Darshik Lutchman sparkles as St John’s defeats Steyn City
Darshik Lutchman scored an imperious half-century to lead St John’s College to a 30-run victory over Steyn City in a Johnny Waite T20 match at St John’s on Wednesday.
The home side won the toss, elected to bat first, and scored a flying 214/7 in their 20 overs. Steyn City gave the run chase a good go, but they were restricted to 184/6 in reply.
Lutchman was in great form as he stroked eight fours and lofted two sixes on his way to a brilliant 63 off 29 deliveries. His innings was the difference between St John’s finishing with a total of around 180 and them chalking up an unassailable total.
When Lutchman arrived at the crease, the hosts were on 113/2, and they had lost two wickets in five deliveries. That double strike came courtesy of Austin van Jaarsveld‘s third over, which provided Steyn City with a desperately needed breakthrough.
Nkosana Sibiya and James Yuill had given the visitors nightmares by sharing a 107-run opening stand. The first to depart was Yuill, who was run out for a well-played 50 off 33 balls that featured nine fours. He was followed back into the dugout by his erstwhile partner before he had removed his pads.
Sibiya is leading the St John’s side in the absence of their regular captain, Alec Loveland, who is out of action due to injury. He will also captain the team when they tackle their neighbours, King Edward VII School (KES), on Saturday. Against Steyn City, he barely missed out on a half-century of his own, falling after scoring a 38-ball 49.
After the dismissals of Yuill and Sibiya, Lutchman and Malan du Plessis (21) shared a 51-run third-wicket stand. However, there were no other substantial partnerships after that.
Keegan Smallbone was the pick of the Steyn City bowlers, with a return of two wickets for 41 runs from four overs. Austin van Jaarsveld and Kurt Losch bagged a wicket each.
Steyn City made a brisk start in pursuit of a large total, scoring 28 runs in the first three overs. However, that came at the cost of a wicket. That did not bother Matthew Barbour, who creamed seven fours and two sixes in a 37-ball 57. Barbour gave the visitors their best shot of chasing down a daunting total, but they needed to pick up from where he left off following his dismissal.
Sachin Sunker (31) and Keegan Smallbone (42) rose to the task, scoring at run rates of 140 and 175 respectively. However, Steyn City’s issue was that the rest of the batsmen that followed were unable to match that high tempo, and none lasted long enough to make the needed impact.
Sibiya showed off his all-round abilities by claiming two wickets for 36 runs in four overs. Malan du Plessis and Ethan Robinson picked up a wicket each, while both Lwazi Khupe and James Yuill pulled off run outs.
The victory over Steyn City served as a solid warm-up and a good confidence boost for St John’s in preparation for their clash with KES over the weekend.
Summarised Scorecards
St John’s 214/7 (Darshik Lutchman 63, James Yuill 50; Keegan Smallbone 2/41, Austin van Jaarsveld1/41); Steyn City 184/6 (Matthew Barbour 57, Keegan Smallbone 42; Nkosana Sibiya 2/36, Malan du Plessis 1/31)
St John’s won by 30 runs.
