Johannesburg – Clyde Fortuin, admitted a more mature attitude off the field has helped his play on it, as a maiden T20 century helped his side claim victory in a see-saw encounter in the Pool D opener of the CSA Provincial T20 Knock Out competition at the Kimberley Oval on Monday.
Fortuin scored a magnificent 104 not out off 63 balls, striking 11 fours and four sixes to underline the rich talent that he first showed as a junior, but hasn’t always lived up to since coming into the professional ranks.
He shared a partnership of 118 runs for the fourth wicket with Christiaan Jonker as the Rocks built on a lively power play, to propel themselves to a huge total, on a flat, but occasionally two paced track in Kimberley.
The Rocks are packed with batting power and experience, with the Malan brothers, Janneman and Pieter at the top of the order, while Jonker’s big hitting lends power in the middle. But it was Fortuin, a crucial member of the SA under-19 team that won the World Cup in 2014, who was the star on Monday.
He started his innings by hitting three boundaries off his first four balls and carried that momentum throughout a thrilling innings in which he took advantage of too many short balls from the Warriors bowlers.
He helped himself to 22 runs off 17th over bowled by Mthiwekhaya Nabe, striking three fours and a massive six over the midwicket fence. Jonker, having played Robin to Fortuin’s Batman initially, brought his forceful shot making to fore in the second half of the partnership and was dismissed in the last over for 45, which came off 31 balls, that included four fours and six.
Glenton Stuurman was the outstanding bowler for the Gqeberha-based Warriors bowling 11 dot balls in his four over spell and conceding just 22 runs overall. However the example he set wasn’t followed by his teammates.
The Warriors to their credit had a full go at the chase, and were in fact ahead of the required run rate during an excellent 88-run second wicket partnership between Matthew Breetzke and Jon-Jon Smuts. Breetzke matched innovation and style in making 51 off 37 balls, while Smuts was typically brutal in his innings of 47 off 35 deliveries.
However the pair were dismissed within five balls of each other, which changed the momentum of the innings. Outstanding ‘death’ bowling by Ferisco Adams, who claimed 2/23 and Ziyaad Abrahams, who finished with 3/27, ultimately saw the Warriors get across the line fairly comfortably.
SCORECARD
Gbets Rocks 183/4 (Clyde Fortuin 104*, Christiaan Jonker 45, Mthiwekhaya Nabe 3/49)
Gbets Warriors 166/7 (Matthew Breetzke 51, JJ Smuts 47, Ziyaad Abrahams 3/27, Ferisco Adams 2/23)
The Rocks won by 17 runs
IOL Sport