The Nukes II also played their series of finals. Ending at the top of the E6 league, we would play in the first semi-final, the winner of which would classify for the Gold-finals. We played against the second placed Hangies on 25 January. The team consisted of Rob and Johan, Frank and Chris, Carel and Reshendren, Martin and Sarel. Nukes II started to bat and although not brilliant, we didn't fare too bad with skin scores of 27, 26, 37 and 24 respectively, ending on 114. But then, troubles started. The opening skin of the Hangies scored 42, only to proceed with 48, 31 and 57! Those guys were hard hitters! Martin can testify on that, as in the final over he was in the flightpath of the tracer bullet from his own bowling. He brilliantly kept hold of it, but the next morning he could show you exactly where the ball impacted...
Man of the Match: Reshendren, who was the only player with a positive net score of 9!

As the losers of the first semi-final, we had another attempt at qualifying for the Gold-finals, by playing against the winners of the other semi-final, who were UTI. This match was played on Tuesday 1/2/2005 at 18h30. Again, Nukes II batted first. Although the opening skin of Sarel and Frank had a good score of 31 and Carel and Reshendren also contributed well with 26, also due to a total of 10 (ten!) run-outs, we ended on a total of 85. This would be hard to defend and indeed, at the end of the second skin of UTI they were on 81 already. From then our bowling and fielding improved a lot, but it was too little, too late and UTI ended on 110. At least we had a good feeling with the final over, Pieter bowling, for -8 runs with 2 catches and 2 run-outs!
Man of the Match: Reshendren again, with the highest net score. Well done Reshen!

Well, we had another attempt to get a medal, since as the losers of the previous match, we would play for Bronze against the losers of the first semi-final, who were the Soprano's. The Bronze-final was on the same evening, at 20h50. The team consisted of Rob and Johan, Frank and Chris, Sarel and Carel, Dirk and Pieter. The last few times that we played against the Soprano's we won comfortably, so the Bronze medal was in our pocket so to say, right? Right! Again, the Nukes II started with batting, but again only two skins contributing well. Frank and Chris with 40 and Dirk and Pieter with 30. Seven run-outs this time, five of which came on the account of Johan and Rob :-( We ended on 97.
The Soprano's were well in shape with the bat and made sure they had a solid opening foundation, the opening pair scoring 52. They just went on with solid performances throughout their batting and ended on 134. Our Man of the Match was Frank with a solid performances with the bat, bowling and in the field.
So, that meant no medals for the Nukes II in the first ever season, which was something of a deja-vu. Look at the first Nukes season: Ending at the top of the league and ending with nothing at all! Well, at least they provided us with the best possible example by winning Gold in the next to seasons!

Result: Won by 54 runs

The Nukes II played against Occasionally Brilliant tonight. The new strategy with the toss didn't work this time and Occasionally Brilliant decided to bat first. They got off on a prosperous start to score 34 on the first skin, only losing one wicket due to a run-out of the final ball. Their second skin also scored well, adding 30 runs to the score. That was the moment that the Nukes bowlers and fielders reached criticality and 11 wickets tumbled in the final two skins, letting the occasionally brilliant guys only add 18 runs to their score. That left a target of 82 to the Nukes.

Rob and Johan did well in the first 3 overs of the first skin, with a -3 in the final over, still putting 21 on the scoreboard. That would be the only lost skin for the Nukes. Carel and Chris added a comfortable 38 in the second skin, Frank and Martin a very steady 45 (where we were sure that Martin hit a 7 somewhere, but it didn't show on the scorecard. Sorry, Martin!). Sarel and Pieter also proceeded steadily and added another 32 to a final score of 136. Frank had the highest score of 33 while batting, while Martin was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets for -1 runs.

But Man of the Match, with the overal best performance on the night, also taking 4 wickets for 3 runs, batting 26 runs, was Pieter. Net scoring rate +23!

Not Available ....

Result: Lost by 55 runs

The Nukes II were not scheduled to play a match for 2 consecutive weeks now, so we asked the management of the competition to organise a game for us anyway. We played against the Piss Cats, who started off in our league at the beginning of the season, but who were subsequently promoted to the E3 league.

