Eastern Cape Iinyathi captain Jerome Bossr says the camp is ecstatic at having reached the final of the CSA Division 2 One-Day Cup but cautions the job is not done until they bring the silverware back to the Border Cricket offices at Buffalo Park in East London.
Between them and the achievement of winning silverware for the trophy-starved region are 100 overs against the KZN-Inland Tuskers in Pietermaritzburg on Friday.
That final will be Border’s first under the Iinyathi’ brand formed half a decade ago.
Tuskers finished top of the log with 27 points while Iinyathi finished on 22 points.
Iinyathi reached the final by beating the Garden Route Badgers with a bonus point in the last pool match in Oudshoorn on Sunday afternoon.
But despite getting the job done in their game of reaching their 258 target within 40 overs, there was an anxious wait for about 30 minutes as their fate depended on the Mpumalanga Rhinos not getting a bonus point over the Northern Cape Heat, who themselves had a chance of making the playoff until that fizzled out in late afternoon.
Everyone in the Buffaloes colours was glued to YouTube watching the rest of the game in Kimberley and, luckily for them, the Rhinos only managed a normal win without the extra point and the celebrations started.
“We didn’t know whether to celebrate or not, we had to wait for a few minutes until we found out that we had gone through.
“Everyone was so excited, but we know that there’s one more game left. If we win it, we will make the people of East London proud,” Bossr said.
The Tuskers are the only team to have beaten Iinyathi in the competition.
That dent in the armour of Tumelo Bodibe’s side was in late February during a rain-affected match at Buffalo Park where the Tuskers won by 82 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis and Stern method.
Bossr, the leading run scorer in the competition with 315 runs in five matches, hopes the rain gods play the game in KwaZulu-Natal and ensure a clear, blue-sky day and perfect conditions for a fair final.
“It was frustrating in the game we played them because of the rain,” he said.
“We couldn’t get our rhythm going well because of the stop starts. We hope there’s no rain so that there can be a balanced game.”
In that game, Iinyathi were bowled out for 222, with Bossr scoring a century and Jason Niemand a half century but their efforts not enough to reach a revised target of 305.
It is a game Bossr feels they could have won as his bowlers picked up three top-order wickets for 128 runs in 25 overs before Sean Gilson and Chad Laycock dished out an unbeaten 196-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Bossr said they remained wary of the Tuskers’ track record at the Pietermaritzburg Oval.
At the venue, the KwaZulu-Natal outfit beat the Badgers by 46 runs, Eastern Storm by five wickets and their match against the Limpopo Impalas was abandoned.
The Pietermaritzburg Oval has favoured bowling teams, with 34 wickets taken in two games and the highest innings total being 263.
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.