Helpmekaar charges into Johnny Waite final
Helpmekaar charged into the Johnny Waite Trophy final thanks to a clinical 19-run win over St John’s College in a semi-final clash played at the University of Johannesburg’s ABSA Oval on Wednesday.
Coach Willie van den Berg’s charges will go up against King Edward VII (KES) for the title after KES defeated Jeppe High School for Boys in the other semi-final.
Helpies will hope they can replicate the performance they produced the last time they met KES, which resulted in a four-run win for Kyle Swanepoel and company. However, they won’t have it easy as KES appears to be in good form.
In Wednesday’s last four clash, the toss went the way of St John’s, the defending champions. Captain Alec Loveland, the hero of their win over St Stithians in last year’s final, asked Helpmekaar to bat first on a pitch that played slow after overnight rain in Johannesburg.
The boys from Braamfontein strode out, did their best, and mustered a total of 141/7. St John’s struggled to establish themselves in their run chase and came up short, limited to 122/5 from their 20 overs.
Helpmekaar’s innings was built on the back of contributions from their top four: Kyle Swanepoel, Zander Neethling, Anrich Liebenberg, and Anthony Stone, who were the only batsmen to make it into double figures.
Swanepoel and Neethling got Helpmekaar going with a 60-run opening partnership, which turned out to be the best of their innings. The Helpmekaar captain clipped four fours on his way to 29 off 22. Neethling was more cautious. He also struck four boundaries in his 47 off 45 deliveries, which led the way for his side.
Liebenberg had just exited single figures when he lost his wicket in the 10th over, out for 11 from nine balls. Stone accumulated a valuable 32 from 27 balls and was the second-highest run-scorer for Helpmekaar.
St John’s did not have as smooth a start as their opponents, losing their first wicket in the second over with only 10 runs on the board. They struggled to find traction and, in the fourth over, found themselves two wickets down. Herman Basson and Alec Loveland steadied the ship, however, with a 55-run third-wicket partnership.
Unfortunately for St John’s, there were no substantial partnerships on either side of the pair’s stand. While they added over 50, they struggled to score at a brisk rate. Basson chewed up 47 balls for his 41 runs and Loveland faced 30 deliveries for his 22.
Malan du Plessis was the standout player for St John’s. When Helpmekaar batted, he led the wicket-taking with two wickets for 33 runs in four overs. He also starred with the bat and was the only St John’s batsman who scored at a fast pace, crunching four boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 35 off 23.
Henno Steyn was the pick of the bowlers for Helpmekaar with three wickets for 22 runs from three overs. Anrich Liebenberg and Heinrich Minnaar were the other wicket-takers with one each.
Scorecard
Helpmekaar Kollege 141/7 (Zander Neethling 47, Anthony Stone 32, Malan du Plessis 2/33, Herman Basson 1/14). St John’s College 122/5 (Herman Basson 41, Malan du Plessis 35*, Henno Steyn 3/22, Anrich Liebenberg 1/6). Helpmekaar won by 19 runs.
