Neil McKenzie brought his considerable experience to bear as the bizhub Highveld Lions beat the Chevrolet Warriors by six wickets to make it five wins out of five in the middle game at the RAM SLAM T20 Challenge triple-header at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Sunday.
At 74 for four after 15 overs chasing 127 for victory, many batsmen would have buckled under the considerable pressure, but McKenzie refused to panic and found an able ally in Temba Bavuma.
The pair duly knocked off the 53 runs still required, coasting home with three balls to spare to put the Lions seven points clear at the top of the table at the halfway point of the competition.
The Warriors had needed a 56-run stand for the sixth wicket between Christiaan Jonker and Simon Harmer to get them anywhere near a decent total after four of their top five had been dismissed for single-digit scores.
Only Yaseen Vallie (25) had contributed as the Warriors slumped to 55 for five, but Jonker added 25 from 20 balls and Harmer scored an unbeaten 38 from 26 deliveries to take the Warriors to 126 for seven.
Although the Lions kept wickets in hand early on, with Rassie van der Dussen the only batsman to fall in the opening 12 overs, without Chris Gayle they struggled to gain momentum.
When Alviro Petersen (30) and Dwaine Pretorius departed in quick succession the Warriors were very much in the hunt, but McKenzie stood firm to finish unbeaten on 46 as Bavuma provided the firepower, hitting five boundaries in a score of 37 not out from 21 balls.
That earned Bavuma the Ram Slammer of the Day Award, while Chris Morris was named the Ram Deliverer for his figures of 2 for 20 in four overs.
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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