Conradie Combo: Brothers star as Boland Landbou ends season on a high
Boland Landbou brought their season to a winning end on Friday with a victory by seven wickets over Curro Durbanville in a spirited 35-overs-a-side battle on the Stiaan van Zyl Oval.
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After Curro Durbanville won the toss and decided to bat, Marius du Plessis spearheaded the attack for Boland Landbou, taking the first three wickets of the game while conceding only 35 runs.
Reece Bald scored a solid 40 runs for the visitors before Lohann Louw ended his threat by palming a catch off a delivery by Kobus Conradie.
That was Conradie’s second wicket of the day, and he was also involved in a run out at the end of the innings for another highlight to remember his seventh cap by.
His older brother, the Boland Landbou 1st XI captain, Stefan Conradie, playing in his 70th match for the team, was responsible for the other wicket.
Ben la Grange also celebrated the 70-cap milestone, but it was his last match for the school. He was the only grade 12 player in the Boland Landbou line-up.
Chasing 169 to win, Stefan Conradie then led the charge for his team at the crease, putting on an opening stand of 108 with Jan-Albert van Niekerk to get Boland onto the front foot early on.
With a captain’s knock of 63 from 73 deliveries, including 10 boundaries, Conradie showed why he was named in the Boland u19 team this year.
Van Niekerk, meanwhile, bludgeoned three sixes as he raced to 47.
The Durbanville bowlers were exceptionally well-disciplined as they attempted to contain the hosts. In 31 overs, they conceded only four extras.
Du Plessis and Francois Prins, however, played confidently in the middle, knowing they had the luxury of wickets in hand, and with four overs to spare they overhauled Curro’s total.
Du Plessis contributed 27 off 20 deliveries without losing his wicket and smashed four boundaries to drive his team over the line, while Prins finished with an unbeaten 19.
Prins has been selected for the Boland u16 team this year and already looks like an exciting young prospect with a bright future.
For Curro Durbanville, Matthew Scobble was a standout performer. First, he produced a resilient innings of 26 not out, batting at the tail-end for the visitors, before he took the two crucial wickets of the Boland openers to get his team back in the game after the hosts’ initial onslaught.
In the end, despite a valiant fight from Curro, Boland Landbou ended their year on a high note, with a performance that bodes well for the young team who will, for the most part, be playing together again next season.
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Summarized scorecard:
Curro Durbanville 168/7 (Reece Bald 40, Dean Huesmann 30, Matthew Scobble 26*, Vaughn Flanigan 21; Marius du Plessis 3/35, Kobus Conradie 2/19); Boland Landbou 169/3 (Stefan Conradie 63, Jan-Albert van Niekerk 47, Marius du Plessis 27*; Matthew Scobble 2/46). Boland Landbou won by seven wickets.
