A calm, well-paced chase saw the Cape Cobras cruise to a five-wicket victory and the One-Day Cup title at Newlands on Friday night, after they had earlier bowled well to restrict the Warriors to 242-5.
The success of the Cobras, who finished on 245-5, means that they are in possession of all three domestic titles, having won the SuperSport Series and the Pro20 competition last summer.
The chase for the Cobras did not start well. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis both departed for seven, Smith prodding at a Makhaya Ntini delivery to edge behind and Kallis getting tangled up by a Rusty Theron bouncer and patting the ball to leg gully.
Enter Richard Levi and Owais Shah to remedy matters, though. The pair added 122 runs for the third wicket off 172 balls to do the lion’s share of the work.
For once Levi was a more measured figure, playing a restrained innings after some recent criticism for not prizing his wicket.
His one six, to square-leg off Ntini, was a ruthless pull in which his hands did not travel far but the power was immense. He also hit six fours in a 111-ball knock of 84, and although his dismissal lbw to off- spinner Simon Harmer was followed by JP Duminy’s three balls later, the Cobras never looked in any trouble.
Shah’s innings was also a canny mix of big hitting and rotating the strike regularly. He hit the biggest six of the day to Cow Corner off Harmer, and his eventual boundary tally in a 109-ball innings of 83 was four fours and two sixes.
The consistent Justin Ontong (37 off 28 balls) got the Cobras over the line thanks to his usual perky finishing cameo, with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, veteran Cobras pace bowler Charl Langeveldt grabbed a five-wicket haul, twice taking two wickets in an over, to help restrict the Warriors to 242-9. He was named man of the match.
The innings ended with a flourish when No 11 batsman Makhaya Ntini smashed a six off Langeveldt, but earlier the Warriors had had to fight every inch of the way after falling to 80 for four wickets.
Cobras captain Justin Kemp put the opposition in and his bowlers responded well to have the Warriors reeling on 33-3 in the ninth over.
The first breakthroughs for the Cobras were made by swing bowler Langeveldt, who sent back Arno Jacobs (19) and key man Colin Ingram (nought) in the space of three balls in the eighth over. Jacobs was trapped in front and Ingram, who hit a century in Sunday’s play-off against the Knights, departed caught behind.
And when Dale Steyn found Jon-Jon Smuts’ outside edge on 11 for another Mark Boucher catch an over later, the home side were in the driving seat.
Langeveldt’s second double-strike came in the final over of the innings, when he had Simon Harmer and Wayne Parnell caught in the deep. The hat-trick ball, however, was pumped for four over mid-off by Rusty Theron.
Langeveldt, who will be 37 next week, justified his inclusion in the Cobras team ahead of other contenders like Vernon Philander and Rory Kleinveldt, with his five-wicket return elevating him to 22 wickets in the competition, and the position of highest wicket-taker.
For the Warriors the saviours were former Cobras man Ashwell Prince (63 off 67 balls) and Johan Botha (48 off 61 balls). The pair came together with the score on 80-4, and after Prince survived a stumping attempt on the same score (when he was on 24), they added 87 for the fifth wicket off 103 balls.
Before going out in the 37th over Prince had an eventful 133 minutes at the crease. On 13 a call on a catch at point was referred by the on-field umpires and Prince seemed to be given out before he was reinstated. He also had the missed stumping when he went down the track to off-spinner JP Duminy and missed his attempted drive, only for wicketkeeper Boucher to fluff the stumping.
Prince toughed it out, collecting six fours. Three overs later Botha’s solid swipe off Jacques Kallis only went as far as Graeme Smith at short midwicket. Botha hit four fours.
The Cobras were not that good in the field overall. At least three genuine chances went down, with Kemp, Boucher and Ontong the culprits. - Weekedn Argus