It was the toughest of situations for Andrew Puttick to come into bat for the Cape Cobras in the past weekend’s Sunfoil Series clash against the Warriors at Newlands.
He had missed the previous game due to his father PJ being ill, the Cobras had lost their first two matches of the competition by 10 wickets and 175 runs respectively, and some of the players are still engaged in a CCMA process with the Western Cape Cricket board following a grievance that was lodged against coach Paul Adams.
So, in many respects, it couldn’t get worse for Puttick. But it did – the Warriors had buried the Cobras attack into a featherbed of a Newlands pitch to post 525/7 declared in the first day-and-a-half.
You wouldn’t have blamed Puttick if he didn’t want to bother going out to the middle to open the Cobras innings with his captain Omphile Ramela on Friday afternoon.
The 36-year-old, though, is made of stern stuff. Even though it was a rather laborious effort – the Cape side only brought up their 200 in the 88th over – the openers put together a 266-run stand to stop the batting rot that had engulf the team, even though the game ended in a tame draw.
Puttick posted his 25th first-class ton with 124 off 320 balls (18x4), in two minutes short of seven hours at the crease. His previous century for the Cobras came in February last year, when he got two hundreds against the Knights in Kimberley while batting at No 4 and filling in as the wicket-keeper.
So it’s been a long wait, and the veteran left-hander is savouring the moment. “On the morning of my innings, I said hi to him (his father) and he gave me a smile and a wink, which I will treasure for some time,” Puttick told the Cobras website on Tuesday.
“I really felt that I have not had a bat in the middle for ages, because I did not spend much time batting at the Wanderers (in the opening game of the tournament), and before that it was the off-season, so it is great to be back. One of the most important positives that came out of this game is that we really wanted to knuckle down and make the opposition work for their wickets.
“It was great to get back into some flow and rhythm and also to give some joy back to my family.”
Ramela also stood strong to end up with a wonderful 170 off 370 balls (26x4) in over eight hours in the middle, and it set up the Cobras to actually pass the Warriors’ total to finish on 567/7 when the match was called off early during the final session on day four.
Adams will believe that his batsmen have turned the corner heading into Thursday’s encounter with the Titans at Newlands (10am start), with Jason Smith (63) and Aviwe Mgijima (54) also bringing up their half-centuries. “I am proud of the consistency of Aviwe Mgijima, having scored two consecutive half-centuries,” the coach said.
“Jason walked in and was nice and positive from the start. When he spotted a bad ball, he just put it away. The pitch was docile, but you still have to apply yourself, and that was what Omphile and Andrew did. They are the type of players that once they establish themselves at the crease, they can bat for long periods. Their patience was one of the key elements of the game.
“Our first-innings performances with the bat were one of the problem areas in the first two games, and it is a big highlight that we have set the record straight. What we need now is to click in all three departments. We have been a bit patchy in the first couple of games.”
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