KES come out on top in historic fixture against Helpmekaar
King Edward VII School‘s in-form Callum Ritchie led the side from Johannesburg to yet another victory on Saturday in an historic match against Helpmekaar Kollege.
It was the first time in 25 years that the two sides had met in a 50-over fixture. Before that, they had played only twice previously in the Johnny Waite T20 competition.
Ritchie was, once again, the spearhead for KES with both bat and ball. With Helpmekaar batting first, he claimed KES’s best bowling figures of the day, sending two Helpie batsmen back to the pavilion at a cost of only 23 runs.
The impressive Fayaaz Ahmed (2/42) provided good support, with two wickets of his own.
Kyle Swanepoel was the pick of the Helpmekaar batsmen. The opener knuckled down and handled the pressure of the KES bowlers well to contribute a mature 65 runs. Juan Minnaar (35) and Anthony Stone (30) also chipped in with valuable contributions to help their side past the 200-run mark.
Defending 213, the Helpie bowlers started well, led by Henno Steyn (2/21), who manufactured two much-needed breakthroughs in the first eight overs. Troy Gordon (35) led a recovery for KES as he and Callum Ritchie combined well for a 54-run partnership before Gordon was dismissed by Anrich Liebenberg (1/44).
Ritchie, however, continued on his merry way, adding another excellent innings to his long list of them this season. His 76 runs from 94 deliveries broke the backbone of the chase and, with Zieg Roos weighing in with 34 runs, KES secured a five-wicket win.
Hoerskool Waterkloof’s batsmen enjoyed their outing against St Alban’s College. Marcus Bakker, finally managed to kick on from a good start as he smashed 110 runs from just 89 deliveries, which included 11 fours and two sixes.
Divan Behrens, continued his astonishing form, accumulating another 74 runs, while, at the other end, Wian Ruthven put on an exhibition of clean hitting, scoring 52 runs, as the pair combined for a 120-run opening stand.
Christiaan Visage was the pick of the St Alban’s bowlers on a day that belonged to the batsmen, bowling well to return figures of three wickets for 65 runs. Liam Basch provided good support, claiming 2/67.
Unfortunately for the St Alban’s batsmen, they couldn’t replicate the fiery performance of their Waterkloof counterparts. It wasn’t for a lack of trying.
Zack Richardson batted extremely well for his 69 runs from 73 deliveries, while Kyle Block contributed a well-played 47, as he and Richardson shared a big 135-run stand for the second wicket.
Wian Ruthven, though, spun a web around the St Alban’s batsmen, backing up his strong batting performance with a miserly 3/12 from 10 overs.
Matthew Ward added 32 for St Alban’s, but it wasn’t enough in pursuit of a mammoth victory target of 363. Though they managed a respectable 250/6 in their 50 overs, it was still 112 runs short of Waterkloof’s intimidating total.
St John’s College made light work of St Benedict’s College in their 50-over clash, and it began with the player of the match, David Ireland.
Opening the bowling for St John’s, he put the St Benedict’s batsmen under tremendous pressure, sending down seven overs, five of which were maidens, and capturing 3/7. Alec Loveland (2/26) backed him up well.
Carl Goosen led the way for St Benedict’s, with a fighting knock of 52 runs from 59 deliveries. A further contribution of 27 runs from Declan le Roux gave his side a needed boost, but 139 all out didn’t appear to be enough. It wasn’t.
Joe MacRobert’s amazing form with the bat continued as he top-scored for St John’s for the second time in a week. The St John’s skipper wasted no time getting to his 62 runs, smashing seven fours and four sixes, in a fiery 27-ball stay, before he was run out by Cruz Pillay.
Thomas Ievers, kept the scoreboard ticking along, with an unbeaten 47 runs from 44 deliveries, and shared in a 77-run stand with Macrobert, to see St John’s to a comfortable six-wicket victory after only 18.2 overs.
Summarised scorecards
Helpmekaar 213/7 (Kyle Swanepoel 65, Juan Minnaar 35, Anthony Stone 30, Anrich Liebenberg 24; Callum Ritchie 2/23, Fayaaz Vawda 2/42); King Edward VII School 215/5 (Callum Ritchie 76, Troy Gordon 35, Zieg Roos 34, Tiaan Goosen 20; Henno Steyn 2/21). King Edward VII School won by five wickets.
Waterkloof 362/8 (Marcus Bakker 110, Divan Behrens 74, Wian Ruthven 51, Riley Miller 47; Christiaan Visage 3/65, Liam Basch 2/67); St Alban’s College 250/6 (Zack Richardson 69, Kyle Block 47, Matthew Ward 32, Patrick Weir 25, Liam Basch 23; Wian Ruthven 3/11). Waterkloof won by 112 runs.
St Benedict’s College 139 (Carl Goosen 52, Declan le Roux 27; David Ireland 3/7, Alec Loveland 2/26); St John’s College 141/4 (Joe MacRobert 62, Thomas Ievers 47*; Declan le Roux 2/21). St John’s College won by six wickets.
