A half-century by Yahya Jiwa was unfortunately not enough to take the South African Over-50 side over the line in their first World Cup match against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
The Louis Trichardt-based Jiwa is part of the Proteas squad representing South Africa at the Over-50 International Masters Cricket World Cup, currently underway in Sri Lanka. Their first clash was against the highly underrated West Indies at the St Thomas College Grounds in Mt Lavinia, Colombo.
West Indies batted first, and their opening batsman, Anthony Sahadeo, surprised both friend and foe by scoring an unbeaten 101. In 24 previous matches, Sahadeo had averaged just 19, making his innings as unlikely as it was impressive. The only other West Indies batsmen to reach double figures were Deonarine Deyal (14) and captain Zamin Amin (26), who came in at number 11.
South Africa's Wiaan Smit had a dream debut, taking 5/21 from nine overs to slice through the West Indies middle order. Russel Krug also contributed with 2/34 in six overs. West Indies finished on 199/8 in their allotted 45 overs.
Yahya Jiwa opened the batting for South Africa and found some early support from Munier Holiday (19). At 98/2, the chase looked promising. However, after Jiwa's dismissal, Deon Kruis (10) and Dave Bakker (42) kept the scoreboard ticking, but once Bakker fell, wickets tumbled quickly. The last wicket fell in the 42nd over, with South Africa bowled out for 181.
The Windies bowlers responsible for most of the damage were Sudesh Persaud (3/16 in eight overs) and Fareed Hosein (3/37 in nine overs).
Speaking from his hotel room in Colombo on Monday afternoon, Yahya said the first match had been a bit of an eye-opener for them, and they realised they would have to work harder if they wanted to reach the semi-finals. "West Indies did not win the game; we lost it," he said.
Yahya added that he had hoped to score a century in the first match but, unfortunately, that did not materialise. He said the Sri Lankan heat and humidity had made conditions tough for the South Africans. West Indies started with spin, which pinned them down.
Asked about the conditions in Colombo, he said it was a very pleasant place to stay and that the local people were very friendly.
South Africa's next challenge will be on Wednesday, 12 February, when they take on Australia. The matches will be live-streamed here: https://www.youtube.com/@thepapareofficial/streams.