Duchesses pull off a thriller; Coronations skittle out Thistles for paltry 44

Coronations produced a brilliant bowling performance to skittle out Thistles for just 44 runs to register their second win of the Women’s Super League on Wednesday (December 16) in Cape Town. In another match of the day, Duchesses clinched a thriller against Starlights despite Lizelle Lee blistering half-century.



Thistles vs Coronations



Kgomotso Rapoo (3/2), Madison Landsman (3/10) and Jane Winster (2/7) shone with the ball as Coronations skittled Thistles for just 44 in 16.4 overs. Chasing 104 to make it three wins in a row, Thistles made a tentative start reaching 23 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.



However, things started downwards for Thistles when Landsman dismissed openers Courtney Gounden (one), Trisha Chetty (23) and Nonkululeko Thabethe (one) to give Coronations the upper hand at the halfway mark. Thistles were reeling at 34 for 4 after 10 overs.



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Sensing victory, Coronations bowlers applied more pressure on the opposition as Thistles' batting line-up fell like a pack of cards as they lost the next four wickets for just eight runs. The writing was on the wall as the Tumi Sekhukune-led side were all out with 3.2 overs to spare. Baring Chetty, none of the Thistles batters were able to register double digits



Earlier, Coronations didn’t have the best of the starts losing four wickets with just 55 runs on board in the first 10 overs. It was skipper Nadine de Klerk (30) and opener Laura Wolvarrdt (25) who led from the front to help them go past the 100-run mark.



Sekhukhune bowled well for Thistles scalping three wickets for 21 runs, while Shabnim Ismail (1/17), Moseline Daniels (1/33) and Nobulumko Baneti (1/12) also took wickets.



Starlights vs Duchesses



A brilliant 44-ball 72 from Lizelle Lee and Andrei Steyn’s 44 were not enough as Duchesses clinched a one-run thriller against Starlights to finally open their account in the competition. Chasing 151 to win, the Starlights were cruising at 95 without loss in the 11^th over, but some tight bowling from Paulinah Mashishi (2/22) and Alyssa Erxleben (2/23) towards the end helped in Duchesses’ cause.



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Lee, who couldn’t do much in most parts of the tournament, came out all guns blazing hitting the opposition bowlers at will reaching 50 without loss in the powerplay. The right-handed opener found a great partner in Steyn, who played a perfect second fiddle, as the duo put on 113 runs for the opening wicket.



However, Lee’s dismissal in the 15^th over turned the tide in Duchesses’ favour as the Lara Goodall-led side lost four quick wickets in return for just nine runs to trigger the collapse. Nicole de Klerk (17 not out) and Masabata Klass (9 not out) brought the equation down to 12 runs in the last over and then six runs off the final three balls, but Zintle Mali (0/24) bowling a the death held her nerve.



Earlier, Faye Tunnicliffe (69) and Sune Luus (55) once shone with the bat to help Duchesses post 150 for 3 – the highest total so far in the ongoing tournament.  Opting to bat first, Duchesses lost Gandhi Jafta relatively early for 16, but Tunnicliffe and Luus – her second half-century of the competition – set them on their way for a strong total.



The pair put on 103 for the second wicket, before both fell to Tatum le Roux (2/32), although by then the damage was done.



Brief scores:



Duchesses 150/3 in 20 overs (Faye Tunnicliffe 69, Sune Luus 55; Tatum le Roux 2/32) beat Starlights 149/4 in 20 overs (Lizelle Lee 72, Andrei Steyn 44; Paulinah Mashishi 2/22, Alyssa Erxleben 2/23) by one run.



Coronations 103/9 in 20 overs (Nadine de Klerk 30, Laura Wolvarrdt 25; Tumi Sekhukune 3/21) beat Thistles 44 all out in 16.4 overs (Trisha Chetty 23; Kgomotso Rapoo 3/2, Madison Landsman 3/10) by 59 runs.