Cavaliers crumble against Plett's Pioneers

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KNYSNA CRICKET NEWS - The second weekend of the SWD T20 competition got under way on Saturday 28 September with three pool D clashes at Plettenberg Bay Primary School where Cavaliers lost by nine wickets against Pioneers.

South Western Districts' (SWD) 20/20 (T20) competition every year serves as the final step in the clubs' preparations for the league to follow, with 35 clubs from SWD taking part, having been placed into eight pools that vary from four to five teams in size (pools C, F, and G have five teams).

This year, all of the Knysna-Plett teams were placed in pool D, where only the team that finished top of the group would progress to the quarterfinal stage of the competition.

The pool D action began with a clash between the two Knysna teams – Knysna Cavaliers and Pirates United – at 09:00, with Cavaliers winning the toss and electing to bat first. Their batsmen battled through the innings, only managing 113 before they were bowled out in the 19th over, with Francois Bonthuys top-scoring with 35 off 24 balls.

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The Cavaliers bowlers would tear through the Pirates attack however, bowling their Knysna rivals out for a measly 43 runs to earn a 70-run victory thanks to Neville McLean claiming four wickets for only six runs in his four overs. Pirates would play again after that, clashing with Kranshoek Cobras this time.

Cobras won the toss and sent Pirates in to bat, with the Knysna side posting a respectable total of 151-5 in their 20 overs, with Curnol Thorne top-scoring with a well-played 58 of 56 balls. Pirates would roll Cobras over for only 50 runs, with Jade Titus claiming four wickets for 23 runs in 3.2 overs.

The final game on Saturday was between Cavaliers and Pioneers, Knysna-Plett's two SWD Premier League clubs. Cavaliers won the toss again, and with the knowledge that the match was a must-win if they wanted to progress, elected to bat first yet again. Cavaliers' batsmen however struggled against Pioneers' bowlers with the top order crumbling, leaving the score at 15-4.

The middle order would stem the flow of wickets as best they could, but Pioneers' bowlers were a league above Cavaliers' batsmen as they only managed to score 71-9 in their 20 overs, with JC Kolbee top-scoring with 23 off 25 balls. Pioneers' batsmen strode out to the crease on a mission, and Cavaliers' fielding made this mission slightly easier, dropping four catches en route to Pioneers claiming a nine-wicket victory thanks to Kurwin Christoffels' unbeaten 58 off 47 balls.

Sunday's fixtures were all rained out, which saw Pioneers finish top of the group to progress to the quarterfinal round on 19 October.

Francois Bonthuys and Irvin Campher high-ten each other after claiming a wicket against Pioneers.