On an afternoon when visitors Tembisa took advantage of the flat wicket at Prince George Park and posted 200 on the board on January 21, Bryce Parsons had already stolen the show in emphatic fashion to lead the Boksburg Cricket Club to a crushing 115-run bonus-point win.
With the pitch lending itself to a high-scoring affair, the two Premier League outfits happily obliged. Sent to bat first, Boksburg got off to a flying start as Chris Opperman’s early dismissal was quickly forgotten thanks to his opening partner’s heroics.
Parsons played a gem of an innings as he put together a ton-and-a-half before eventually leaving with 169 to put the PG Park outfit in the driving seat.
Following a few lost wickets in the midst of the Parsons show, he and teammate Sihle Dlamini regained their side’s batting rhythm as the latter added 71 on the board before Boksburg piled up a daunting 315/7 in their allotted 50 overs.
Tembisa enjoyed a solid start with their top order of captain Zwelo Ntsimbini (33), Kyle Degambur (39) and Israel Mlengane combining for a ton to give their side a chance of an upset at PG Park.
But Boksburg, who came in bruised following a crushing loss to Kempton Park the previous week, was having none of it.
Following the departures of aforementioned Tembisa batting triumvirate, it was their teammate Themba Nkanyani who was the only other batter to pass the 20-run mark as he finished with 32 on the board as the hosts tightened their bowling and fielding.
Larno Botha finished top of the bowling stats with 3/23 including one maiden from six overs. Jordan Hollard, who was unfortunate in the batting front after being removed for naught, took two wickets inside two overs with his 2/5 demoralising the travellers. He was joined by Nathan Kruger (2/38) in the deuce category.
Man of the moment Parsons and skipper Adam Forbes took one wicket each as the hosts comfortably protected their lead.
“He’s batting incredibly well and coming into a lot of form,” said Forbes of Parsons.
“His innings was very well constructed and timed, it was really great to watch.”
Much like Hollard, Tembisa’s Enoch Makamo made up for his fumbling with the bat with ball-in-hand. He produced 3/59 to finish as his side’s top deliverer on the day.
The stylish win was just what the doctor ordered for Forbes and company ahead of their awaited Boksburg derby clash with CBC Old Boys this Sunday (February 4). – @SabeloBoksburg
