Their place in the topflight competition of the Western Province Cricket Association for next season was confirmed with two victories at the weekend. Their focus now switches to Saturday’s match against Pinelands where a victory will secure them the First Division title. Rylands’ dramatic return to the top echelons comes after they were demoted along with Primrose last season.
On Saturday Rylands beat Avendale by 87 runs but it was Sunday’s emphatic 10 wicket win over St Augustine at the Basil D’Oliveira Oval in Elfindale which secured their promotion.
Taariq Chiecktey who was struck leg before wicket for a duck by Avendale’s Mo Manuel on Saturday, came back with a vengeance against St Augustine with an unbeaten 54 to push his run tally for the season thus far to 857 runs in 20 innings.
Mujahid Behardien, a former provincial player who played 15 first class games for Western Province who stepped up to the challenge as coach at the beginning of the season, modestly attributes his side’s success to a team effort rather than his acumen.
“The saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child. In this case Rylands is the child/club and it was a collective effort from not only the players but the executive committee and the broader club community.
“Stepping up to the challenge has been challenging but made easier with players who are dedicated. Another aspect which stood out was that we did not lose much of our players despite having been demoted. The players were committed and worked hard to achieve our objective. But the job is not done, we have two games to go, and we need to win to be crowned champions,” said Behardien.
Primrose meanwhile stayed in the hunt for promotion with a nail-biting 24-run win over Northerns Goodwood at Rosmead Avenue on Sunday.
Victoria also has a chance to win promotion despite having lost against Tygerberg, at Chukker Road, by six wickets.
