Boland Park is humming in the late morning heat. The majestic Drakenstein mountains are all but invisible, hidden by the billowing smoke of the fires raging on their slopes.
The sell-out crowd are slowly filling the grass banks, all the shade taken early, as they swelter in 34 degree heat. They have come for the 19th game of the SA20. The blue skies above are in stark contrast to a season that has been tormented by rain. Sixty percent of the round-robin phase of the competition is complete, and already more games have been lost to rain than in any previous season of the SA20.
The five no results (28% of the games so far) have impacted pre-season favourites DSG more than any other team, with 3 rained-out matches. Two of these at home in Durban, and one at Centurion. Their campaign started with a dominant batting display against MICT, which remains their only victory. Their path to the playoffs is in similar peril to that of the champions, who are in serious danger of not finishing in the top four. They have had one no result, four losses and one win in a rain-reduced match against JSK.
No team has been spared the deluges in the east and north of the country. What this has done is condense the standings more than one might have expected at this point in the season. All six teams have the opportunity of making it to the last four.
The Paarl Royals have perhaps been the surprise package of the tournament, and they come into match 19 third on the log, having played only 5 games. Three home fixtures await the men in pink, and they will undoubtedly bring as much fire as they can to add to their three wins so far. Pretoria Capitals have stuttered to 11 points after 6 matches, and need a win in the cauldron of Boland Park.
Looking forward to this evening at the Wanderers, the weather forecast is positive for the match between JSK and MICT. With every match a must-win for the men from the Mother City, they must weather the JSK storm.
Back at Paarl, one of the finds of the season, Nqobani Mokoena, is steaming in from the Nederburg end. The 19-year-old has impressed with his raw pace and the ability to produce a very good slower ball. Last year’s Paarl Royals campaign made the world sit up and take notice of a certain Lhuan-dre Pretorius, and this year young “Moks”, as he is affectionately known, is making his mark. The Durbanite has become a firm favourite at Boland Park.
He forces a false stroke from Jordan Cox and the pink hordes cheer as the ball settles into the hands of Delano Potgieter at mid-on.
Local man Bjorn Fortuin bowls his 4 overs for 22. Though he plies his trade domestically for the Lions, the Paarl Boys High product is much loved in these parts.
Englishman Dan Lawrence is tossed the ball for his first bowl in the SA20 and gets a wicket both his first and third deliveries. The Pretoria Capitals are 60/4 off 8 overs and in a bit off trouble.
Then Mujeeb and Raza spin a web around the Capitals batters, as both Chase and Brevis fall cheaply to the Zimbabwean magician. The wind direction has changed, and the smoke gets ever closer, as the Paarl fires further smother the Capitals’ hopes of making the playoffs.
Two needless runouts make it difficult to reach a competitive total, with Sherfane Rutherford the standout, scoring 42 off 35, including 2 mighty sixes in the final over. The score of 138 may be enough, but the Royals will back themselves to get the total.
They get off to the worst of starts, losing the dangerous Pretorius for a duck second ball. As the Royals recover, a fire starts in a field next to the ground, which causes massive consternation in the crowd. As the flames are extinguished, so the hopes of the Royals are dampened. Asa Tribe walks back and the equation starts getting more difficult for the home team. At the halfway stage Captain David Miller is at the crease with Rubin Hermann, and the Royals need 94 from the last 10 overs.
There is a hush in the crowd, which could perhaps be that the fire has been put out, but is more likely that the Royals’ run rate required is heading for 10.
Seventy needed off seven overs in the blazing heat of the afternoon. It’s a tall ask.
As the final strategic time-out is taken, its advantage Capitals, four overs remain and there are 44 runs required. Crucially for the Royals, Miller is still at the crease.
Maharaj dismisses Raza at the beginning of the 17th and he finishes with 2/14 in his 4 overs. Brilliant from South Africa’s premier left arm spinner. Pressure on Miller now. He is breathing heavily at the crease, the weight of expectation on his shoulders.
Miller is the only one who can take his team over the line. In the end it is too much for the talismanic captain. He falls at the beginning of the final over. They end 21 runs short.
The smoke hangs thick around the ground, but the fire is with the Capitals as their quest for the playoffs takes a massive leap forward. The impact of the result on MICT and DSG cannot be underestimated, as a sweltering afternoon in Paarl has perhaps put the ultimate dampener on their SA20 campaigns.