Lizaad Williams claimed two wickets in four balls and conceded only two runs to set up a thrilling Super Over victory for Dafabet Boland over the Dafabet Warriors in their YesPlay Pro20 Cup Super 8 clash at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Thursday evening.
The Boland pacer accounted for Jordan Hermann with his second delivery and then dismissed Patrick Kruger with the fourth. Moments later, Ferisco Adams found the boundary with the first ball he faced, which was enough to secure victory for Boland.
Earlier in the day, Boland captain Glenton Stuurman won the toss and elected to bat first. Lehan Botha answered his captain’s call with a half-century that steered the visitors to 138-5.
The Warriors refused to bow to the pressure from Boland’s bowlers and fought their way to 138-7 in 20 overs, forcing the match into a Super Over.
Williams’s heroics in the Super Over were not his first of the match. The pacer successfully defended seven runs in the final over to help Boland avoid defeat. His lines and lengths denied Thomas Kaber and Beuran Hendricks room to free their arms and find gaps or the boundary.
Botha leads the way for Boland with the bat
Williams had a competitive total to defend thanks to Botha’s resolute innings earlier in the evening. Botha led the way for Boland with a workmanlike innings, scoring 50 off 47 balls.
The No. 4 batter arrived at the crease when the visitors needed someone who could take the game deep. Boland were on 44-2 after 5.3 overs, having lost two wickets in eight deliveries. The 25-year-old dug in and shepherded Boland to a competitive total.
Botha shared the crease with three different batters: Gavin Kaplan, Jhedli van Briesies and Ferisco Adams. His partnership with Kaplan was short-lived, contributing 19 runs to the total. Botha and Van Briesies then added a 37-run fourth-wicket stand, Boland’s highest partnership of the match.
Ferisco Adams walked in to replace Van Briesies at the close of the 16th over. He struck two sixes and a single four on his way to an unbeaten 22 off 12 balls. He also stitched together a 34-run fifth-wicket stand with Botha, which ended when Botha holed out to Jordan Hermann in the deep.
Stubbs and Muthusamy keep the Warriors in the hunt
Boland had a brisk 35-run opening stand to build their innings on. The Warriors, however, lost two early wickets and found themselves on 33-2 after 3.4 overs.
Tristan Stubbs played within himself as he compiled a run-a-ball 40 that kept the hosts in the contest. The Proteas star put together a 57-run third-wicket partnership with Senuran Muthusamy, who struck a patient 25 off 30 balls.
The Warriors’ best chance of victory lay in Stubbs’s ability to replicate Botha’s innings. The Proteas middle-order batter looked the part until Williams delivered a ball that castled his stumps in the 17th over.
Patrick Kruger and Andile Mogakane then took over the chase from Stubbs and Muthusamy. Mogakane was the aggressor, scoring 19 runs from nine deliveries, while Kruger patiently accumulated 12 runs from 16 balls. Their contributions took the Warriors close to Boland’s total.
Williams and Stuurman lead the bowling figures
Williams finished with two wickets for 22 runs in four overs. Stuurman collected an equal number of scalps but conceded 35 runs in four overs. Ferisco Adams and Neil Brand chipped in with a wicket each.
Standings impact
The victory lifts Boland into second place with 16 points from four wins and a single loss in five games. The Warriors drop one place, from second to third, with 16 points from three wins, one loss and a single no-result.