Rob finally had the good strategy for the toss by letting the other captain decide on the fall of the coin. The Nukes II had the choice and decided to bat first. Johan and Rob decided to take the Piss Cats on on their fielding abilities and came second. The first two balls of the first over were run outs. After a little bit of a recovery, the first two balls of the second over were run outs again and that finally broke their confidence. They ended with a total score of 7 for the skin. Martin and Schalk set a good total of 33 in their skin, but Feroz and Heinrich also managed to add only 9. Steve and Sarel set their customary good partnership of 28, which left a target for the Piss Cats of 70.

The tails of the Nukes were a bit down in the beginning of the second innings, with the result that quite some run out and catch chances were missed. Still we were not down and out completely and at the start of the 4th skin, we decided to go for it and at least get the point for the final skin to our total. That obtainable short term target improved the atmosphere in the field and with some dedicated fielding, and with memorable catching and catching attempts by Steve and Schalk we almost made it against a very hard hitting batting pair. Unfortunately, the skin score was even on 28, so we still lost that point. Final score of the Piss Cats: 125. We lost by 55 runs.

Man of the Match was the only team member with a positive net run rate: Steve Aaron, with a net run rate of 1

Result: Won by 35 runs

Surprise, surprise! “The Nukes” won the toss and decided to bat first. This time all the batting partnerships contributed and we managed to score 102 runs, with Erik scoring the most runs for the evening with his 24 runs. Erik and Schalk as well as Steve and Michael produced the highest partnerships of 29 runs each.

“The Nukes” were highly motivated to ensure that we correct our mistakes from the first game and our bowlers kept our opponents, “Old Spice” under pressure from the start. The team produced some great bowling and fielding in the second skin to limit our opponents to a single run and a total of 23 runs after the first two skins. Our opponents only managed to score 67 runs and we won the game by 35 runs. Philip took a brilliant diving catch at the end to ensure that “The Nukes” take maximum points from this game! Michael was kept busy in the field, taking some solid catches and ensuring some run-outs. Schalk aka Jonty once again took a brilliant catch! Michael had the best bowling figures with 5/-7 (wickets/runs).

Man of the match: Erik van der Linde for his 24 runs with the bat and his bowling figures of 2/3 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 21 runs.

Result: Lost by 18 runs

“The Nukes” once again won the toss and decided to bat first. Unfortunately our batters struggled and the team only managed to score 28 runs after the first two skins. We ended up with 81 runs on the scoreboard, probable about 20 runs short. Heinrich and Philip scored the highest partnership with 27 runs, while Michael managed to score the most runs with his 22 runs.

Our bowlers had a bad start to the game and our opponents “Team Spy” managed to score 44 runs within the first skin. Our opponents ended up with 99 runs and we lost the game by 18 runs. The team did however manage to take two skins, after taking a catch from the last ball which ensured that we win the last skin. Michael, Erik and Schalk took some brilliant diving catches in the field, but unfortunately our bowlers bowled too many extra balls. A total of 34 extras were conceded, the most this season!

Man of the match: Michael Correia for his 22 runs with the bat and his bowling figures of 3/7 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 15 runs.

Result: Won by 46 runs

“The Nukes” started the game batting and the team got to a good start by scoring 33 runs of the first skin. The rest of the batsmen all contributed and the team ended up with 127 runs on the scoreboard. Steve and Michael scored the highest partnership of 38 runs. Steve scored the most runs with his 24. It should also be mentioned that our opponents “Dirty 30’s” struggled to hit the wickets in the field, but the team showed some commitment between the wickets.

“The Nukes” was very motivated tonight to ensure that we break our losing streak of the last three weeks and were very focused in the field. Our bowlers and fielders kept our opponents under pressure and we only conceded 21 runs after the first two skins. Schalk took another brilliant Jonty Rhodes diving catch at the front and Erik showed some real commitment at the back with the bails even cutting him open above his eyebrows. Some good bowling and effective fielding restricted our opponents to only 81 runs, ensuring a victory of 46 runs. Michael was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of 4 / -2 (wickets/runs).

Man of the match: Steve Aaron for his 24 runs and his bowling figures of 4/3 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 21 runs.

