Grey College in Potch Gim showdown, Goudveld vs St Dom’s in Schools SA20
Potch Gim vs Grey College
Grey College makes a short trip to tackle Potchefstroom Gimnasium in a 50-overs-a-side clash on Saturday. They’ll be full of confidence after they received strong contributions from multiple batsmen last time out.
Henru De Wet scored an unbeaten 103 against Selborne College last week and, although, it was in a two-day fixture, he faced only 69 balls.
In Grey’s first innings of 278/3 declared, he also shared a 111-run partnership with Aiden Dodd, who weighed in with 78.
The second time around, Grey declared on 218/4 from just 34.3 overs. That tally included 99 from Divan Bezuidenhout and 50 from Juan Maree.
The Potch Gim bowling line up will be in for a stern examination. If they bowl loose deliveries, they’ll be punished.
Their batsmen will face a different but equally dangerous challenge from the Grey College bowling attack.
Remember that guy who scored a century last week? Henru de Wet can bowl, too. He takes many wickets. Maybe because he’s able to see things from the batsman’s perspective?
Against Selborne, however, it was Sicelo Matayi and Otto Krause who led the attack, picking up three wickets apiece while keeping the run rate in check.
Gim might be the underdogs, but they have proven in recent seasons that they’re a team to be reckoned with. During last season’s Schools SA20 regional final, they handed the eventual champion, St Andrew’s School, a loss, which was something Grey College was unable to match in three tries against Saints in the first term. Grey, though, won by three wickets against Gimmies.
The hosts’ familiarity with the conditions will be an advantage, but they’ll need to make use of their local knowledge by executing their game plan with discipline.
Hoërskool Goudveld vs St. Dominic’s College
In Welkom, Hoërskool Goudveld and St Dominic’s College, the alma mater of former Proteas’ captain, Dean Elgar, get their seasons underway with a Schools SA20 clash on Friday.
They’ll also be up against Bethlehem’s Hoërskool Witteberg and their local rivals, Welkom Gimnasium, before the local Schools SA20 play-offs. But those contests await in October.
For a first outing of the season, there’s plenty at stake considering that the Schools SA20 is a country-wide competition, with honours to be gained at provincial, regional, and national level.
At least, though, for the loser, it won’t mean elimination from the competition. They’ll have time to learn from Friday’s outing and come back better. For the winner, it will be a step forward in the quest to show who rules the roost in the northern Free State.
