Manack bowls St David’s to victory in Gauteng Schools SA20 finals
Morteza Manack held his nerve and successfully bowled St David’s Marist Inanda to victory in the Gauteng Schools SA20 Regional final against Noordheuwel.
Rain, a wet outfield, and lightning prevented play, and the contest was decided by a bowl-off, which St David’s won 3-0 at St John’s College on Saturday evening.
St David’s reached the final on the back of a three-match unbeaten run, which included wins over Hoërskool Secunda, Hoërskool Middelburg, and, then, Hoërskool Noordheuwel. Two of their three wins included bonus points. On a roll, coach Jeff Levin‘s charges were confident as they headed into the title decider.
Noordheuwel, on the other hand, had a single win, a tie, and a loss under their belt heading into the clash. However, they were, also, the winners of Phase One of the Schools SA20 competition, and that included a win over St David’s in that final in November last year. They knew they had it in them to beat St David’s.
However, inclement weather prevented play. Thus, according to the rules of the competition, the match would be decided by a bowl-off. In the absence of an indoor centre in which to hold a bowl-off, it would be decided by a coin toss. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.
Noordheuwel selected Corné Botha for the bowl-off and St David’s went with Manack. The winner would be the bowler who struck the wickets more times in the span of an over.
“We picked Morteza because he bowls full and straight,” Dave Nosworthy, the St David’s head of cricket, explained. “Also, as a spinner, he came with less risk in the indoor centre. A lot of things can go wrong with pacers because of run-ups, and you can slip and slide indoors. It’s always tougher for a seam bowler. We went with a spinner, and it worked for us.”
Botha won the toss and asked Manack to bowl first. The St David’s all-rounder missed with his first delivery. However, there was no harm done, as Botha missed with his first ball, too. Manack’s second delivery was on target, while Botha missed. Noordheuwel’s hopes were raised after Manack missed with his third ball, However, Botha was unsuccessful again.
Nories needed Manack to miss with his fourth and fifth deliveries and for Botha to be on target with his next two to keep the contest alive. It was not to be. Manack was on target with his fourth and fifth deliveries and Botha’s fourth was wide of the mark. The spinner’s tally of three out of five could not be hauled in. Botha had only two more deliveries at his disposal.
“It’s always difficult for the losing team in these conditions. I feel for them,” Nosworthy said.
St David’s will next play the other regional winners in Phase Three of the Schools SA20 tournament at which a national champion will be crowned.