Result: Lost by 20 runs

“The Nukes” once again batted first, but struggled to put our opponents, “Vas Vat” under a lot of pressure, losing unnecessary wickets. The team managed to score 97 runs with Gerhard and Michael putting up the highest partnership of 38 runs. Michael scored the most runs for the evening with his 22 runs.

Our bowlers and fielders also struggled to take regular wicket and our opponents managed to score 118 runs. Our opponents managed to score to many runs against the back nets! Erik was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of 1/6 (wickets/runs).

Man of the match: Erik van der Linde for his 17 runs and his bowling figures of 1/6 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 11 runs.

Result: Lost by 10 runs

Under Construction!!

Man of the match: Dirk Swart for his 29 runs, good fielding and bowling figures of 2/7 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 22 runs.

Result: Lost by 37 runs

Under Construction!!

Man of the match: Dirk Swart for his 30 runs, good fielding and bowling figures of 1/13 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 17 runs.

Result: Lost by 1 runs

Gerhard lost the toss and our opponents decided to bat first. Our bowlers did a great job with some solid bowling and managed to restrict our opponents to 90 runs. Heinrich was the best bowler with his figures of 4/3 (wickets/runs). The team however did struggle in the field and too many balls hit the net, which we would normally save! Our opponents were a bit irritating as they managed to complain about each call from the umpire, most of them just unnecessary! The umpire even deducted 6 point from their score for back-chatting and they ended up with 84 runs.

“The Nukes” started off very well with Wimpie and Steve putting up a 39 run partnership. The rest of the team also contribute and the team reached 85 runs after the third skin. Gerhard and Michael only needed to score 0 runs for a victory, which seemed really feasible at that stage. Our opponents however stepped up a gear in their fielding and managed to take some brilliant catches and hit the stumps at each throw! With the last ball remaining “The Nukes” were leading by 2 runs and only needed to block the last ball to win the match, unfortunately Michael did block the ball but started to run and caused a silly run-out, losing the match by 1 run!

Tonight was a game we should have won and will win the next time we meet “Seri-Jas”!

Man of the match: Wimpie van Rooyen for his 22 runs with the bat, his bowling figures of 1/11 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution: 11 runs.

Result: Lost by 18 runs

Gerhard lost the toss and our opponents sent us in to bat, which suited us just fine. Wimpie and Stefan opened with a solid partnership of 33, followed by Chris and Erik who added 30 more. Wimpie scored a solid 20, while Erik pitched in with 24. Thereafter things went a bit pear shaped: we had a few bad decisions from the ump and managed to get ourselves out much more than usual. We ended up on 81, after the ump wragtag gave Schalk run out of the last ball when he left his crease to walk off the court!?

The bowling started off solidly. We won the first skin (30 vs. 14), which turned out to be our only skin! Wimpie had magnificent figures of 2/4, induced by fabulous swing bowling. Philip got a hat trick courtesy of Wimpie, who took two successive catches of the top net and then threw the stumps down for a rare fielding hat trick. In the final over, Gerhard managed to keep our opponents under the 100 mark with 2/-1 in that over. Other than that, our bowling and fielding were not at our usual high standard and we therefore lost a game that we should be able to win on any other day. Our opponents' total of 99 gave them victory by 18 runs.

A special mention must go to the She Nukes, our ladies team that will start playing next week. They supported like crazy until the very last ball was bowled. It seems that “rust” forms quickly: the previous time we had a bye week, we also lost the following week. Hopefully we can get back to our winning ways next week!

Man of the match: Wimpie for scoring 20 runs, great bowling figures of 2/4 (net run contribution of 16) and of course that rare fielding hat trick.

Result: Won by 103 runs

Rob lost the toss and "The Nukes II" was sent in to bat, which suited us fine. All partnerships were firing on all cylinders, with again Pieter/Carel and Steve/Sarel vying for the highest batting score. Pieter and Carel beat the previous Nukes II skin record by hitting 56 but Steve and Sarel had to show they could do better and hammered 61 in the final skin. One can wonder how much of that was due to all the cheering we received from the balcony, as a lot of girls from our new team, the “She-Nukes”, came and have a look at how this game is supposed to be played!

