KINGSMEAD had another Pollock to honour last night, although it was not to
the advantage of the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins who were the victims of his
flashing blade.
The son of former South African great Graeme, Anthony Pollock of
unfashionable Easterns maintained his team's unbeaten record in the
Standard Bank Cup, and took them to the top of the log, when he clinched a
nail-biting three-wicket victory for his team with three balls to go.
With Easterns needing nine off the last over, chasing the Dolphins' total
of 229-7, Pollock effectively wrapped it up when he casually flicked the
first delivery from Keith Storey off his legs into the old West Stand. The
stroke also brought up his own half-century in 53 balls and match
adjudicator Denzil Bezuidenhout had no hesitation in making him man of the
match.
Pollock, at 26 the same age as his more eminent cousin Shaun, showed great
character under considerable pressure to take his team to victory. He may
be a more limited batsman than his dad, but his father's flowing cover
drives lived again in his son last night as the Dolphins fed his favourite
stroke.
Easterns had made an explosive, almost Sri Lankan start to their run chase
with opener Derek Brand playing the role of Jayasuriya with considerable
aplomb, smashing a brilliant half-century in 45 balls and severely
punishing Ross Veenstra, in particular, who eventually went for 61 in his
nine overs.
However, after roaring to 70 in their first 10 overs, the introduction of
acting captain Eldine Baptiste and Jon Kent slowed the visitors down while
Storey made an excellent comeback to pick up the two crucial middle-order
wickets of Phil Simmons and Anthony Botha. Kent picked up 3-40 in his nine
overs while Baptiste strangled the run flow as only he knows how. Wickets
fell regularly as the tense climax approached with Easterns needing just
over a run a ball in their last 10 overs. The match was up for grabs and it
was Pollock, in the end, who did the necessary when it mattered.
Earlier, the Dolphins made a stuttering start to their innings with the
loss of Doug Watson, Ahmed Amla (rashly spooning a pull off his first ball
to midwicket), and an out-of-sorts Mark Bruyns for just 30.
KwaZulu-Natal's recovery was begun by Andrew Hudson and Jonty Rhodes, who
added 101 for the fourth wicket, and continued by Hudson and Errol Stewart,
who accelerated the run-rate in no uncertain terms, running superbly
between the wickets and pouncing on any loose deliveries to crack
boundaries. They added 56 in only 48 balls with Stewart finally departing
for an explosive 32 in 25 balls, including one superb straight-driven six
off spinner Deon Jordaan.
But it was Hudson who played the central innings, mixing watchful defence
with some trademark drives, square cuts and pulls. He finally perished 11
short of what would have been a deserved century, smacking a full toss
straight to midwicket. His 89 in 108 balls included seven boundaries.
Ironically, his position in the team was in some doubt up until the morning
of the match when skipper Dale Benkenstein pulled out. Benkenstein has
still not recovered from a minor chest operation last week, and will not
play in the Dolphins' clash against Northerns at Centurion Park tomorrow.
Instead, he will join the team for their match against North West in
Potchefstroom on Wednesday.
With or without Benkenstein, the Dolphins will have to improve considerably
on their bowling performance last night if they want to be competitive in
this competition. It's all very well backing your batsmen, as the Dolphins
have every right to do, but the bowlers have to come to the party as well.