Bakker stars with the bat as Waterkloof takes the lead
Marcus Bakker registered an even-tempered half-ton on Geir Oval at St David’s Marist Inanda on Saturday as he inspired the Waterkloof 1st XI to a first-innings total of 272/10, which ensured a 93-run lead after day one of their Fasken Time Cricket Festival match against St John’s.
At stumps, coach Cobus Pienaar’s side had restricted St John’s to 179/9 in reply.
Bakker creamed 10 fours on his way to a brilliant 80 off 120 in a knock that not only rescued Waterkloof from a sticky wicket but also set his side on the path to victory. When he arrived at the middle, Waterkloof needed level heads that could soak up the pressure and rebuild after a middle-order collapse. Fortunately for the Klofies, they had Bakker and Alexander Volschenk.
Volschenk, the Namibian u19 captain, cracked a half-century of his own. He struck two sixes and three fours on his way to 57 off 67 deliveries.
Waterkloof’s batting lineup picked up from where they left off when they subjected the Lions Invitation XI to a six-wicket defeat in their first outing of the festival. In that encounter, Pienaar deployed a top six that featured Darius Maritz, Anru Nel, Stefan Stoltz, Rico van der Walt, Riley Miller, and Johan Feuth.
Against St John’s, Pienaar only retained Miller as he wheeled out Waterkloof’s most experienced top six, featuring the talents of Wian Ruthven, Divan Behrens, Bakker, Beukes van den Berg, and Volschenk.
Ruthven, who began the year with a masterful ton in a 2024 Titans League match, which spurred Waterkloof to a victory over Centurion, missed out on another milestone when he was dismissed by Cole Francis for a well-made 42 off 37 balls. At the time of his dismissal, Ruthven had laid a decent foundation for the Klofies. However, St John’s dragged themselves back into the contest by engineering a Waterkloof collapse between the 16th and 19th overs, as the Pretoria school lost three wickets while adding only three runs.
Waterkloof wrestled back control of the innings when Bakker and Volschenk joined forces to construct a 133-run fifth-wicket partnership over the next 24.2 overs. Rico van der Walt also batted well with the lower order for his 44 off 37.
Alec Loveland was the most successful bowler for St John’s. The medium pacer toiled tirelessly, sending down 20 overs, almost twice as many overs as Cole Francis, who bowled the second-most overs, with 11. Loveland was rewarded for his work. He bagged four wickets for 92 runs. However, it was Malan du Plessis who had the best strike rate, capturing three wickets for 27 runs in 10 overs.
Chasing 272, the last thing St John’s wanted was to lose three wickets for 48 runs in the first 15 overs, but that’s what happened. Matters went from bad to worse as they lost another three wickets before they had chalked up 100 runs on the scoreboard.
The only bright spark in their innings was Nkosana Sibiya, who arrived at the crease when St John’s was 48/3. Batting with four different partners, he crafted a well-played 61 off 95. His industrious knock left St John’s on 159/7 at the time of his dismissal.
Jayden Blom led the Waterkloof bowling attack with three wickets for 29 runs in 11 overs, while Ruthven and Ruan Ferrara grabbed a brace of wickets each. Ruthven conceded 33 runs in 10 overs, while Ferrara conceded one run less in nine.
Summarised Scorecards:
Waterkloof first innings: 272/10 (Wian Ruthven 42, Marcus Bakker 85, Alexander Volschenk 57, Rico Van Der Walt 44; Kago Masote 2/20, Malan Du Plessis 3/27, Alec Loveland 4/92); St John’s first innings: 179/9 (Nkosana B Sibiya 61, Cole Francis 34; Jayden Blom 3/29, Wian Ruthven 2/33, Ruan Ferrara 2/32)
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