By MARK CARRELS
Former provincial cricketer and Proteas selector, Hugh Page, is hugely impressed by the standard of cricket at the Pineapple Cricket tournament. Page who handed out the awards at the prize-giving ceremony at PA Country Club after the third day of on-field rivalry, said he had been pleasantly surprised to see the “serious” talent and quality on display in a smaller region such as Port Alfred. “There is so much quality among cricketers here, the only pity is that they are not able to play in leagues in the bigger cities.” He was high in his praise for all the sponsors who year after year ensure the growth of the institution that the Pineapple Cricket Tournament has become.
Earlier former fast bowler, Page, who was a member of the then Transvaal “Mean Machine” in the mid-80s, would have had a good view of the Salem and Cuylerville 1st league outfits at PAHS fields – they are both on a roll in the tournament so far.
On the PAHS A field, Salem, thanks to fine knocks by Buster Brotherton (54) and Dale Austin (64) helped their team to a total of 228. Sidbury did not go down without a fight however in their pursuit of 229 for victory with fighting innings’ by B Upman (86) and Luke Birrell (39). At one stage they were 75/5 but eventually were all out for 214, handing Salem victory by 14 runs.
At the school’s B field, Cuylerville sneaked in with a close-fought one-wicket victory over rivals Southwell. Southwell’s Kyle van Niekerk with 49 and Josh van Rensburg (30) were the only batsman to make noteworthy contributions as their team were all out for 186. Cuylerville’s Francois Klopper finished with excellent figures of 3/9. Southwell took wickets at regular intervals but ultimately captain Brandon Handley’s 49 and Juri Norval’s 43 ensured Cuylerville would persevere by one wicket.
In a second league match at the Hospital fields, Sidbury’s Jade Bowles (54) and Cuan Rix |(56) flayed the Manley Flats bowlers to all corners of the ground to guide their side to a 7-wicket victory. Chasing 165 for victory Bowles wasted no time, peppering the boundary with five fours and four sixes in his brisk innings. Earlier Alwyn Muller’s 5/30 proved too much for the Flats’ batsmen who could only manage 164 all out.
In a low-scoring match at Hilpert, the bowlers took centrestage. Kenton bowlers Alex Ngqobololo (5/19) and Joe Felizardo (5/29) put the skids under the Tiger Titans who were bowled out for 45, chasing a below-par score of 72. Earlier Esiale Vuthela of Tiger Titans with his 6/25 tore into the Kenton batsmen, but his top bowling effort was not enough to avoid defeat to Kenton by 27 runs.
Tuesday 7 March fixtures:
PA Country Club: Salem 2 v Southwell 2
PAHS A field: Manley Flats v Rainbows
PAHS B field: Port Alfred v Station Hill
Hospital field: Cuylerville 2 v Kenton
