Grey College’s Henru de Wet the mainstay in victory over Namibia

Henru de Wet was the fly in the ointment with both bat and ball, leading Grey College to a significant 57-run victory over Namibia’s u19 side on Sunday.
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Playing a 50-over match while the rest of the teams played T20 matches on the last day of the annual Grey Festival in Bloemfontein, the home side elected to bat first.
The South African Schools’ opening batsman, Christian Kind (15), got off to a flying start but didn’t last long and had to depart soon after.
His fellow opener Pieter Smit (20) steadied the ship, batting with De Wet, and the pair put together an important 73-run partnership.
De Wet looked especially settled throughout the middle overs, playing maturely. He faced 92 balls and accumulated 61 runs, which included five fours and a six. All-rounders Daniel Hattingh (32) and Aiden Dodd (30) each made useful contributions to guide the home side to a solid 253/7 in their 50 overs.
Namibia’s Waldo Smith (2/36) and Dan Brassel (2/45) were the pick of the visitor’s bowlers. Brassel continued his good outing by becoming his side’s top scorer for the day. His 41 runs, alongside Tiaan van der Merwe‘s 38, had Namibia cruising for a brief while. De Wet (3/25), however, made a mess of the Namibian reply, striking with three quick wickets.
Opening bowler and left-arm quick, Sicelo Matayi, bowled well and was rewarded with a return of 3/21. Matayi’s form surely has the Grey College coaches smiling ahead of the Schools SA20 playoffs in Potchefstroom on the weekend.
On Monday, the Namibians crossed paths with Bloemfontein’s other cricketing powerhouse, St Andrew’s School, in a T20 match, only to fall short there as well. Saints‘ Leon Athanasiou (28) and FG Botha (25), both in delightful form, sharpened their shorter format skills ahead of the trip to Potchefstroom.
Jonathan Hickley (2/20) also found some rhythm, while Heindré Serfontein (2/11) and Nikhil Sukraj (3/20) looked dangerous, bowling four overs each and snapping up a combined 5/31 to help Saints snatch a narrow, but deserved, seven-run victory, which served as good preparation ahead of another showdown with Grey College in Potchefstroom.
Summarised scorecards
Grey College 253/7 (Henru de Wet 61, Extras 37, Daniel Hattingh 32, Aiden Dodd 30, Edrich Hanekom 23, Pieter Smit 20; Waldo Smith 2/36, Dan Brassel 2/45, Henry Grant 2/46); Namibia u19 196/9 (Dan Brassel 41, Tiaan van der Merwe 38, Junior Taaynda 31; Henru de Wet 3/25, Sicelo Matayi 3/21). Grey College won by 57 runs.
St Andrew’s School 124/9 (Leon Athanasiou 28, FG Botha 25, Reuben van Aarde 21; Henry Grant 2/24, Rowan van Vuuren 2/18); Namibia u19 117/7 (Janko Engelbrecht 32, Adriaan Coetzee 24; Nikhil Sukraj 3/20, Heindré Serfontein 2/11, Jonathan Hickley 2/20). St Andrew’s School won by seven runs.