JOHANNESBURG: The 4-Day Domestic Series Division 2 final gets underway at the AET Pietermaritzburg Oval on Wednesday with the ACDC Express Tuskers hosting the Northern Cape Heat in an attempt to make a clean sweep of all the trophies in Division 2.
The Tuskers won the T20 Knock Out earlier in the season and then followed that up with a shared 1 Day Cup trophy and will now attempt to dethrone the Northern Cape side who have had a grip on the 4-Day trophy since the two-division system was introduced.
Even though the Heat went through the round-robin phase unbeaten, Tuskers ended at the top of the table with three wins, two losses and a draw from their six matches in the competition. They did finish the group phase with the most batting bonus points of any team in the competition.
Reflecting on the match between the two sides during the season, the Tuskers had to score just 67 to beat the Heat in Pietermaritzburg in the fourth innings. Heat spinners Tshepo Ntuli and Ernest Kemm ripped through the Tuskers batting line-up to take all ten wickets and bowl the home team out for just 47.
This gave the Heat a famous 19 run victory.
This result will give the visitors a lot of confidence going into this week’s clash, however the Tuskers are a formidable batting outfit and will feel that they have what it takes to beat their opponents.
It should shake out to be a very even contest between the two sides, with the Tuskers having three of the top ten run scorers from the 4-Day competition compared to the one for the Heat.
Kagiso Rapulana, who sits second on the run-scorers chart, has been a beacon of consistency for the Tuskers amassing 470 runs at an average of nearly 43 with three fifties and one century.
Tuskers captain Michael Erlank is also in the top ten with 413 runs scored this season. 234 of those runs came in a single innings and he holds the record for the highest individual score this season.
Ernest Kemm has proven his incredible value to the Heat team and is not only their highest wicket-taker but also their highest run scorer.
The left-hander has made 384 runs in ten innings at an average of nearly 43. He’s contributed four half centuries with a highest score of 90.
Tuskers wicket-keeper/batsman Cameron Shekleton is tenth on the run scorers list with 374 runs this season.
The Heat, though, have two of the top ten wickets takers in the competition versus the one of the Tuskers.
Tshepo Ntuli and Kemm have picked up a staggering 66 wickets between them this season with Kemm taking 35 and Ntuli 31. Sean Whitehead is the best placed Tuskers bowler having picked up 31 wickets through the season.
With two evenly matched teams, history could play a significant role as the Heat have dominated this competition and with their win at the Pietermaritzburg Oval earlier in the season they could go in as the favourites.
With that said, the Tuskers are full of confidence and have two trophies to their name this season as well as automatic promotion to Division 1. Riding on that confidence, they could well go on to claim the treble.
Source: cricket.co.za
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