Brooker heroics vital to Jeppe win over Glenwood
Jaydon Brooker’s vital performance with the bat secured a much-needed victory for Jeppe over Glenwood in their last clash of the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week on Tuesday.
Brooker’s 78 from only 50 deliveries, which included four fours and four sixes, ensured that the visitors from Johannesburg reached a very defendable first-innings total of 168/9 in their T20 clash.
The all-rounder amazed with some innovative stroke play, with his best shot being a six over extra cover to help him creep closer to an elusive first half-century of the week.
Jeppe won the toss and elected to bat first, intent on setting Glenwood an imposing target to chase down. The side from Johannesburg were in early trouble, however, when Tshepo Stafa fell victim to Bandile Mbatha on the first ball of the game.
Mbatha shone once again, claiming the best figures of the day, picking up three scalps for 40 runs. With good assistance from Ntando Soni (2/30), the seamers from Durban managed to pull it back somewhat after Brooker’s onslaught, which resulted in them stemming the flow of runs towards the back end of the Jeppe innings.
With the match evenly balanced, Glenwood got off to a good start in their visit to the crease. Jandre Fourie led the way with an attacking 34 from only 24 balls, combining with Ntando Soni (31, 30b) for a 73-run first-wicket partnership.
However, the Jeppe bowlers fought back, slowing the run rate and applying immense pressure on the Glenwood batsmen. As the run rate crept up, so did the pressure, and with runs hard to come by, the contest headed towards a dramatic conclusion.
Needing 12 runs from the last over, a run out of Cameron Laing was a devastating blow to the Durbanites’ pursuit of the 169 runs they required for victory. In the end, they went down by four runs.
Northwood caused an upset by beating the powerful Grey College by a narrow one-wicket margin. The Bloemfontein boys faced the music first but seemed out of sorts with the bat in hand, losing wickets at regular intervals.
Dale Williams contributed a vital quickfire cameo of 34 lower down the order to give the Grey innings some substance.
Liam Peverett caused all sorts of trouble for the Grey batsmen. His spell of 3/9 in four overs was pivotal to his side’s victory as it helped Northwood hold Grey to only 149/6 in their 20 overs.
As expected, Northwood also found the batting conditions tough on the tired Barns’ Field pitch. Turn and uneven bounce were the order of the day, with Juan Viljoen using it very effectively to his advantage. The leg-spinner had Northwood tied down, claiming the impressive figures of 3/15 from his four overs.
However, James Nielsen’s 46 and Nqobani Mokoena’s 43, on the back of his impressive bowling figures of 2/42, proved instrumental in their side’s chase, as Northwood snuck home on the last ball of the game to claim a thrilling victory.
Hilton College signed off their week by smashing St David’s Marist Inanda by a whopping 75 runs.
After winning the toss, the home side opted to bat first on the Hart-Davis Oval. The carnage started early with opening batsman Luke Watt finding the middle of the bat from ball one. The southpaw continued in this fashion until he finally lost his wicket after scoring a blistering 85 from only 48 deliveries at a remarkable strike rate of 177.
Morteza Manack stayed calm and collected amidst the chaos, sticking to his guns to claim an impressive 2/26.
A valuable contribution of 35 from Matthew Stewart lower down the order meant Hilton were the happier of the two schools by the end of their 20 overs, having raced to 207/8.
Unfortunately for the men from St David’s, their innings never got going. Ross Boast was the pick of the Hilton bowlers once again, capturing 2/21, which included removing both openers with only four runs on the board. Nic Chantler also got in on the act, finishing off the St David’s innings with 2/16.
Kamagelo Phiri (29, 27b) fought valiantly, as he had done throughout the week, and top-scored for the side from Gauteng in a losing cause as they mustered only a meagre 132/9 in their response as they suffered their third defeat of the week.
Summarised Scorecards:
Jeppe High School for Boys 168/10 (Jayden Brooker 78; Bandile Mbatha 3/40, Ntando Soni 2/30, Sibonelo Phewa 2/35); Glenwood 164/4 (Jandre Fourie 34, Bandile Mbatha 34, Ntando Soni 31, Cameron Laing 25; Tshepo Stafa 2/29). Jeppe High School for Boys won by four runs.
Grey College 149/6 (Dale Williams 34*, Samu Lepoto 26, Casper Troskie 26; Liam Peverett 3/9, Nqobani Mokoena 2/42); Northwood 150/9 (James Nielsen 46, Nqobani Mokoena 43, Kyle White 26; Juan Viljoen 3/15, Darion Rabie 2/27). Northwood won by one wicket.
Hilton College 207/8 (Luke Watt 85, Matthew Stewart 35; Morteza Manack 2/26); St David’s Marist 132/9 (Kamagelo Phiri 29; Nic Chantler 2/16, Ross Boast 2/21). Hilton College won by 75 runs.
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