Morkel’s knock of 174* lights up Eldo’s Oval
It is a day the Hoërskool Eldoraigne faithful and young Benyael Morkel won’t forget in a hurry.
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Morkel delivered an innings for the ages when the Eldos hosted Hoërskool Pretoria-Noord in the B Section of the Titans Platinum League on the 1st of October.
Coming in at number seven, the all-rounder benefited from a dominant platform set up by the 238-run partnership of top-order duo, Kyle de Bruin and Johan Broekman.
Both De Bruin and Broekman recorded magnificent centuries, with De Bruin racing along for his 123 from only 83 deliveries and Broekman also batting at a brisk pace for 106, also from 83 balls.
It is not often that two innings of 123 and 106 respectively play second fiddle in a single match, yet Morkel managed to steal the show by some margin.
Requiring only 59 deliveries, Morkel lit up the Eldos Oval to smash the ball all over the park. His unbelievable innings of 174 not out included 16 sixes and 15 fours, with the boundary count of 31 meaning that 156, or 89%, of his runs were scored from boundaries.
The Eldo trio’s prowess with the willow set the visitors a mammoth target of 551/6 in their allotted 50 overs.
Pretoria-Noord’s Jean Swart and Ulrich Breytenbach exhibited great patience with the ball and eventually emerged as the pick of the bowlers. Although expensive, which was to be expected given the extraordinary batting performance by their hosts, each claimed two well-deserved wickets.
Unfortunately, with their backs against the wall, the Pretoria-Noord batsman could not quite find the necessary rhythm to successfully chase such a mammoth score.
Etiene du Bruyn and Rohan Louw nevertheless deserve a pat on the back. Showing some class of his own, Du Bruyn grafted his way to an industrious 56 from 78 balls. Louw, too, showed that he can bat at a brisk pace, contributing a 29-ball 45 and smashing 10 fours in the process.
Eldo’s Daniel Steyn was the standout with the ball. Opening the bowling, Steyn claimed the best figures on the day, boasting a return of 3/37 in the nine overs he bowled. Ruhan Oliphant also got in on the action, claiming two wickets for 27 runs.
Morkel, who seemingly couldn’t stay out of the spotlight, also contributed two wickets as the Eldo bowlers’ efforts restricted the visitors to 168 all out, claiming a resounding victory by 383 runs.
Summarised scorecard:
Eldoraigne 551/6 (Benyael Morkel 174*, Kyle de Bruin 123, Johan Broekman 106, Ryno Mulder 45, Ryno Redelinghuys 24*; Jean Swart 2/65, Ulrich Breytenbach 2/68); Hoërskool Pretoria-Noord 168 (Etiene du Bruyn 56, Rohan Louw 45; Daniel Steyn 3/37, Ruhan Oliphant 2/27, Benyael Morkel 2/40). Eldoraigne won by 383 runs.
