THE road to Kingsmead proved a dead-end for uThungulu as they crashed to an 86-run defeat against the mighty Crusaders in a one-sided KZN Premier T20 cricket final on Saturday evening.
Having comfortably won the Premier League this season, the home side wasted no time showing their talents as, batting first, they raced to a score of 189/4 with some powerful hitting – aided by plenty of missed catches in the difficult sunset conditions.
Skipper Mike Alexander (54) cleared the boundary ropes six times in a lusty display and received potent support from Riaan Minnie (51) and Sean Dixon (40).
uThungulu’s bowlers toiled honestly with little success although they did manage to slow down the run rate somewhat during the middle overs.
Requiring nearly 10 an over from the outset, there was no time for the Zululanders to play themselves in against the fine Crusaders white ball attack in what was always going to be a tough ask.
However, they did not shirk from their responsibilities, with four of the top five reaching double figures but failing to progress.
Openers Bertie Basson and Steph Joubert scored 13 runs apiece while Eugene Zwart (14) and Simon Savides (11) showed a measure of confidence against hostile quickies and some cunning spin.
Trevor Kietzmann played a few lusty shots to top score with 21 and help uThungulu to 103/8 after the 20 overs.
Thoroughly beaten but by no means disgraced against the colossal Crusaders outfit, uThungulu played with pride to receive their runners-up trophies and plenty of praise from coach Bryan van Aswegen.
