Botha sparkles as Noordheuwel breezes to Schools SA20 win over Monument
Corné Botha starred with both bat and ball as Hoërskool Noordheuwel made light work of the challenge posed by Hoërskool Monument in their Schools SA20 contest.
Noordheuwel recorded an emphatic seven-wicket win when the sides locked horns at the Wits Educational Grounds on Friday afternoon.
After winning the toss, Monument elected to bat first, but that didn’t work out too well as they were bowled out for 98 in 19.3 overs.
Noordheuwel, then, made light work of the chase by racing to 99/3 in 12.3 overs.
Their reward is a meeting with St David’s Marist Inanda in the Lions region final on 1 November. St David’s booked their spot after a tight victory over St Stithians on Thursday.
Botha and JJ Basson, his opening partner, made Keegan van Wyk rue his decision to bat first by dominating with the new ball. They gave nothing away and three overs in Monument had been reduced to 2/2.
Monnas managed to make a little headway in the last three overs of the powerplay, adding 17 runs, but that also came at the cost of two more wickets, both picked up by Botha, which left Monument struggling on 19/4.
Their best passage of play with the bat was from the seventh to the 11th over, during which they added 37 runs without the loss of a wicket, thanks to Innocent Ramarafe (34) and Rieghardt Prinsloo (21). Monument’s momentary relief was shattered when Gomolemo Sibi delivered an over that produced two wickets, one of them a run-out. Things turned further south from that moment on as Monnas lost momentum.
Corné Botha was the pick of the Noordheuwel bowlers, capturing three wickets for 16 runs in four overs. Sage Pretorius and Marius Penning were outstanding, bagging a brace each, while JJ Basson and Gomo Sibi also got in on the wicket-taking action.
When it was Noordheuwel’s turn at the crease, Botha batted as if he had a plane to catch. The Noordheuwel captain bludgeoned 31 runs from only 13 deliveries for an astronomical strike rate of 238. His opening partnership with Wander Roolvink rocketed Noordheuwel to 38/1 after three overs.
The Nories were charging along so quickly that they passed the halfway mark of the required total in the powerplay. When the game ended, they had spent only 49 minutes in the middle. Monument’s innings lasted 96 minutes.
Brandon Pieters, who came in at number three, lent a calm head to the run chase, accumulating a sedate and unbeaten 28 off 26 to guide his side to victory.
Rieghardt Prinsloo sent down a disciplined four overs for Monument as they battled to stay in the contest and was rewarded with a tidy return of two wickets for 17 runs. He was introduced into the attack in the fifth over. By then, however, the horse had already bolted after Byron Viljoen and Tshepo Mlambo had bled 38 runs in the first three overs.
Noordheuwel’s victory sets up what promises to be a mouthwatering final between two sides that have enjoyed a great run in the School SA20 tournament.
Summarised Scorecards
Monument 98/10 (Innocent Ramarafe 34, Rieghardt Prinsloo 21; Corné Botha 3/16, Marius Penning 2/6); Noordheuwel 99/3 (Corné Botha 31, Brandon Pieters 28*; Rieghardt Prinsloo 2/14, Byron Viljoen 1/26).
Noordheuwel won by seven wickets.
