Van Jaarsveld guides Titans to victory
by Brendon Atwell 25 November 2012, 17:39
A fantastic knock of 109 not out by Martin van Jaarsveld ensured victory by seven wickets for the Nashua Titans over the Chevrolet Warriors in the Momentum One Day Cup at Sahara Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.
Full Scorecard – Titans v Warriors
The Titans reached the target of 242 for the loss of only three wickets, in response to the Warriors' 241 for nine, after the visitors had won the toss and decided to bat first.
Van Jaarsveld's stay at the crease was given a life when he was on 27 as he was dropped by Andrew Birch on the mid-wicket boundary off the bowling of Jon-Jon Smuts, and the Titans captain took full advantage.
He accelerated his innings at the end as he smashed four boundaries in consecutive overs to win the game for the home side. Van Jaarsveld needed only 103 balls for his century which included 16 boundaries and a six.
The Warriors were in with a shout at the beginning of the innings as Makhaya Ntini and Birch troubled the Titans' top order.
Henry Davids (30) set the tone upfront before he punched a ball off his hip, only to be caught at short mid-wicket by Ashwell Prince off the bowling of Birch.
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The Titans lost their second wicket with the score on 49 when Mangaliso Mosehle was completely castled by Birch for one.
But once Ntini (0-46), and Birch (2-44) ended their opening spells, the change bowlers made batting look very easy.
Heino Kuhn and Van Jaarsveld compiled a brilliant 142-run partnership which set-up the victory. Questions will be asked about the field placings as time and again, balls flew off the edge of the Titans' bats past wicketkeeper Davy Jacobs for four.
Kuhn started off his innings slowly, but gradually built and then accelerated his innings. He was eventually out to Basheer Walters (1-59), feathering one to Jacobs behind the stumps for 86, which included 12 boundaries off 96 balls.
Kuhn and Van Jaarsveld rotated the strike beautifully as the Warriors' bowling attack, without a specialist spinner, tried in vain to find a way of breaking the partnership.
Van Jaarsveld brought up his century with a smashing shot over mid-wicket, and then was dropped by Wayne Parnell a few balls later as Van Jaarsveld tried to end the game quickly.
Jacobs used eight bowlers in trying to fathom a way of dislodging the Titans men, but without success.
The Warriors had earlier seemed to put up a defendable total as the pitch played up and down quite a lot. The ground staff were constantly working on the bowlers' footmarks as the pitch seemed to be breaking up.
Jon-Jon Smuts (8) was first out, clean bowled by Albie Morkel, who followed up by having Colin Ingram (13) caught behind, although it seemed that Ingram had struck the ground in driving at the ball and the Proteas ODI batsman was not happy at being given out.
Ashwell Prince played well for his 41, which came off 57 deliveries and included five fours. Jacobs (50) joined Colin Ackerman (27) at the crease and moved the ball around the park nicely to increase the run rate.
There were some contributions from lower down the order as Ayabulela Gqamane (22) and Basheer Walters (24) added some much-needed momentum at the back end of the innings.
Roelof van der Merwe claimed 4-50 and combined well with Morkel (3-36) to restrict the Warriors. David Wiese bowled brilliantly and was unfortunate not to pick up any wickets as he beat the edge of the bat on many occasions.
Wiese eventually finished with figures of 10-1-30-0 and created the pressure for Van der Merwe and Morkel to thrive in.
This victory lifts the Titans back into second position on the log with 17 points, although this could be short lived, depending on results elsewhere.
The Warriors are having a horrid series as they have only one victory under their belt. They are firmly rooted to the bottom of the log with seven points and it seems extremely unlikely that they will attain a play-off place this season.
The Titans' next match is against the Chevrolet Knights on Wednesday at the De Beers Diamond Oval in Kimberley while the Warriors travel to Cape Town on Friday to face the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras.
TEAMS
NASHUA TITANS: Henry Davids, Heino Khun (w/k), Mangaliso Mosehle, Martin van Jaarsveld (c), Farhaan Behardien, Albie Morkel, David Wiese, Roelof van der Merwe, Shaun von Berg, Tumi Masekela, Rowan Richards
CHEVROLET WARRIORS: Jon-Jon Smuts, Ashwell Prince, Colin Ingram, Colin Ackerman, Davy Jacobs (c, w/k), Wayne Parnell, Craig Thyssen, Ayabulela Gqamane, Basheer Walters, Andrew Birch, Makhaya Ntini
