Blue Bells Cricket Club captain Yusuf Keet, 29, led by example in the first half of their Western Province Cricket Association(WPCA) division 1C two-day format as he has been in great form with the ball and bat.
He will look to continue his good performances when the second half of the season gets underway, at the weekend.
Keet has taken 18 wickets in three matches,with best figures of 7/40 and 4/34 against Atlantis and Elsies River Northlink, respectively. He is also doing well with the bat, with top scores of 70 not out, 58 and 46 against Langa, Elsies River Northlink and Atlantis, respectively.
His performances have had a positive impact on his side as they are unbeaten and top of the log in the WPCA 1C division two-day format.
The Grassy Park side kicked off their two-day format campaign with a bang, beating Atlantis CC by an innings and 41 runs. Blue Bells then went on to beat Elsies River Northlink by six wickets and got their revenge over the Avonwood side after they lost to them in a T20 fixture, earlier this season.
Their dream start to the season continued as they beat Langa and Ruyterwacht’s Glamorgan by nine wickets and 84 runs respectively to end the first half of their two-day format season on a high.
Keet, from Grassy Park, said he’s happy with his performances but believes there is always room for improvement.
“I always feel that I need to contribute whether it’s batting, bowling or fielding. Also, when I do, I want to give my best, hopefully it continues this year,” said Keet, who is happy with how his side has performed in the first half of the season and credits his coaches Shaheed and Adnaan Meyer for everything they have put in.
“We’ve had the backing from our coaches to go out there and express ourselves week in and week out. We’ve been backed by our executive committee and selectors so there is minimal pressure on us. Most importantly, we’ve played the big moments right at crucial times this season,” he said.
Once their two-day format ended on December 3 against Glamorgan, their Final Challenge one-day cup got underway against Langa the following day.
They went on to beat Langa by 86 runs in their opening encounter. In their last match for the year they lost to Helderberg by six runs. This was after the game was reduced to 25 overs per side due to the wicket being wet from the previous night’s rain.
Keet won the toss and put the Strand side into bat. Helderberg posted 150/8 and Blue Bells only managed 144/8 in their 25 overs.
Blue Bells will travel to Atlantis in the next encounter, on Sunday, January 8. They will go into the game as favourites after they beat their opponents comfortably in the two-day format, earlier this season. Keet said the plan is to walk away with the winning four points but believes anything can happen on the day because it is a different format.
“We have been working hard at practise, to tick the right boxes, and make sure we execute our plans, come Sunday. I feel we can do well in the one-day competition as we will play up against teams in higher leagues,” he said.
Keet said if his side can continue their good run of form then they could reach their goal of gaining promotion to the WPCA division 1B.
“We have gone in the right direction as far as our main objective to stay to stay on top of the log. Our next few two-day league matches will be make or break,” he said.
as we play teams in the top half of the league.As for the one-day cup, we would like to go as far as possible,” he said.
