 34, and Boeta Dippenaar, released from the
national team for the second Test against Sri Lanka, but able to notch up
just nine in this encounter.
From 91 for two, Free State lost their next six wickets for just 32 runs,
ending their quest for what would have been a vital victory, and it was left
to Brophy to play a futile lone hand at the end, before the visitors were
bowled out in just 39 overs.
Earlier, the news had been better for them, with both opener Victor Mpitsang
and second-change bowler Johan van der Wath performing admirably with the
ball as Border were restricted to 209 for seven. Mpitsang, who has already
played for the national team in this form of the game, took two of the first
three wickets to fall, including that of Strydom for 25, on the way to a
return of two for 24 from his nine overs.
Van der Wath was more expensive, but the 45 runs he conceded were
counter-balanced by four wickets, giving him a career-best analysis in the
competition exactly a week before his 23rd birthday.
© Cricinfo
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