Grey College spinners turn the tide to knock out Waterkloof
A new champion will be crowned at the Westvaal North/South Tournament after Grey College‘s spin attack dethroned the defending champions, Hoërskool Waterkloof, at Camp Discovery on Saturday.
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Having only scored 139/7 in their 20 overs, mostly thanks to a wonderful captain’s knock of 68 from 55 balls by the left-handed Ruben Maree, Grey faced a tough challenge against a dangerous batting lineup. However, the Bloemfontein boys had an ace up their sleeve. In fact, they had three aces.
After Waterkloof captain, Marcus Bakker climbed into the first over he faced, scoring 18 runs from those six balls, Maree turned to his magicians.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Darion Rabie made a crucial breakthrough when he got rid of Bakker in his first over. He also kept the Klofies’ batsman pegged down, finishing his four overs with an economical return of 2/13. Henru de Wet came on from the other end and tightened the screws, removing the dangerous Wian Ruthven and contributing another two wickets to finish with 2/23.
The Waterkloof applecart was, however, completely derailed after the first over bowled by 16-year-old leg spinner, Daniel Hattingh. He almost sealed the deal for Grey by snaring three wickets, two of which he owed to the spectacular fielding of Dale Williams, while conceding only a single.
Staring down the barrel at 92/9, Waterkloof youngster Rico van der Walt gave it everything he had. In an audacious attempt to rescue the game for the Pretoria side, he smashed four sixes and one four in an innings of 39. The collapse of the middle order, unfortunately for the defending champions, was too much to overcome and the last Waterkloof wicket fell with the total on a disappointing 112.
Grey Hgh School, from Gqeberha, produced an impressive performance to beat Westville Boys’ High by 40 runs in their quarterfinal. Kian Cambier led the way with a dominating batting performance at the top of the order.
In only 43 balls, Cambier smashed seven sixes and five fours as he raced to 92. His opening partner, Marco Giaconi, lent good support, making 36.
Westville’s opening pair, paceman Dayalan Boyce (2/28) and left-arm spinner Roxton Payne (2/22) brought their side back into the contest, but a much-needed 45 from 27 by Xander Elkington helped Grey High to a respectable 195/6.
Westville got off to a good start, thanks to Seth Simpson‘s 60 from only 28 deliveries, but the Grey bowlers kept their cool. Cambier did his bit again, snapping up 2/18, while Ben Ristow picked up 2/21 in three.
Unfortunately for the side from KwaZulu-Natal, who were unbeaten in the tournament until the quarterfinals, the rest of the batting lineup was unable to replicate Simpson’s heroics and they mustered only 155 all out, falling 41 runs short of their required target.
SACS picked up a well-deserved victory in their Western Cape clash against Paarl Boys’ High. A 79-run opening stand, led by most of Luke Whitehead‘s innings of 63, and a contribution of 46 from his partner Reeza Salie, set the tone for a seven-wicket win. It put them on the front foot and allowed Hamish Anderson to play within himself to score a decisive 39 not out.
Litha Kraai was the pick of the SACS bowlers, with 3/34, but only after suffering at the hands of Booishaai’s Johan Wege. The Paarl opening batsman batted wonderfully for his 86, smashing six fours and five sixes in 57 balls.
Shreshth Kumar‘s leg breaks and Ryan Young‘s purple patch with the bat helped Jeppe High School for Boys to a comfortable five-wicket win over St Andrew’s School.
Kumar captured 3/28 as the Bloemfontein side was restricted to only 131 all out. Young then settled Jeppe’s nerves after an early scare, top-scoring and hitting a second consecutive fifty for the Johannesburg school.
Summarised scorecards
Grey College 139/7 (Ruben Maree 68, Dale Williams 30; Marno Pienaar 2/26, Marcus Bakker 2/28); Waterkloof 112/10 (Rico van der Walt 39, Marcus Bakker 28; Daniel Hattingh 4/21, Darion Rabie 2/13, Henru de Wet 2/23). Grey College won by 27 runs.
Grey High School 195/6 (Kian Cambier 92, Xander Elkington 45*, Marco Giaconi 36; Roxton Payne 2/22, Dayalan Boyce 2/28); Westville Boys’ High 155/10 (Seth Simpson 60, Tristin Delvin 30, Sean McGough 24; Kian Cambier 2/18, Benjamin Ristow 2/21, Likhona Gcora 2/30). Grey High School won by 40 runs.
Paarl Boys’ High 182/6 (Johan Wege 86, JJ van der Sandt 30, Christiaan Visagie 30; Litha Kraai 3/34); SACS 183/3 (Luke Whitehead 63, Reeza Salie 46, Hamish Anderson 39*; Aden Batt 2/20). SACS won by seven wickets.
St Andrew’s School 131 (Jonathan Hickley 29, Heidre Serfontein 23, FG Botha 21; Shreshth Kumar 3/28); Jeppe High School for Boys 135/5 (Ryan Young 52, Jeremiah Marshall 28, Munib Ayob 20*; Jonathan Hickley 3/18, Cullen Kakora 2/40). Jeppe High School for Boys won by five wickets.
