Nyanga Cricket Club’s first team didn’t have an easy start to the new year in the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) second division league campaign, losing their first two matches after the Christmas break.
They went down by 52 runs to Pollsmoor, in Constantia, at the weekend, following a 135 run defeat, Belhar a week earlier.
They are now eighth on the log with 52 points after winning four and losing seven of their 11 league matches.
In the match against Pollsmoor, Nyanga lost the toss and the home side elected to bat first.
They scored 243 runs for the loss of six wickets in their 45 overs.
The Nyanga batsmen, led by top order batsmen Lwando Tywaku and captain Cebo Gqadushe, struggled to settle down in the Pollsmoor wicket, and were dismissed for 192 in their 45 overs.
A week prior to that, Nyanga had another away game, this time against Belhar. And, as it was the case in the match against Pollsmoor, the home side won the toss and elected to bat first. Nyanga’s bowlers struggled as the home side’s batsmen punished every loose delivery. Wickets were hard to come by and the runs were flowing with ease. Belhar recorded a massive 294 run total for the loss of only five wickets in 45 overs.
Things were left to the batsmen to try chase the total within 45 overs. That was, of course, a difficult thing to ask as their record in the league showed that they struggled to chase targets when playing away. They tried hard but the opposition bowlers were in no giving mood, restricting them to 159 all out in 36 overs, giving Pollsmoor a comfortable 135 run victory.
Those two defeats meant that the Langa side have lost their last three league matches, as they also went down by 173 runs to Peninsula, also away, in their match on Saturday December 10.
It seems the cricket gods have turned their backs on the Nyanga side when it comes to winning the toss. In all three matches, they lost the toss and their opponents, in each of those matches, chose to bat first.
That was also the case when Peninsula elected to bat first . Nyanga bowlers, once again tried hard but they just could find their rhythm as the opposition batsmen seemed to be on top of their game. Peninsula went on to score 287 for the loss of five wickets in their 45 overs.
The Nyanga batsmen had to score 288 to win and that was, once again, a daunting task. They went on to record 114 all out in 28 overs, handing their host a 173 run victory in the process.
Nyanga’s last victory of the season was on Saturday December 3 when they beat Philippi by 20 runs. This game was different from others in many ways. Unlike the matches they have lost, they were, this time, playing at home. They even won the toss and elected to bat first. They went on to score 220 runs all out in 42 overs. Philippi, in reply, scored 200 all out in 41.3 overs, giving Nyanga a 20 run victory.
Gqadushe said the side may have been struggling in terms of getting results but they were still on track, in terms of chasing their goals.
This, he said, was because the side promoted a number of youngsters after losing three of their key players at the end of last season.
“Players like Mihlali Mpongwana and Lwando have shown class with the bat. Mihlali has already scored two back-to-back centuries as well as 97, in the game against Philippi. Lwando has a century and a 50 under his name.
On the bowling front, Hlomla Vava and Xolani Lalo have good averages with the ball,” said Gqadushe.
Nyanga’s next match is against Peninsula on Saturday January 21.