Helmand bowls Noordheuwel to victory, Affies wins at Jeppe
Tristan Helmand delivered an inspired spell and picked up a five-wicket haul to help Noordheuwel eke out a dramatic three-run win over St John’s College in a 50-over clash at St John’s on Saturday.
Barely six kilometres away, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) recorded a hard-fought three-wicket win over Jeppe High School for Boys in another one-day match.
Jeppe, the hosts, chose to bat first and put up 162 all out in 47.5 overs. Affies batted for 10 fewer overs for their match-winning 168/7.
On Mitchell Field, St John’s captain, Alec Loveland, won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first. Noordheuwel didn’t make smooth progress, but they battled their way to 167 all out in 37.3 overs.
In reply, the home side started their run pursuit well but lost their way and were bowled out in 39.4 overs for 164.
St John’s appeared well positioned to chase down Noordheuwel’s moderate total, and they were ahead of the required rate for most of their innings. However, that all evaporated when Helmand tore through the hosts’ middle and lower order. In only 7.4 overs, he grabbed five wickets for 30 runs. In addition, he also pulled off the only run out of the match.
Sharing the new ball with JD Bezuidenhout, Helmand struck early, dismissing Joshua Hall in the second over, the fourth of the innings. He finished his first spell with 1/9 from three overs.
Nkosana Sibiya (40) and Aiden Barberrini (59), then, placed St John’s in the ascendancy with an 84-run second-wicket partnership that was brought to an end when Tidi Moeketsane sent Sibiya’s stumps cartwheeling in the 27th over. Moeketsane also accounted for Barberrini in the 31st over to yank the momentum into Noordheuwel’s favour.
Ethan Smit, the Nories‘ captain, brought Helmand back into the attack in the 32nd over and it took him just three balls to claim a second scalp. The pacer then sent St John’s reeling with a double strike in the 38th over, getting rid of Malan du Plessis and Herman Basson in the space of five deliveries.
Helmand rocked St John’s again in the 40th over when he removed David Ireland and Alan McFerren to complete his five-wicket haul and secure victory for the visitors.
Besides Barberrini, Sibiya, and Du Plessis (19), no other St John’s batsmen made it beyond single figures.
Earlier in the day, Dian Taljaard carved six fours and three sixes on his way to a vital, match-winning 75 off 66 deliveries in the Noordheuwel innings.
The number three batsman arrived at the crease in the seventh over, after Wander Roolvink’s dismissal, and kept things together until the 29th over. His stay included sharing a 68-run fourth-wicket partnership with Tidi Moeketsane (19).
Noordheuwel’s batsmen also found the going tough, with only Taljaard progressing beyond 20. Brandon Pieters (15), Marius Penning (14), and Corné Olivier (10) made it into the teens but failed to kick on.
At Jeppe, Munib Ayob became the first batsman to score a half-century on the school’s main field under its new name, the AH Childe Oval. The field, formerly known as Jeppe Oval, was officially unveiled by former headmaster Kevin Tait before the match between Jeppe and Affies.
Ayob scored a patient 64 off 114 balls and fought a lone battle to lift the home side to a respectable total. The opening batsman, however, experienced little meaningful support during his 41.4-over stay in the middle. His brother, Reza, offered some lower-order resistance, making 22 off 37. However, the siblings’ efforts were not enough to help Jeppe in their quest for a winning total.
Nico Loggenberg became the first bowler to claim an AH Childe Oval wicket when he dismissed Adam Franken. The paceman also accounted for Aiden Reyneke and Keegan Caxeiro, which prevented the home side from building up momentum. He returned a fine 3/24 from 10 overs and was Affies’ most successful bowler.
Needing 163 to win, the visitors stumbled in the first 10 overs of their reply, losing Iwan van der Lith and JP Botha. Christian Linde stabilised matters with the help of Vihan Pretorius, and together they shared a 50-run third-wicket partnership.
After their stand ended, Jeppe thought they had found a way back into the match when Sipho Potsane struck three balls later to dismiss Ruben Groenewald.
Linde, though, joined forces with Daniel Murray for a 53-run fifth-wicket partnership that set Affies on course again. Both batsmen registered match-winning half-centuries, with Linde scoring a well-paced 58 off 92 and Murray stroking an unbeaten 52 off 60.
Fittingly, Murray scored the winning runs with a booming six, which earned Affies the honour of becoming the first team to record a victory on the AH Childe Oval.
Scorecards
Noordheuwel 167/10 (Dian Taljaard 75, Tidi Moeketsane 19, David Ireland 2/19, Malan du Plessis 2/28). St John’s 164/10 (Aiden Barberrini 59, Nkosana Sibiya 40, Tristan Helmand 5/30, Tidi Moeketsane 3/34). Noordheuwel won by three runs.
Jeppe 162/10 (Munib Ayob 64, Reza Ayob 22, Nico Loggenberg 3/24, JP Botha 3/27). Affies 168/7 (Christian Linde 58, Daniel Murray 52*, Sipho Potsane 2/36, Shreshth Kumar 2/38). Affies won by three wickets.
