Affies, Garsfontein and Bennies bag Schools SA20 wins


The bowlers ruled the roost in the first round of the Schools SA20 playoffs for the Northern Gauteng, Limpopo, and Easterns regions on Friday morning at Willowmoore Park, in Benoni.
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Playing on the Willowmoore Park Oval, Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies) overcame the champion of the Easterns region, Hoërskool Kempton Park, by five wickets.
The Kempies’ batsmen didn’t quite fire on all cylinders. The bowling of Affies had plenty to do with that, and their left-arm opening bowler, Zian Labuschagne, stole the show.
Bowling two overs up front, and then coming back for a second spell of just one over, the seamer grabbed four sticks in his three overs, all while conceding only seven runs.
Jaden Beukes (2/13) and all-rounder Ruben Groenewald (2/25) lent a helping hand, sharing four wickets between them for just 38 runs.
The Kempies’ Sheldon Kruger (25) and captain, Marko Richter (20), fought hard against the persistant Affies’ bowlers to get their side into triple figures, but their last wicket fell with the score on 101.
Affies were also somewhat uncomfortable when they came out to bat. Wian Pieters, a rising star for Kempton Park, kept the Pretoria batsmen tied down with an impressive display of spin bowling, snapping up three wickets for only 13 runs in his four overs.
Groenewald, though, grabbed centre stage once more. Striking the ball cleanly, he raced to 33 from just 25 balls. His innings, in combination with Vihan Pretorius (19), broke the backbone of the run chase and their partnership of 40 saw Affies home in the 16th over.
Hoërskool Garsfontein and St Benedict’s College ensured a rough welcome awaited the two Limpopo representatives.
Bennies‘ Clayton Horlick smashed an unbeaten 71 runs in his side’s victory of 67 runs over Phalaborwa Hub. Edward Smith, also, chipped in with 33 not out to help the Bedfordview school to a formidable 154/4 from their 20 overs.
Then, opening bowler Matthew Elphick backed up Bennies’ good batting performance by returning an economical 3/10 from three overs. St Benedict’s put eight bowlers to work and only one went at six or more runs an over as the Limpopo side was restricted to a disappointing 87/7 in their 20.
Xander Venter, not for the first time this season, was a destructive force for Garsfontein in a seven-wicket win over Merensky Landbou Akademie. On this occasion, he excelled with the ball, snapping up three wickets for just four runs in three overs.
Zizwe Khumalo emulated Venter with a superb spell that brought him 4/6 from four overs. He and Venter also bowled one maiden over each as the Plasies slumped to 53 all out.
The Ysbere batsmen wasted no time in going after Merensky’s bowlers and charged to victory in the seventh over.
Summarised scorecards
Hoërskool Kempton Park 101 (Sheldon Kruger 25, Marko Richter 20; Zian Labuschagne 4/7, Jaden Beukes 2/13, Ruben Groenewald 2/25); Affies 105/5 (Ruben Groenewald 33; Wian Pieters 3/13). Affies won by five wickets.
St Benedict’s College 154/4 (Clayton Horlick 71*, Edward Smith 33*; Ripfumelo Mabunda 1/7); Phalaborwa Hub 87/7 (Ripfumelo Mabunda 17*; Matthew Elphick 3/10). St Benedict’s College won by 67 runs.
Merensky Landbou Akademie 53/10 (Extras 14, Timothy Baker 12; Xander Venter 3/4, Zizwe Khumalo 3/6, Ruan Coetsee 2/4); Hoërskool Garsfontein 54/3 (Charl van Staden 16; Timothy Baker 2/30). Garsfontein won by seven wickets.