The target set for “Occasionally Brilliant” was 189 runs, which should be easily defendable. And the bowlers duly did their stuff. Steve had good figures of 3 for 7, but Martin showed that line and length are the most important ingredients to ensure good figures and obtained his career best of 3 for –2. The fielding was also good, with Steve doing an excellent job as back stop, ensuring a couple of run-outs including his customary run-out from a 7.

Man of the match: Steve Aaron for his 33 runs, good fielding and bowling figures of 3/7 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 25 runs.

Result: Won by 17 runs

Our opponents “The Sopranos” batted first and got off to a good start, scoring 34 runs within the first skin. “The Nukes II” however pulled the game back, conceding only 8 runs in the next skin. This was mainly due to some good stumpings from Sarel, and our opponents struggling with Johan's bowling. An overall good performance by team in the field and “The Sopranos” was restricted to only 92 runs during their innings. Carel and Steve were the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/7 (wickets/runs) and Sarel took a brilliant low catch from his own bowling. Steve was also kept busy at the back and managed to run out two players after they have hit the ball for a six.

The team had a good performance with the bat and the target was reached after the third skin. “The Nukes II” managed to score 109 runs, winning the game by 17 runs and taking 2 skins. Piet and Stefan were the pick of the batsmen, both scoring 22 runs.

Man of the match: Pieter Viljoen for his 22 runs with the bat and his bowling figures of 2/8 (wickets/runs). Net Run contribution of 14.

Result: Won by 33 runs

We played our first game tonight in the “D3” league after we were promoted once again to a higher league. As usual Gerhard won the toss and sent our opponents “Activ8” in to field. Our batsmen had a solid performance with the bat with some sensible batting and all the partnerships contributed towards our total score of 122 runs. Erik scored the most runs for the evening with his 25 runs and his partnership with Schalk also produced the highest partnership of 37 runs.

Once again the team produced a great performance in the field with some good fielding and bowling. Some moments to remember: Wimpie's magnificent behind the back catch; Philip's great low catch against the back side-net; A good reflex catch from Chris, A Good caught behind by Gerhard and a good catch by Michael. Erik was the pick of the bowlers with his 3/3 (wickets/runs), while Philip and Wimpie both produced good figures of 3/5 (wickets/runs) and 3/6 (wickets/runs) respectively. We managed to restrict our opponents to 89 runs and won the match by 33 runs and in the process we took all four skins!

Man of the match: Erik van der Linde for his 25 runs with the bat and his bowling figures of 3/3 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 22 runs.

Result: Won by 137 runs

“The Nukes II” batted first and put their opponents under pressure from the start with Stefan and Reshendren putting up an opening skin of 49 runs. Both partnerships of Pieter and Carel as well as Steve and Sarel contributed 55 runs each, which earned both teams the top spot on the high score tables. The whole team contributed with the bat and “The Nukes ” ended up with a good defendable total of 187 runs after their innings. Stefan scored the most runs with his 36, while Pieter and Steve contributed 34 and 30 runs respectively.

“Zwartkop Country Club” struggled to gain momentum and our bowlers limited the runs with some good bowling and fielding. Our opponents only managed to score 50 runs and “The Nukes II” won the match comfortably by 137 runs. The team's performance in the field improved tonight with some good fielding. Rob and Steve both had good catches in the field. Sarel also had a great night behind the wickets and managed 5 stumpings for the evening. Steve had good bowling figures with his 5/-2(wickets/runs), but Rob was the pick of the bowlers with his 5/-7 (wickets/runs).

Man of the match: Steve Aaron for his 30 runs and bowling figures of 5/-2 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 32 runs.

Result: Won by 4 runs

Directly after our previous match we had to face “Legends” in another league match. Our opponents allowed us to make the call on fielding or batting , and as usual Gerhard elected to bat. Our opponents bowled very well and made some great catches in the field and kept the pressure on our batsmen throughout the game. Eric was however still in his scoring mood and scored 27 runs, while Gerhard and Michael put on the highest partnership of 36 runs. The team ended up with 88 runs and we knew we had to produce a great performance in the field if we wanted to defend such a low score.

