2024 SA20: Pretoria Capitals vs Paarl Royals
Obed McCoy’s heroic final over led the Paarl Royals to a 10-run victory over the Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 League. Mitchell van Buuren and David Miller’s partnership and Lungi Ngidi’s superb bowling also proved crucial in the Royals’ win.
A hobbling Obed McCoy bowled a sensational final over to fire the Paarl Royals to a 10-run victory over the Pretoria Capitals in an action packed SA20 League match at SuperSport in Centurion near Pretoria.
McCoy had to defend 14 in the last over of the match after a drama-filled run chase, which had the capacity crowd on the edge of their seats and those on the grass banks on their feet.
The Royals compiled 210/3 from their 20 overs, and ended up restricting the Capitals to 200/7 thanks to McCoy’s heroics.
As McCoy ran up to bowl the first delivery of the final over, he pulled up with what looked like cramp. But he also had some strapping on his knee.
The West Indian left-armer missed last season’s first edition with an injury after he was drafted in by the Winelands team.
But, unbelievably, he managed to get through the over with six slower balls that totally bamboozled Capitals tail-ender Hardus Viljoen, who almost swung himself off his feet to connect the ball.
In the end, McCoy only conceded three runs in the final over that also featured a review for LBW, which also gave him time for a stretch in the middle of the over.
“Before he even bowled the first ball he pulled up with some cramps. It was just an unbelievable effort, I think he went for two or three in that over,” one of the Royals’ heroes with the bat Mitchell van Buuren told the post-match press conference.
“Fortunately we got a review halfway through the over, which allowed him to get some stretches in and get the physio involved.
“Some of the boys, including the captain, just surrounded him and asked him to give us one more over to win us the game. It was an unbelievable over from Obed and I’m very happy with that.”
The heroics aside, the Capitals will feel they let this one slip from their grasp after big hitters Rilee Rossouw and Will Jacks put them in a position to win the match with a 147-run partnership after they were struggling at 4/2 after the first over.
But a top catch on the boundary by Jason Roy to get rid of Rossouw for 82 (45 balls, 10x4, 4x6) in the 14th over and Jacks’ wicket three ball later for a well-played 58 from 34 balls gave the Royals the opening they needed to pounce.
Capitals still winless in the SA20 League
It’s the Pretoria side’s second successive defeat after they also went down to the Royals in Paarl on Friday night.
Coach Graham Ford bemoaned the untimely wickets of Rossouw and Jacks, but sees one positive in their pursuit to make another SA20 League final.
“We were hopeful that we had some extra batting to get us over the line. I think from a character building perspective, if he had got over the line, it would have been great as a group, not just to rely on two players,” said Ford.
“I can’t say enough about how well those two played. If you see how tough the lower order found it, it just shows that those two were unbelievable and the full house here today got a show of batsmanship.
“I don’t like losing. But the only positive I can take is to look at the winners from last year. The Eastern Cape (Sunrisers) boys lost two matches at the start of their campaign, and hopefully it will work in our favour as well.”
Capitals won the toss and put the Royals in a belter
Besides Obed magnificent final over, and Proteas speedster Lungi Ngidi’s four wickets with the ball, including the two in the first over, the main difference between the two teams was that the Royals set batsmen David Miller and Van Buuren batted through the innings, which saw them post that big score.
The two shared a partnership of 141, which they paced brilliantly. It looked like the wicket was a bit tacky at times - the slower balls bowled into the pitch were especially hard to get away - but they stayed patient, ran hard before teeing off towards the end of the innings.
Miller scored his first half-century of the tournament, smashing 75 from 42 balls, which included eight four and three sixes.
Van Buuren, who got a start but couldn’t capitalise in the first game in Paarl, hit a mature 72 off 40 balls (7x4, 3x6). He gave Miller a lot of credit for his knock.
“Every team and every bowling attack in this tournament has got world class operators in it,” said Van Buuren.
“Getting a chance to bat with David out there - obviously he has done it a thousand times before - he kept me really calm and that allowed me to be myself.
“The conditions in Paarl and Centurion are very different. There is always a blueprint I like to follow which is aligned with the team’s goals. I couldn’t kick on in Paarl the other night, but I'm happy to do that here.”
Lungi Ngidi loves SuperSport Park
Ngidi rocked the Capitals with the ball, getting rid of the dangerous Phil Salt and Theunis de Bruyn, before coming back to take the wicket of Rossouw which changed the game.
Ngidi, who finished with figures of 4/39, knows SuperSport Park as he plays his domestic cricket at the venue. His slower balls proved deadly at the end of the innings.
“The batsmen did very well to set that game up for us. They did get a couple of wickets upfront, but Dave and Mitch pulled it through nicely,” said Ngidi.
“I play lots of cricket here, so I kinda know which areas to hit on this pitch. Our main thing was to keep calm and stick to our game plans and it worked in the end.”
John Goliath is a copywriter and editor with 20 years' experience in the sports media industry. John, a Tottenham Hotspur tragic, studied journalism in the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and has worked for two of the biggest media houses in South Africa.