Relentless Terbrugge overpowers North West

Relentless and accurate have always best described David Terbrugge's style of bowling and once again he was the architect of a Highveld Strikers victory with a five-wicket haul that sent the home side sprawling to 148 all out on the final day of the Supersport Series match in Potchefstroom on Monday.

The Strikers claimed victory by 121 runs and earned 16 points to Northwest's seven.

Terbrugge claimed five for in 20 overs while new-ball partner Ottis Gibson offered ideal support with three for 36 in 17.2 overs. Although the two seamers claimed the lion's share of the spoils, there was still time for opening batsman Sven Koenig to become an unlikely hero - with the wicket keeping gloves.

Koenig was pressed into action after Nic Pothas bruised his fingers earlier in the match and he claimed three catches, including an awkward one off the bowling of his captain Clive Eksteen.

Glen Hewitt (38) once again displayed a seemingly faultless line of defensive shots but he was sadly lacking in support during a spineless batting collapse in pursuit of 270 for victory.

Eksteen endured a worrying end to the match when rain drove the players from the field for an hour and a half with Northwest on the brink of defeat at 148 for nine. Gibson ensured victory soon after the resumption, however, when he had last man Corrie Jordaan snapped up by Adam Bacher just seven balls after the restart.

After their disappointing start to the season against Griquas last week - they scrambled a 'losing' draw - defending champions Strikers seem to have put their campaign back on track. And their new-ball bowling attack seem to have more than just wickets in common with Gibson still curiously spurned by the West Indies and the excellent Terbrugge still surplus to South African requirements.