Dias holds his nerve as KES lifts Gauteng Lions’ Switch Schools SA20 title
Tiago Dias stayed calm and displayed nerves of steel to shepherd King Edward VII (KES) to a nerve-wracking four-wicket victory over Jeppe in the Gauteng Lions‘ regional final of the Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two tournament
Friday afternoon’s thriller, played at St Stithians’ Dlamini Oval appeared to be smooth ride to the title for KES until that narrative was flipped on its head in sensational fashion by the best over any schoolboy bowler has enjoyed in the 20-over format in South Africa.
Matthew Bromley, the KES captain, chose to put his trust in his bowlers when he won the toss and his seven-man attack performed tidily to restrict Jeppe to 141/8 from their 20 overs.
KES, then, appeared to be on course for a comfortable victory until Keegan Cockburn almost reversed the outcome with a brilliant exhibition of death-bowling, which sent five batsmen packing off five balls. Amid the mayhem, Dias stood firm and delivered a superb unbeaten half-century to steer KES to 145/6 and victory.
Earlier in the day, KES trounced Steyn City by 55 runs in the semifinals. In that fixture, Dias played a supporting role while Luke Clark notched a half-century to spearhead KES to an unassailable 216/8. They then limited Steyn City to 161/8 in reply.
In the title game, Clark fell early, but Dias took charge, slamming seven fours and three sixes in a match-winning 77 from 56 balls. Dias and Clark put on 27 for the opening wicket before Dias and Troy Gordon (46) combined for 105 runs.
Thanks to Dias’s aggressive striking, KES was consistently ahead of the required run rate. However, things almost went spectacularly pear-shaped for them when Ryan Young, the Jeppe captain, threw the ball to Cockburn to bowl the penultimate over. Despite not taking any wickets in his previous three overs, Cockburn had been in good form.
Not even in his wildest dreams, though, could Young have hoped for a better response. In jaw-dropping fashion, Cockburn ripped through KES, sending Gordon, Connor Fourie, Matthew Bromley, Wade McQuinn, and Abdullah Mohammed packing from consecutive deliveries, which saw KES tumbling from 132/1 to 132/6.
Dias, though, doggedly stuck to the task in front of him, scoring 10 of the 12 runs that KES still required to see his team to a four-wicket win.
Cockburn also starred for Jeppe in their semi-final clash with St John’s College earlier in the day, capturing 3/7 from only 2.3 overs as St John’s College was knocked over for only 78 in 14.3 overs.
What appeared to be a routine run chase proved to be anything but that. It took Jeppe until the last over of their innings to claw their way to 79/9 and, thus, book their place in the final against KES.
Summarised Scorecards
Final
Jeppe 141/8 (Vegas Scott 28, Lincoln Casias 25; Abdullah Mohammed 2/14, Connor Kuijers 1/19). KES 145/6 (Tiago Dias 77*, Troy Gordon 46; Keegan Cockburn 5/17, Goolam Ahmed 1/34). KES won by four wickets.
Semifinals
KES 216/8 (Luke Clark 53, Steele Grooteman 41; Kurt Losch 2/27, Max Burroughes 2/31). Steyn City 161/8 (Murray Leith 36, Joshua Michau 25*; Abdullah Mohammed 2/30, Connor Kuijers 2/31). KES won by 55 runs.
St John’s 78/10 (Nkosana Sibiya 17, Joshua Hall 15; Keegan Cockburn 3/7, Shreshth Kumar 3/13). Jeppe 79/9 (Ethan Elliott 18, Phomello Sekopane 16; David Ireland 3/23, Nkosana Sibiya 2/3, Ethan Robinson 2/12). Jeppe won by one wicket.
