CRICKET NEWS - Not too long after her heroics for the Proteas, Knysna's resident women's cricket star Tazmin Brits put on her brilliant best once again, this time while in the colours of the Garden Route Badgers as they secured two great wins over the Titans last weekend.
Brits has been in some great form of late, with her efforts in Protea colours during the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup earning her a spot in the ICC team of the tournament. She would have undoubtedly been hoping that her form would carry over and translate into positive results for her franchise, the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers.
The Titanic hurdle
The 50-over and T20 matches, both played at the Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn last weekend, were the Badgers' first outings since their triumph over the Lions prior to last month's T20 World Cup.
Having secured their spot in Division One of both the CSA Women's Provincial One Day Cup and the CSA Women's Provincial T20 Cup's 2023/24 seasons, the Badgers are looking to round out their 2022/23 season on a high.
The first hurdle they had to overcome in this pursuit would be the Titans, with whom they'd shared the spoils this season. Earlier in the season the Titans had won the 50-over encounter while the Badgers won the T20 clash.
Playing on home soil, Brits and the Garden Route Badgers had other ideas.
Fine form for Brits
The 50-over match was played on Saturday 25 March, and the Badgers were asked to bat first. The coastal ladies put on a fine show with the bat, reaching 258-9 in their allotted 50 overs. Brits was stellar with bat in hand, scoring 127 off 109 balls and along with her Proteas teammate Annerie Dercksen (59 off 63 balls) posted a 109-run partnership for the second wicket.
The Badgers were great with the ball, restricting the Titans to 213-9 in their 50 overs with Micaela Andrews, Haroline Rhodes and Julandi Saayman taking two wickets each for the Badgers. With their two wickets, Andrews and Rhodes joined Jané Winster as the second and third Badgers women to take 100 wickets in CSA limited-overs cricket.
The Garden Route Badgers celebrate their triumphs over the Titans last weekend.
Stellar T20 showing
The next day, Sunday 26 March, the Badgers were hoping to continue their winning form. In a reversal of fortunes the home side was tasked with bowling first.
Another fine bowling performance followed as Rhodes took three wickets and Andrews took two of her own, restricting the Titans to 117-7 in 20 overs.
Rain threw a small spanner in the works of the Badgers' run chase, with the innings length reduced to 17 overs from 20, setting the Badgers a revised target of 105. Brits was unstoppable once more though, taking everything and more that came her way, managing to score an unbeaten 53* from only 34 deliveries. Her innings steered the Badgers to a five-wicket triumph, the perfect end to the weekend for the Garden Route Badgers ladies.
The high-flying Garden Route Badgers will now host the Dolphins in Oudtshoorn this weekend in a bid to end the season on a high.
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