SuperSport Series: Northerns eye A Section final spot

Heady stuff all right as a thumping victory yesterday by 227 runs in tough conditions over Griqualand West and in scorching Kimberley, pushed Northerns to second place on the SuperSport Series log. And that it was managed, thanks to an all round team effort, before lunch on the last day meant that some of the celebrations were no doubt of the liquid variety.

But as Northerns coach Peter Kirsten was quick to point out, winning away matches such as this one was the result of solid pre-match preparation, teamwork and team spirit. Just the sort of situation which will have some critics gaping at the current A Section log and scratching their head with the sort of disbelief which has accompanied the faithful West Indies supporters.

Steve Elworthy chipped in, if that is the right expression, with a season's A Section's first five wicket haul as Griquas were bowled out for a lowly 95 in search of a target of 323 and Kepler Wessels no doubt wondering about his boast of: ``You guys ready for as whipping?'' made at Newlands barely a week ago.

Wessels went for 20 and opening batsman Micky Arthur managed 28 while Ottis Gibson, whom the Windies borrowed for the fourth test, amazed a top score of 29.

What with Border beating Gauteng in East London yesterday and maintaining their log leadership, some 26 points ahead of Northerns, and Western Province finishing off Eastern Province in Port Elizabeth, the log has undergone a dramatic change in the last 24 hours.

Okay, so Western Province and Eastern Province have games in hand and the road to the A Section final, at this stage, more likely to be played in East London from March 4 to 9, is still full of the sort of pot holes to derail Northerns hopes. It little like pitting a lance against a tooth pick in a bid to secure second place.

Not that Kirsten is too blase about the way the Titans dug a deep enough shaft to bury their Griquas Diamonds.

``Sure I am pleased the way things are going,'' he said. ``But we are still a bit light on batting points and the way we were blown out by Western Province (won) and Eastern Province (lost) may cost us in the end.

``But we have done it with a well-balanced side where everyone was focused and knew what we had to do,'' he added.

He had praise for the way Mark Davis, with a first innings haul of five wickets for 35 helped lay the foundation for success, coming as it did after a quality century from Mike Rindel. With Elworthy's second innings five for 33 burst, and Wessels failing to deliver on the last day were all part of a day of bonuses. And with a batsman the calibre of Roy Pienaar being left out, going into a though game such as this and winning it by such a wide margin showed there was a will to win.

``Davis was hungry for wickets and his five wickets (his first in five seasons) and he worked really hard at his game, which included the build up,'' Kirsten added.

There was also praise for the four-day side captain, Gerald Dros, who was well supported by Davis the one-day skipper.

``I think we need to take a close look at where we are now and before the game at Newlands where we managed to win for the first time in history. We have worked very hard for positive results and it is starting to show,'' Kirsten added.

``We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am most happy with the way things are going at present. It is a good start to the new year; we need to make sure we don't lose sight of our objectives, one of which is to compete.'' the Northerns coach added.

SuperSport Series Log

                        P    W     L    D    Bat  Bowl  Pts
Border                  6    5     1    0    12    24   85
Northerns               6    3     2    1     8    21   59
Gauteng                 6    2     1    3    20    17   56
W Prov                  5    3     1    1     9     7   56 
E Prov                  5    2     3    0    12    20   51
Free State              5    2     2    1    14    11   45
Natal                   5    1     2    2     9    14   33
Griquas                 6    1     3    2    10    15   32
Boland                  5    0     5    0     4     9   13