Luckily our performance in the field picked up and we kept our opponents under pressure throughout the game. It was a nail biting game with “The Nukes ” winning with 4 runs. Gerhard had a great day behind the wicket and once again he and Erik were sharp between the wickets and ensured many run-outs. Erik had some great catches, even managing to catch a difficult catch and turn-around for a run-out within one move! Heinrich had the best bowling figures of 3/4 (wickets/runs).

A mention should go to tonight's umpire, Huydn, who I believe had a great game. Players always appreciate it if the umpires are fair, consistent and communicate with the players. We hope to have him umpiring more of our matches!

Man of the match: Erik van der Linde for his 27 runs, his bowling figures of 2/12 and his brilliant catches in the field. Net Run contribution of 15 runs.

Result: Won by 112 runs

Tonight was our first match in the “D4” league and we played against “Bad Boyz”. As it is custom by now Gerhard elected to bat first. Wim and Stefan had a good day with the bat and ensured a great start for the team with their partnership of 42 runs. “Bad Boyz” struggled with their bowling and Erik and Chris made good use of the opportunity to score the highest ever partnership for “ The Nukes ” with their 69 runs! Erik scored the most runs with his 48 runs, another highest score! The rest of the team also contributed with the bat and the team ended up with 167 runs.

It was however not one of the teams best performance in the field as we missed some catches and struggled to hit the wickets. The performance was however good enough to restrict our opponents to only 55 runs, mainly due to some good bowling. Most of the bowlers had good figures, but Gerhard had magnificent figures of 7/-12 (wickets/runs) which puts him at the top of the high scores table.

Man of the match: Erik van der Linde for his 48 runs and his bowling figures of 2/6. Net Run contribution of 42 runs.

Result: Lost by 35 runs

“The Nukes II” had the opportunity to field first and struggled with the ball from the beginning. Schalk showed some true commitment in the field, diving from the on side of the court to the other side, trying to limit the runs. Unfortunately the team could not take sufficient wickets and keep the ball away from the nets and “ K2 ” ended up with 136 runs. Steve had good bowling figures with his 2/7 (wickets/runs), but Sarel was the pick of the bowlers with his 3/1 (runs/wickets).

The team however had an average day with the bat and only managed to score 101 runs, losing the game by 35 runs. Steve scored the most runs with his 22 and he and Martin put on the highest partnership of 33 runs.

This is still a new team and will come through strongly in the future!!!

Man of the match: Steve Aaron for his 22 runs and bowling figures of 2/7 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 15 runs.

Result: Won by 43 runs

As usual Gerhard won the toss and decided to bat first. Wimpie and Steve gave the team a great start and managed to score 39 runs after the first skin. The rest of the batsmen also contributed and “ The Nukes ” managed to score a total of 130 runs. Gerhard and Michael had a solid batting performance and their 48 runs were the highest partnership for the evening, with Gerhard scoring 30 runs.

Once again we had a great performance in the field and our bowlers and fielders did not allow “The Wombles” any easy runs and they were restricted to only 87 runs and “ The Nukes ” managed to win a total of 3 skins. The brilliant wicket-to-wicket fielding between Gerhard and Erik kept our opponents under pressure and ensured that the batsmen were reluctant to run between the wickets. Schalk once again showed some Jonty brilliance in the field with his diving run-outs! Wimpie managed brilliant bowling figures of 2/1 (wickets/runs) and Philip also managed to achieve 3 wickets while only conceding 6 runs.

A special mention to our loyal supporters, Dimar and Piery , with their “Nukes” fan T-shirts!

Man of the match: Gerhard van der Merwe for his 30 runs and bowling figures of 1/8 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 22 runs.

Result: Lost by 1 run

“The Nukes II” batted first and Rob and Johan started of very well and managed 32 runs after the first two overs with Johan hitting “UTI” for a few sixes. Unfortunately they lost a few unnecessary wickets at the end and ended up with 30 runs. All the partnerships contributed and the team ended up with a total of 118 runs with Frank and Reshendren scoring the highest partnership of 32 runs. Johan's aggressive batting ensured the highest batting score of 30 runs.

The bowlers kept it tight and managed to keep “UTI” under pressure throughout the game. A better performance in the field, but unfortunately not good enough to win the math and the team lost the game by a single run! At least the team managed to win 3 skins! Johan had a good catch in the field and Steve showed some brilliance in the field with some great run-outs. Steve had the best bowling figures with his 5/5 (wickets/runs). Martin also had a good day behind the wickets and managed some crucial run-outs.

