Sunguro the St Charles’ kingpin, while Storm blows away Pretoria Boys High
After being kept out of action because of extreme weather on the first day of the 64th Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week, most teams finally had a chance to commence the battle between bat and ball on Sunday.
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St Charles College, spearheaded by an excellent all-round performance from Brendan Sunguro, flexed their muscles against Bloemfontein’s Grey College, claiming a comfortable five-wicket victory in Pietermaritzburg.
Sungoro led with both bat and ball. With Grey batting first, he captured 2/38 in eight overs to play a crucial role in restricting the Bloemfontein boys to only 164 all out.
Saints’ opening bowler Tristan Montile stole the show, knocking over 2/13 in six challenging overs. Pieter Smit looked the best of the Grey batsmen, notching 58 runs, while Dale Williams lent some much-needed support, with his 30 helping the visitors claw their way to a total that they would have a chance of defending.
A good start from Grey College’s opening bowler, Otto Krause, who claimed two early wickets, saw the home side wobble for a brief moment. Zimbabwean international, Sunguro, however, kept his nerve, knuckling down to contribute a match-winning batting performance of 72* from 97 deliveries.
His 91-run partnership with Kwanele Nqayi, who contributed 28 runs to their stand, proved to be the turning point in the innings as they got their side over the line in the 46th over.
At Eston, Pretoria Boys High School was unable to weather the “storm” produced by Northwood’s Mason Storm. He was all over the team from up north, sending six Boys High batsmen packing. Storm was not only penetrative, but he was also economical, conceding only 15 runs from his six overs.
Opening bowler, Nqobani Mokoena, did his bit, claiming 2/16 as only Tim Gordon, with 34, offered decent resistance. Unfortunately for Boys High, that made up almost half of their total and they were bowled out for a disappointing 78 all out.
A quickfire 24* from 12 deliveries from Mfanafuthi Shange in the middle order, and a composed 21 not out from Thayin Kuppan, saw the Knights cruise to a convincing seven-wicket victory in the 14th over.
A strong bowling performance by Paul Roos Gimnasium, led by Neil Barnard’s 3/41 in his eight overs saw them claim a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over St Alban’s College. Combined with contributions of 2/18 by Callum Apollis and 2/27 by Keauno Williams, the side from Stellenbosch restricted their opponents from up north to only 154.
Patrick Weir was mostly responsible for the bulk of the runs with his contribution of 66 runs. Paul Roos’ openers, however, didn’t hang around as they made light work of the chase, combining for a 151-run partnership.
Luca Plekker showed his stroke-making ability, doing most of the work with his 87* from only 74 balls. Ruben Coetzee did his part, anchoring the innings on his side with a mature 55 from 85 deliveries which saw their team home within 27 overs.
Hoërskool Waterkloof and Westville Boys’ High missed out on another day’s action as their match was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Summarised scorecards
Grey College 164/10 (Pieter Smit 58, Dale Williams 30, Henru de Wet 23; Tristan Montile 2/13, Brendon Sunguro 2/38); St Charles College 167/5 (Brendon Sunguro 72*, Kwanele Nqayi 28; Otto Krause 2/18). St Charles College won by five wickets.
Pretoria Boys High School 78/10 (Tim Gordon 34; Mason Storm 6/15, Nqobani Mokoena 2/16); Northwood 79/3 (Mfanafuthi Shange 24*, Thayin Kuppan 21*; Grant Spencer 2/19). Northwood won by seven wickets.
St Alban’s College 154 (Patrick Weir 66, Ethan Nel 27, Kyle Block 21; Neil Barnard 3/41, Callum Appollis 2/18, Keauno Williams 2/27); Paul Roos Gimnasium 155/1 (Luca Plekker 87*, Ruben Coetzee 55; Kyle Earl 1/31). Paul Roos Gimnasium won by nine wickets.
