Thrilling last ball win for Easterns after Nel bags six

Andre Nel was the Easterns hero as the Benoni team continued their victorious run at their Willowmoore Park stronghold on Friday night, holding on to beat Griquas by a tantalising one wicket off the last ball of their 45 overs in a Standard Bank Cup day-night encounter.

Man of the match Nel wasn't the player who hit the winning runs. That honour belonged to Elliott Mabena, who was on strike as the home team set out to score 13 off the last over for an unlikely victory.

Mabena, who finished unbeaten on 17, got 11 of them and there were two leg-byes as Easterns squeaked home with a three off the last ball.

Nel, the last man in, was Mabena's partner in an unbroken 10th-wicket stand of 19, which carried them to what seemed initially an easy victory target of just 158, but his major role was in keeping that target down, with a brilliant spell of six for 27 off his nine overs.

An early four-wicket burst from Nel reduced the visitors, who had won the toss, to 23 for four, before a stand of 68 between Loots Bosman (40) and Wendell Bossenger (48 not out) at least ensured that they would get beyond 100.

The target looked a formality and that view seemed to be endorsed by an opening stand of 71 between Dylan Jennings, very much the junior partner with 12, and the evergreen Mike Rindel, who made 53, the only Easterns batsman to get beyond Mabena's score of 17.

However, Easterns suddenly went into freefall, collapsing to 84 for five, and it was only a partnership of 35 between Derek Crookes (14) and Pierre de Bruyn (16) for the sixth wicket, and then the effort of Mabena and Nel for the last that carried the home side to victory in one of the most exciting limited overs games ever seen at the ground.