Madibaz and UJ appear set for final appearance

The Mecer NMMU Madibaz , or the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University  (NMMU) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) both remained unbeaten on the fourth day of the 2011 Cricket South Africa (CSA)National Cricket Club Championships on Thursday.



Both now appear to have secured a berth in the final at Supersport Park Stadium on Saturday.  Madibaz lead Section One with 17 points, including a bonus point, while UJ, playing in Section Two have three bonus points for a total of 19.



In what is a virtual semi-final match, the Madibaz play Tuks Cricket Club at the TUT Oval on Friday.  Tuks are the only team that can halt the Madibaz.  They have lost only one match, and are just two points behind the leaders.



UJ, with a five point lead over their nearest rivals, Standard Cricket Club, are virtually assured of a place in the final. They play Kempton Park at Memorial Park on Friday.



The Madibaz were much too strong for SDL Brackenfell Cricket Club on Thursday, beating them by three wickets with 20 balls to spare.  Brackenfell batted first, and were all out for 248, with Willem Louw making 87 off 111 balls.  Sisanda Mogala took three for 40 in seven overs, while Justin Price and Simon Harmer chipped in with two wickets each.  Half centuries by Harmer (54 off 52 balls) and C Ackerman (74 off 94) helped NMMU to achieve the winning target with three wickets in hand.



In another Section One match, Tuks needed just 26 overs and six balls to thrash Western Province Cricket Club by seven wickets.  Maurice Aronstam took three for 26 in six overs as WPCC were bowled out for a mere 114 runs.  Francois le Clus then smashed 69 off 75 deliveries to take Tuks to a well-deserved bonus point victory.  The Central University of Technology beat the Crusaders by five wickets to record their second win of the tournament.



UJ put on a ruthless display to beat Wanderers by a massive nine wickets.  Sean Jamison took 4/24 as UJ dismissed Wanderers for 126 runs, and then Andre Seymore (63 not out) and C Currin (55) took UJ to their third bonus point win.

Pukke beat old Selbornians by seven wickets and four wicket hauls by Kyle Nipper and M Frenzel helped Standard beat Kempton Park by six wickets, with Standard requiring less than 23 overs to hit the required 104 runs.