Affies, Waterkloof, and Wynberg impress at Wildeklawer T20
Grey High vs Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool
On Thursday, day one of the Wildeklawer T20 started with a bang, as last year’s winners, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool defeated Grey High by seven wickets at Camp Discovery.
After Affies won the toss and chose to field first, the Gqeberha locals got off to a strong start with the willow.
Opener Connor Parry was the cornerstone of Grey’s innings, blasting nine fours and three sixes in a rampaging 83 off 54 balls.
Reuben Groenewald, though, brought a sigh of relief for Affies when he sent Parry’s bails spinning through the air, on his way to a superb return of 3/12 from three overs.
Behind Parry’s excellent innings, Grey High posted 169/8 in their 20 overs.
The Affies’ run chase was led by opener AJ Morkel, the son of retired Proteas‘ all-rounder, Albie Morkel, who took the attack to the Grey bowlers. He cracked 10 fours and two sixes in a decisive 74 off 40 deliveries.
His fellow opener, JP Botha, tallied an unbeaten 56 off 39, cracking six fours and a maximum, thus creating a rock-solid platform for a successful run chase.
It took the defending champs only 17.1 overs to overhaul Grey High’s total, taking victory when they reached 173/3, thus winning with 17 balls to spare.
Matthew Tinley was the best of the Grey High bowling lineup, taking 2/34 in three overs.
Rondebosch Boys’ High vs Hoërskool Waterkloof
Hoërskool Waterkloof won the toss at the Gijima Sports Ground and elected to field first against Rondebosch Boys’ High. While ‘Bosch delivered a solid batting performance, Waterkloof showed outstanding resilience to stage a successful run pursuit and win by four wickets.
Rondebosch openers, Daniel Bosman and Daniel Cooke, both made solid contributions. Bosman knocked 22 runs off 19 balls, smashing a six in the process, while Cooke weighed in with 32 off 38, smacking two fours and a six in an otherwise conservative innings.
In at five, Adeeb Levy contributed an unbeaten 35 off 31 at the back of the innings, which included a four and two sixes.
Despite not taking a wicket, Rivan Booysen made an important contribution with the ball, conceding only 15 runs from his four overs, giving him an economy rate of only 3.8 runs per over.
At the end of their 20 overs, Rondebosch had reached 139/5.
Waterkloof got off to a shaky chase, with two of their top batsmen being run out for ducks. Rico van der Walt was run out without facing a single delivery, while Wian du Plessis was run out for a golden duck.
The other two top order batsmen were dismissed for less than five, leaving the Pretoria locals in deep trouble on 19/4 after 3.1 overs. However, Juan Swart, in at five and Riley Miller, in at six, played bravely to not only rescue their side’s innings but set them on the path to victory.
Swart struck an unbeaten 45 off 42, cracking three fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, Miller, the Klofies‘ captain blitzed his way to 60 off 39, smashing six fours and two maximums.
Their courageous assault helped Waterkloof to 141/6 and victory with two overs to spare despite the best efforts of Daniel Cooke, who claimed 3/27.
Wynberg Boys’ High vs St. Andrew’s School
At Die Hoërskool Menlopark, Wynberg Boys’ High won the toss and decided to bat in their game against St Andrew’s School. After putting up a strong total, they dismissed the Saints‘ dangermen early and the Bloemfontein boys never recovered as the Cape Town school went on to a comfortable 85-run.
While four of Wynberg’s first five batsmen made scored in the twenties at impressive run rates, it was Qaeed Shaik’s 50 runs off 38 balls which stood out. His innings included a four and two sixes.
Erhard Barends was the only St Andrew’s bowler to claim multiple wickets, taking 2/29 in four overs as Wynberg totalled 169/5.
Saints struggled to get going in their chase after losing the dangerous duo of Naudé Botha and FG Botha early. Only Andrew Sobiech, Dean Katzin, and Reuben van Aarde made it into double figures, but none progressed beyond the teens.
Nicholas Stafford produced the brilliant figures of 4/20 in three overs for Wynberg, while Fawaaz Hendricks took the last wicket of the match to finish with 2/11 from 2.4 overs as St. Andrew’s School fell for a disappointing 84 all out after only 13.4 overs.
SCORES
Grey High 169/8 (Connor Parry 83, Markus Potgieter 24*, James Upton 22; Reuben Groenewald 3/12); Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool 173/3 (AJ Morkel 74, JP Botha 56*, Vihan Pretorius 25*; Matthew Tinley 2/34).
Affies won by seven wickets.
Rondebosch Boys’ High 139/5 (Adeeb Levy 35*, Daniel Cooke 32, Daniel Bosman 22, Extras 21); Hoërskool Waterkloof 141/6 (Riley Miller 60, Juan Swart 45; Daniel Cooke 3/27).
Waterkloof won by four wickets.
Wynberg Boys’ High 169/5 (Qaeed Shaik 50, Muhammad Ameen Schroeder 28, Storme van Rooyen 25, Joshua Prince 24, Michail Tarentaal 24; Erhard Barends 2/29); St. Andrew’s School 84/10 (Nicholas Stafford 4/20, Fawaaz Hendricks 2/11).
Wynberg won by 85 runs.
