MZOXOLO BUDAZA
The 24-year old De Villiers took 11 wickets in the match, and the victory meant the Westridge-based side have now won three, lost two and drew one of their six league matches.
Playing away in Gugulethu, Mitchell’s Plain CC won the toss and elected to bat first.
They went on to record a first innings total of 189 runs, with Christopher Gatoe top-scoring with 60 runs not out.
It was, then, Gugulethu’s turn at the crease for their first innings and they went on to score 110 all out. De Villiers was the peak of the Westridge side’s bowling attack, taking five wickets.
Gugulethu had to follow-on and scored 182 runs, setting their opponents a reachable target of 80 runs. De Villiers once again, led from the front, taking six wickets.
The Westridge side, in their second innings, didn’t have any problems chasing that target and went on to win by six wickets.
Fadhli Allie top-scored with 35 runs. He was well-supported by Kevin Greentree, who scored 30 runs.
Coach Nigel Boesak said his players showed a lot of character, especially considering that they out-played one of the best sides in the league this season.
“I am happy with the performance especially considering that we have been through a lot lately.
“Two years ago, for instance, most of our players left for other clubs and, as a result, we found ourselves with 14 inexperienced players who have never played first team cricket.
“They worked hard and this is the result of that hard work.
“That’s why I think we have a realistic chance of winning the league, as long as we play to our potential,” he said
Chairman Randall Subjee agreed and attributed the result to the solid team spirit. This, he said, was because the players were on point in all departments – bowling, batting and fielding.
“The most important thing is that the boys played as a team and got the results. We took 27 points from that game, which showed a massive all round performance,” he said.
Subjee said the result was also important, in terms of turning their fortunes around as they had a shaky start to the season and were not in a good position going to the Christmas break.
“Before the break we struggled with inconsistency both on and off the pitch and that was because we never fielded the same team in a consecutive sequence,” he said.
“And, as a result, we were never in a position to build and maintain a team performance,” he said.
Subjee was also quick to note that the break was what their team needed, as it gave them an opportunity to look back at the first round, figure out their mistakes and correct them.
“The break proved to be a good thing, as the ethos of hard work and commitment rendered a good performance by our team against Gugs, who are third on the log, and winning convincingly,” he said.
He made it clear that other teams are going to find it difficult to beat the Westridge side as they are finally back on winning ways.
“The team, coached by Nigel Boesak who is an experienced player himself, has fought hard against the odds over the years.
“Nigel did a good job in putting this team together. We have also given the captaincy to Keagan de Villiers and he has led from the front.
“Keagan has a lot to learn going forward but what a cricketer in the making he is,” said Subjee.
Mitchell’s Plain’s will now prepare for their next match, against Nyanga, at home on Saturday January 30.