Cornwall Hill moves into Titans’ Schools SA20 semi-finals
Cornwall Hill College became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the Titans’ Schools SA20 competition on Thursday.
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A 55-run partnership between Ab Rasool and Michael Blignaut on home soil was enough to steer Cornwall Hill to a comprehensive six-wicket victory over St Alban’s College in their quarter-final clash.
Chasing a low target of only 109, the side from Centurion lost two early wickets to St Alban’s captain Liam Basch, who delivered an economical spell of 2/16.
Rasool, one of Cornwall’s top performers throughout the year, kept a calm head, however, occupying the crease expertly, to lead his side’s batting effort with 38 runs off of 25 balls.
Blignaut played an equally important innings, contributing crucial 28 runs, while Layton Pullen put the final nail in the coffin when he smashed four fours and one six in a 19-ball innings that brought him an unbeaten 31 and took the home side to victory.
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Cornwall Hill won the game in the field. They demonstrated the importance of high-intensity fielding, which yielded three run-outs that brilliantly backed up a good performance by their bowlers. Although they did not take many wickets, the pressure built up by tight bowling played a significant part in the miscommunications between the St Alban’s batsmen.
The visitor’s Kyle Block was, as always, a stalwart with the bat. His 38 runs, along with a 24-run contribution by Tiashin Naidoo, enabled the visitors to muster what might have appeared to be a defendable total. It would, unfortunately for them, prove to be not nearly enough as Cornwall Hill College raced to victory in only 14.1 overs.
Summarised scorecard:
St Alban’s College 108/7 (Kyle Block 38, Tashin Naidoo 24; Ethan Feris-Philander 1/11); Cornwall Hill College 110/4 (Ab Rasool 38, Layton Pullen 31*, Michael Blignaut 28; Liam Basch 2/16).
Cornwall Hill College won by six wickets.