“The Nukes II” are improving after each match and a win is surely imminent!!

Man of the match: Johan Liebenberg for his 30 runs with the bat and his bowling figures of 2/13. Net run contribution of 17 runs.

Result: Lost by 45 runs

“The Nukes II” batted first and managed an average performance with the bat and all the partnerships contributing to the total score of 98 runs. Sarel scored the most runs with his 25, while Jaco and Reshendren scored the highest partnership of 27 runs.

The bowlers struggled to keep “Piss Cats” under pressure and our opponents managed to score 143 runs. Not one of our best performances in the field. It was one of those days which we kept missing the stumps and struggled to obtain crucial wickets. Jaco had good bowling figures of 3/7 (wickets/runs), while Steve managed 4/10 (wickets/runs).

Man of the match: Reshendren Naidoo for his 18 runs and bowling figures of 2/13 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 5 runs.

Result: Won by 86 runs

Our opponents did not have a full team in the beginning which meant that “ The Nukes ” fielded first. Our bowlers kept the bowling tight and “Vis & Chips” was under pressure throughout the game and only managed to score 59 runs on the scoreboard. Philip had good bowling figures with his 5/-6 (wickets/runs), while Gerhard was the pick of the bowlers with magnificent figures of 6/-8 (wickets/runs); which puts him at the top of the bowling high scores! Both Heinrich and Philip managed a hatrick tonight! We had a mixed day in the field with some great fielding, but at some instances our fielding let us down. Our wicket keepers were kept busy with Philip achieving 2 stumpings and Gerhard managed 5 stumpings.

Our batsmen put in a good performance tonight with the lowest partnership contributing 33 runs! Philip and Heinrich scored the highest partnership of 39 runs, while Michael had the most runs (23 runs) for the evening. The team managed to score a total of 145 runs, beating our opponents by 86 runs and once again taking all the skins!

Man of the match: Philip Le Roux for his bowling figures of 5/-6 (wickets/runs) and his 21 runs with the bat. Net Run contribution of 27 runs.

Result: Won by 41 runs

Gerhard once again won the toss and decided that "The Nukes" will bat first. Every skin contributed a fair quantity of runs to the end total of 119 runs. Schalk and Chris scored the biggest partnership with their 36 runs in the second skin. Philip was the pick of batsmen with his score of 23. All in all, a steady batting performance with not too many wickets lost, except for a few unnecessary run outs in the last skin.

A reasonable batting performance was followed up with a better bowling and fielding performance. "The Nukes" stepped up their performance a few notches, in particular Chris and Schalk (diving like a men possessed), managing some good stops and run outs in the front. The rest of the team did a good job of protecting the nets. It was a particular busy day behind the wickets as Gerhard managed two stumpings and Philip another of Gerhard's bowling. Heinrich turned in excellent bowling figures of 4/1 (wickets/runs), but was upstaged by Erik with career best figures of 5/-7 (wickets/runs) (with the help of Heinrich's brilliant run out of his last ball!). The Avengers were “avenged” to 78 runs, meaning that "The Nukes" won comfortably by 41 runs, taking all four skins.

Man of the match: Erik with his 17 with the bat and 5/-7 with the ball, net run contribution of 24.

Result: Lost by 50 runs

"The Nukes II" played their game tonight againts the Soprano's. We lost the toss and were sent in to bat. The runs were flowing nicely, with Steve and Martin scoring 37 in the opening skin. The run rate dropped thereafter and we ended the innings on 101.

The Soprano's came out firing on all cilinders. Their opening pair started even more progressive as ours, scoring 48. They kept on scoring, sometimes helped by some slowish fieldwork and the unability to take wickets on our side. Only 2 catches and 2 run outs in the Soprano's innings! The Soprano's final batting pair ended with 38 runs on 151, restricted in their final over by some brilliant bowling by Frank: 2 for -2 in the final over! "The Nukes II" lost by 50 runs.

Man of the match: Pieter Viljoen for his 25 runs with the bat and his bowling figures of 0/13 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 12 run.

