By Patrick Compton.
The Betway SA20 match between Durban’s Super Giants and Sunrisers Eastern Cape was abandoned after a typical Durban cloudburst soaked the playing surface at Kingsmead on Friday night.
Sunrisers, put in to bat by the Super Giants, had reached 53 for three in 5.2 overs before rain closed out the match.
The result means that the Super Giants will almost certainly not be able to qualify for the playoffs.
The first three overs of the Sunrisers’ innings – before the first break for rain – were packed with incident.
Opener Adam Rossington was fortunate to thick edge a slog over third man in David Willey’s opening over, but the first three balls of Reece Topley’s over hit the meat of his bat as he drove a six and two fours off three long half-volleys.
Back came Topley to dismiss Temba Bavuma – newly signed up by the Sunrisers – first ball, strangled down the leg side, and then Jordan Hermann who gently spliced his first ball to midwicket.
Rossington had time to guide a further two boundaries off Willey’s second over to the boundary before the rain came down with Aiden Markram about to face Topley’s hat-trick delivery.
After three tumultuous overs, Sunrisers had reached 30 for two, with Rossington scoring every run in just 14 balls.
There was a 50-minute delay before the players re-emerged, with Aiden Markram successfully defending the hat-trick ball. But he only survived for a further eight balls before clipping Wiaan Mulder straight to Simon Harmer at midwicket.
The second spell of play only lasted 2.2 overs before an authentic Durban cloudburst intervened. There were some heroic efforts by the groundstaff to clean up, and most of the more than 10 000 crowd opted to stay, but at 8.30pm, the match referee decreed that the playing conditions were too wet and that the match had to be abandoned.
Rossington finished with an unbeaten 35 in 18 balls (5x4s, 2x6s) while Topley had figures of 2-20 in two overs. Wiaan Mulder bowled just the one over, conceding seven runs and claiming the wicket of Markram.
All the players walked around the ground applauding the resilience of the crowd after the game had been abandoned.
SUPER GIANTS: Quinton de Kock (capt), Ben Mcdermott, Matthew Breetzke, David Willey, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Keemo Paul, Wiaan Mulder, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Reece Topley
SUNRISERS: Jordan Hermann, Adam Rossington (wk), Jon-Jon Smuts, Aiden Markram (capt), Temba Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Sisanda Magala, Brydon Carse, Roelof van der Merwe, Ottniel Baartman.