Ayob, Young power Jeppe to second Grey Fest victory

The bats of Jeppe High School for Boys‘ Munib Ayob and captain Ryan Young did the talking as the Johannesburg school powered their way to a second victory at the Grey Festival in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)
After Young won the toss and chose to bat first on a good batting track. Ayob, in at three, benefitted from a good foundation laid on by opening batsman, Adam Franken (41), who has also looked in good knick early in the season.
Playing positively, with good foot movement, Ayob contributed a well-played 82 to a partnership of 168 runs, which was ended by Joshua McKay, the pick of Selborne’s bowlers, who returned a superb 5/28.
There was no let up after the departure of Ayob because he was replaced by Young. The Jeppe skipper didn’t hang around and took the game to the Selborne bowlers, striking eight fours and three sixes in his 68 from only 52 deliveries.
He, too, was dismissed by the impressive McKay, who toiled hard and was impressively economical despite the onslaught going on around him. After 50 overs, Jeppe had tallied 297/7 from their 50 overs.
Following his devastating innings, Ayob went on to do the bulk of the damage with the ball. The all-rounder snapped up three wickets for a miserly seven runs from four overs.
Shreshth Kumar (3/12) and Zizi Mkhize (3/14) also chipped in with three cheap wickets each. McKay’s outstanding performance in a losing cause continued with the bat as he top scored with 40, but the remainder of the Selborne batsmen offered little resistance and they were skittled for 72, leaving Jeppe the winners by a handsome 225-run margin
Luke Tait led Grey High School‘s charge with the bat, contributing a half-century as the side from Gqeberha recorded a five-wicket victory over Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom.
The Volkies’ in-form opening batsman Louis van Wyk held up his end and ran well between the wickets to accumulate a fine 78. Unfortunately for the Potch boys, he was the only batsman to make it past 20 and they were restricted to 141 all out, which left Tait and company with a comfortable run pursuit.
Grey College‘s four-pronged paced attack bowled well in pairs to dismantle Glenwood for only 86 runs. Edrich Hanekom (2/10) led the way, while Lamla Mgedzi (2/13) and Otto Krause (2/14) also claimed two wickets each. SA Schools’ opening batsman, Christian Kind, made 24 at the top of the order as the hosts made light work of the run chase to cruise to an eight-wicket victory.
Menlopark’s Dian van Zyl (80) and Morne Koekemoer (70) punished the Namibian u19 bowlers. They combined for a 110-run partnership, which was the key component in their very competitive total of 254/8 from their 50 overs.
Koekemoer then got to work with the ball, supporting Johan Bosch (2/34) with a return of 2/36 as the Namibians were restricted to only 208 all out, which left Menlo the winners by 46 runs.
St Andrew’s School suffered a second heavy defeat on home soil, going down by seven wickets against a well-rounded Northwood side. Ben Cilliers (4/14) and Thabiso Mtambo (2/30) bowled disciplined lines and lengths to splinter the home team’s batting lineup.
Tuswa Phetha, then, smashed 45 to to help the Durban school to a comfortable seven-wicket win.
Summarised scorecards
Jeppe High School for Boys 297/7 (Munid Ayob 82, Ryan Young 68, Adam Franken 41, Extras 29, Keegan Caxeiro 22; Joshua McKay 5/28); Selborne College 72 (Joshua McKay 40; Munib Ayob 3/7, Shreshth Kumar 3/12, Zizi Mkhize 3/14). Jeppe High School for Boys won by 225 runs.
Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom 141/10 (Louis van Wyk 78; Matthew Tinley 3/1, Drisden Pretorius 2/26, Logan Groch 2/32); Grey High School 144/5 (Luke Tait 50, Connor Parry 28; Olefa Padi 3/12). Grey High School won by five wickets.
Glenwood 86/10 (Kamo Moloto 24, Kreesan Pillai 22; Edrich Hanekom 2/10, Lamla Mgedezi 2/13, Otto Krause 2/14); Grey College 87/2 (Christian Kind 24, Henru de Wet 20*; Riley Foxcroft 1/20). Grey College won by eight wickets.
Menlopark 254/8 (Dian van Zyl 80, Morne Koekemoer 70, Jan-Willem Pienaar 25; Extras 23; Henry Grant 4/53); Namibia u19 208/10 (Extras 30, Tiaan van der Merwe 29, Ben Brassell 29, Malan Morkel 23*, Waldo Smith 22, Rowan van Vuuren 20; Johan Bosch 2/34, Morne Koekemer 2/36). Menlopark won by 46 runs.
St Andrew’s School 130/10 (Andrew Sobiech 55, Reuben van Aarde 29; Ben Cilliers 4/14, Thabiso Mtambo 2/30); Northwood 131/3 (Tuswa Phetha 45, David de Bruyn 33, Kyle White 23*, Jordan Matthews 21*; Nikhil Sukraj 3/25). Northwood won by seven wickets.