Warriors claim thrilling victory over Lions

A match-winning 80-run partnership from Warriors opener Matthew Breetzke and allrounder Onke Nyaku saw the home team claim a thrilling three-wicket win over the Lions in their CSA 4-Day Franchise Series match at Buffalo Park within three days on Wednesday afternoon.

Breetzke and Nyaku were brought together with the Warriors in all sorts of trouble just after the lunch break on 67/5, still needing 98 runs to win, after the Lions were bowled all out for 217 in the morning session, leaving the Warriors 164 to win the game.

Breetzke stubbornly battled away for 187 deliveries in scoring 59 runs before he was out LBW to Malusi Siboto, but with just 18 needed to win and despite Andrew Birch (9) also falling, Nyaku kept his nerve  to hammer consecutive boundaries to end the match and finish unbeaten on 58.

“Obviously we very happy to get the win, another good wicket, a result wicket, here in East London, which made it an exciting game,” Warriors captain Jon-Jon Smuts said.

“I thought the guys played really well, we bowled nicely, batted nicely, we probably would have wanted to get a few more runs in the first innings, but to get the win was really important.

“It was very much a new ball wicket, it was really tough to bat with the new ball, and obviously today it started to turn a bit as well which made it very difficult, but we always knew it was just one partnership away.

“Matthew Breetzke and I had a bit of a partnership, it wasn’t necessarily big in terms of runs but in terms of balls we batted for a long time, and Matthew and Onke’s partnership at the end was then world-class, which got us over the line.”

In the morning session, the Lions resumed their second innings on 211/8, hoping to add some valuable runs and give their bowlers something to bowl at.

But overnight batsmen Siboto and Aaron Phangiso could only add six runs to the score before Lutho Sipamla had Siboto (22) caught by Jade de Klerk and in the next over Phangiso (7) was bowled by Glenton Stuurman with them 217 all out.

This gave the Warriors 164 runs to chase for the win, but they soon found out it would not be a straightforward chase as they crashed to 48/4 by the lunch break.

This was despite Lions strike bowler Beuran Hendricks being injured and unable to bowl, and Wiaan Mulder only managed three deliveries before he also limped off the field.

In an eventful first over, Dwaine Pretorius had opening batsman Eddie Moore (2) poking at one outside off-stump to edge the ball to Phangiso in the slips, while the final ball of the over almost saw a run-out after a mix-up between new man Yaseen Vallie and Breetzke.

However, they managed a 21-run stand before Siboto got in on the action, trapping Vallie (12) LBW and following that up by having Rudi Second caught by Dominic Hendricks in the slips for a first ball duck, with his double strike seeing the Warriors on 24/2.

That then became 34/4 as Siboto picked up his third scalp, bowling Sinethemba Qeshile for four to leave the Warriors in all sorts of trouble.

But Smuts and Breetzke then took the Warriors to the lunch break without further drama.

After lunch, they increased their partnership to 33, only for Smuts (12) to be pinned LBW by Phangiso, with the home side staring down the barrel at 67/5.

However, that brought Nyaku to the crease and he and Breetzke then put on their match-defining stand.