uThungulu still in the doldrums

RH CONSTRUCTION uThungulu not only had the tough task of squaring off against Clares in Sunday’s Castle Premier League encounter at Addison Park, they had to contend with Proteas master of spin Imran Tahir as well.

It was a day of mixed feelings for local cricket supporters, with the hype of meeting a ‘super star’ offset by yet another loss for the home side.

The local lads padded up first with hopes of improving on the previous week’s dismal performance against the University of KZN.

Conditions were not easy and failing to build any decent partnerships did not aid uThungulu’s cause, who were eventually dismissed for a mere 124 in the 44th over.

Eugene Zwart top scored with 34 off 61 balls, finding the boundary five times before being caught.

Opener Gary Park also contributed with the bat, adding a patient 17 runs off 44 balls, which took 66 minutes to accumulate before getting stumped off Tahir’s bowling.

The Protea bowler was the pick of the bowling line-up, ending with figures of 2/21 in 10 with an economy of 2.21 runs per over.

It took Clares only 148 balls to reach the required total for the loss of only one wicket.

The unbeaten partnership between opener Gareth Roderick (74 not out) and No 3 Richard Wissina (20) got the visiting team some valuable away points.

The unbeaten pair smashed the ball to all areas of the park, finding the boundary 10 times.

Spinner Chad Neuhoff was the only uThungulu man to get a stick, ending with figures of 1/33 in 4.3 overs.

The local side, who has a lot of soul searching to do, will take on UKZN at Hammond on Sunday in their next fixture.