Gqamane destroys Lions

File picture of Ayabulela Gqamane of the Warriors.

File picture of Ayabulela Gqamane of the Warriors.

Published Dec 22, 2012

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Johannesburg – Ayabulela Gqamane, in his first-class debut for the Warriors, crushed the Lions in their Sunfoil Series match at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The 23-year-old seam bowler took seven wickets for just 24 runs in the Lions' second innings, sweeping the Warriors to a 10-wicket victory with more than a day to spare.

Hailing from Mdingi village in the Eastern Cape, Gqamane grew up with only a fence separating his yard from the home of former Proteas fast bowler Makhaya Ntini.

Bagging four wickets in the first innings, the diminutive speedster returned match figures of 11/70.

Gqamane's consistent line outside offstump and his valuable bouncers left the Lions in tatters as they were dismissed for 59 runs after resuming their second innings on 35/5, holding a 115-run lead in the morning session.

Chasing 140 for the win, Warriors captain Davy Jacobs reached his half-century off 55 balls and remained unbeaten on 84, while fellow opener Michael Price was not out on 49.

They never allowed the dangerous spin duo of Imran Tahir and Eddie Leie to settle, cracking both of them for over six runs an over.

The win was a welcome return to form for the dominant franchise in domestic cricket in recent seasons, and temporarily put them at the top of the four-day standings with 16.7 points. The Lions could muster only 8.3 points. – Sapa

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