Garsfontein and Affies to battle it out in the Titans Schools SA20 Final
A monumental battle awaits in the final of the Titans’ leg of the Schools SA20 competition after Hoërskool Garsfontein and Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies) cruised past their respective opponents in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
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Playing away against the unpredictable Prestige College on their home field in Hammanskraal, the Garsie Ysbere made good use of the opportunity to bowl first.
Garsfontein’s opening bowler, Xander Venter, was in the thick of things again, delivering the goods as he snapped up 2/20, including the wicket of the dangerous Thabang Kutumela, in his four overs.
However, Jared Carr was the pick of the visiting bowlers. In his four overs, Carr removed two batsmen cheaply, going for only 14 runs. Together, Carr and Venter tied down the home side’s batsmen, who were unable to score freely. Lesedi Mabena fought valiantly, but even his 30 runs came at less than a run a ball.
Omphile Maredi was the only other batsman to make a noteworthy contribution, a hard-fought 22 runs from 29 deliveries, but it was, unfortunately, not sufficient to see the home team crack triple figures. They finished on a disappointing 99/6 from their 20 overs.
Prestige College knew they were unlikely to be able to restrict Garsfontein to less than 100, so taking wickets was their path to success. They started well when Lethabo Kunene struck on the fourth ball of the Ysbere’s innings. Heinrich Badenhorst, however, didn’t seem to be bothered by his opening partner’s early departure. He stuck to his guns and smashed six fours and two sixes to race to an unbeaten 55 from only 39 deliveries.
Carr played yet another significant role in the match, this time with the bat, contributing 23 to the pair’s 58-run partnership, which saw the Ysbere across the line from the final ball of the 14th over.
Affies were just as dominant in their semi-final against Cornwall Hill College. The talented all-rounder Ruben Groenewald seemingly can’t be kept out of the action, especially in the shorter form of the game and he delivered yet another noteworthy contribution with the ball, shredding the Cornwall batting lineup with an impressive return of 3/16 in four overs.
Vihan Pretorius provided good support, chipping in with two wickets, as the home side found themselves in deep trouble on 71/8 in the 15th over.
Cornwall’s Trent Hardie gave his team’s innings a much-needed late boost, sending six balls to the boundary in a counterattacking knock of 36 from 22 balls. Despite Hardie’s aggressive hitting, Cornwall Hill mustered only 112, losing their last wicket off the last ball of their innings.
As was the case in the other semi-final, Cornwall needed to strike early, and they did, with Ethan Williams falling victim to Ethan Feris-Philander in the second over.
Affies, though, possesses a strong batting lineup and they were not about to fluff their lines. Iwan van der Lith set things up nicely with a contribution of 26 runs. When he departed, the in-form pair of Henré Smith and Vihan Pretorius saw their team to victory.
Smith led their 61-run partnership with a mature 35 runs, while Pretorius backed up his good bowling performance by weighing in with an unbeaten 34 to steer Affies across the line in the 18th over and into the final.
Summarised scorecard
Prestige College 99/6 (Lesedi Mabena 30, Omphile Maredi 22; Xander Venter 2/20, Jared Carr 2/14); Garsfontein 101/3 (Heinrich Badenhorst 55, Jared Carr 23; Lethabo Kunene 1/14). Garsfontein won by seven wickets.
Cornwall Hill College 112/10 (Trent Hardie 36, Kian Blignaut 20; Ruben Groenewald 3/16, Vihan Pretorius 2/20); Affies 113/2 (Henré Smith 35*, Vihan Pretorius 34*, Iwan van der Lith 26; Oliver Richards 1/16). Affies won by eight wickets.
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