The latest stop on Ryan Rickelton’s “prove you wrong” tour saw the left-hander become the first player to score multiple centuries in the same SA20 season — leaving the Proteas selectors looking foolish for omitting him from the squad for next month’s World Cup.
Rickelton’s second 113 last night — this time unbeaten, unlike in the competition opener — saw him surge to the top of the run-scoring charts and help MI Cape Town to a crucial 36-run victory over the Joburg Super Kings (JSK) at the Wanderers.
The opener was one of the surprising omissions from the squad for the T20 World Cup in India, with Tony de Zorzi — still in rehab for a hamstring strain — and Jason Smith chosen instead.
Much like he did in the 2021/22 season for the Lions, when he was also left out of a Proteas Test squad that toured Australia, Rickelton has let his bat do all the talking.
At a venue both he and good mate and fellow opener Rassie van der Dussen know well, Rickelton took advantage of awful bowling from JSK, to share an opening partnership of 129 off only 69 balls with Cape Town notching up 234/3 — the fourth highest total in the competition’s brief history.
Van der Dussen, who made a century for MI here two seasons ago, when he and Rickelton shared what is still the record partnership of 200 for the competition, made 65 —striking half a dozen sixes.
Animated celebration
Rickelton held the innings together when JSK’s bowlers slowed the scoring rate and reached his hundred by flogging the hapless Nandre Burger over square leg for six, followed by an animated celebration — aimed at the national selectors perhaps?
A bruising opening spell from Kagiso Rabada, in which he dismissed Michael Pepper — opening in place of the injured Faf du Plessis — and Wiaan Mulder, pegged back the home team in the power play.
Despite half-centuries from James Vince and Dian Forrester, JSK couldn’t muster the necessary momentum to get close to such a big target.
At this stage of the competition, concern will be growing about the performances being delivered by Dewald Brevis
Earlier, at Boland Park, Sherfane Rutherford’s late burst with the bat, which included two sixes off Hardus Viljoen in the final over, proved the difference as the Pretoria Capitals earned a third away win, beating the Paarl Royals by 21 runs.
He finished with an unbeaten 42, taking advantage of slack “death” bowling, particularly from the veteran Viljoen, who provided too much width in that last over, allowing the Capitals to reach 138/9.
Sluggish pace
It had been a difficult pitch for the batters all afternoon, with the sluggish pace making shot-making difficult. Nevertheless, with so many experienced batters in both teams, the absence of common sense was alarming.
At this stage of the competition, concern will be growing about the performances being delivered by Dewald Brevis. Bought by the Capitals for over R16-million, the 22-year-old, who is also part of the Proteas’ T20 World Cup squad, has yet to live up to his billing this season.
A third innings of 12 yesterday, which raised his aggregate for the tournament to 86 runs, was indicative of a worrying lack of patience. He batted at No 5, coming to the crease in the eighth over, and having seen Shai Hope and Roston Chase dismissed, needed to show he could anchor the innings.
Instead, Brevis too was dismissed, bowled by the effervescent Sikander Raza while trying to hit the ball too hard.
There are still two weeks left in the tournament, which include the playoffs and, if Brevis finds his mojo in that period, the early struggles will be forgotten.
The Capitals’ bowlers, led by their skipper Keshav Maharaj, who picked up 2/14, outplayed the Royals at their own game, bamboozling and frustrating the home batters. Despite losing just six wickets, their inability to rotate strike proved fatal.
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