Result: Lost by 81 runs

“The Nukes II” won the toss and elected to bat first. The batsmen struggled with the bat and lost too many unnecessary wickets. The team managed to score 47 runs with Jaco scoring the most runs (14 runs). Rob and Pieter managed to score the highest partnership with their 17 runs.

The team also struggled in the field and could not manage to take enough wickets. Bowling too many wides and no-balls did not help their cause and their opponents “CSA (A)” posted 128 runs in their innings. Martin was the pick of the bowlers with his 2/12 (wickets/runs).

A performance the team would like to forget, but they will bounce back and put another win under their belt next week!

Man of the match: Martin Sage for his 13 runs with the bat and his bowling figures of 2/12 (wickets/runs). Net run contribution of 1 run.

Result: Won by 41 runs

Gerhard won the toss and once again decided to bat first. The team got to a slow start and only managed to score 8 runs in the first skin. Some good bowling by our opponent “CSA”. Erik and Carel then managed to recover the score with their good partnership of 38 runs. Gerhard had the best day with the bat, scoring 35 runs. Gerhard and Michael put up a solid partnership of 50 runs and the team ended up with 111 runs on the scoreboard.

Our opponents had a good start to the game, scoring 39 runs in the first skin. “ The Nukes ” just could not obtain any wickets. Luckily the bowlers managed to pull back the game in their favour and bowled our opponents out for only 70 runs, ensuring a 41 run victory. Erik contributed with some brilliant fielding at the back, while Gerhard had a busy time behind the wickets and managed 3 stumpings. Gerhard had good bowling figures with his 4/-1 (wickets/runs), while Wimpie was the pick of the bowlers with his 4/-3 (wickets/runs).

It is not often that we complain about the umpire, but tonight's umpire made some dubious decisions!!!

Man of the match: Gerhard van der Merwe for his 35 runs with the bat, his bowling figures of 4/-1 and his 3 stumpings.

Result: Won by 7 runs

“The Nukes II” lost the toss and was sent in to bat. The team put up a good performance with the bat with all the partnerships contributing to a total of 93 runs. We probably could have scored an extra 10-20 runs, but our opponents “ K2 ” did have a few good bowlers which kept it tight. Pieter scored the most runs with the bat with his 15 runs, while his partnership with Rob contributed 28 runs to the final score.

The team knew that they needed a good performance in the field to defend the total and that was just what they did! Some good bowling and some brillinat catches in the field. Momemts to remember in the field: Schalk's Jonty like run-out; Good stumpings by Martin and Arnold; Great cath in the field by Pieter, which even received some applause from the umpire; some great catches by Michael while almost breaking his ribs.

The whole team was focussed in the field and minimised the runs. The batsmen had to work hard for their runs! The bowlers kept it tight and our opponents had scored 24 runs after the first three skins.” K2 ” kept their big hitters for the last skin as they scored an aggressive 63 runs in the last 4 overs. At the end of the day we were the better team and won the match by 7 runs. Pieter had some good bowling figures with his 3/1 (wickets/runs), but Arnold had the best figures with his brilliant 5/-4 (wickets/runs).

Man of the match: Pieter Viljoen for his 3 wickets / 1 run and his 15 runs with the bat. Net run contribution of 14.

Result: Lost by 15 runs

The new season has started and we had our first game against “Old Timers” tonight. Our opponents batted first, since some of their team members were still on their way from Midrand. Our bowlers had an average performance with the ball and managed to restrict our opponents to 92 runs. We struggeld in the field and should have restricted “Old Timers” for even less runs. Chris had a busy day in the field with same good fielding and he also had good bowling figures of 3/4 (wickets/runs). Michael had the best bowling figures for the night with his 4 wickets while only conceding 1 run. Gerhard had a stumping worth remembering tonight, he displayed some delicate skills with his foot!

“The Nukes ” struggled with their batting tonight and only managed to score only 77 runs. Too many run-outs and catches due to big shots being played instead of some good old fashioned shots against the nets! Gerhard scored the most runs for the night with his 14 runs. while he and Michael had the highest partnership with their 26 runs.

We all felt that we should have won tonight, but we will get them next time!

Man of the match: Michael Correia for his 4 wickets / 1 run and his 12 runs with the bat. Net run contribution of 11.