Not quite a compensation for Elworthy

Centurion: Steve Elworthy may have done enough to win man of the match award yesterday it was not quite the compensation for losing a place in a South African Test side he did not deserve to lose.

Ten wickets against Border for 116 runs in their drawn SuperSport Series game as well as an innings of some character which helped Northerns avoid the follow on, was more than enough to remind Rushdie Majiet's national panel the 34-year-old all-rounder is still a highly useful competitor at senior level.

No doubt though Majiet's panel will offer the same smart-mouth comment offered by the previous convener about another Northerns player, ``You cannot afford to write off . . . Fanie (de Villiers).'' But you could see from the enormous amount of attention the national selectors showed in this particular Pool A game they had already selected their side for first Test against Zimbabwe on Friday. It gives the impression that even a haul of 15 wickets and a match-winning century would have resulted in a ``It is nice to know we have such players in form'' and ignore him until the limited-overs triangular series in January.

Unless of course there is an injury, which means nothing as with David Terbrugge one of the fringe players mentioned by Majiet, Elworthy is not, it seems even part of that list of worthy notables.

Elworthy's efforts aside the match was marred by poor weather and a bonus points tangle which could create a problem for Northern later in the season.

Rudi Koertzen, the ICC Test panel umpire, deducted a run from Mpho Pedi's score when, after repeated warnings for running on the pitch the umpire called dead ball and made the batsmen return to the opposite ends. Koertzen was within his rights as under Law 42 note 11 sub-section C damage to the pitch.

Northerns were in need of that third batting point in order to continue their challenge for the Pool A log lead, in the end they had to be satisfied with two. Yet even the Northerns first innings total of 249 was a remarkable achievement after a shoddy display in the gloom on the Saturday and some quite outstanding play at one stage in the morning session.

Border, with off-spinner Geoff Love in attacking mode by bowling over the wicket, and fieldsmen clustered around the batsmen, and Vasbert Drakes motoring in from the Hennops River end, Northerns found themselves under serious pressure to avoid the follow on.

It was at this stage, when he was joined by Pedi that Elworthy felt the more prudent option was to attack Love's bowling and get past the 169 needed to force Border to bat a second time.

More remarkable than Elworthy's 42 run partnership with Pedi was the diminutive wicketkeeper's gutsy innings of 39 in a stand of 60 with Greg Smith, who once again showed that he can put runs on the board. Pedi's driving and the odd pull was the sort of impudence you need to remind the imposing taller players than short batsmen can score runs as well.

Yet had Elworthy, quite exhausted from his efforts in this match, continued to bowl in his impressive economical style it would have needed a dramatic collapse of the Border second innings to wring a result out of the game.

Border were 149 on with five wickets in hand when the two captains agreed mutually to call a halt. With more than one and a half days lost to weather and storm damage forcing a result was not in the script.

Northerns' five bonus points see them slip to second on the Pool A log to Gauteng who hammered Eastern Province by an innings and 22 runs at the Wanderers.