Kearsney chases down St Stithians, CSA Hub XI handles Jeppe
Forced to move from Collegians to Merchiston because of a wet field, St Stithians College and Kearsney College delivered a rip-roaring 25-overs-a-side clash on Sunday afternoon, with the Botha’s Hill bunch chasing down St Stithians’ very challenging 247/7 to win by three wickets with four balls to spare.
Having won the toss, Saints elected to bat and went with Richard Seletswane and Liam Mudenda up front. After Mudenda departed in the first over, Seletswane and Emile Odendaal took it to the Kearsney bowlers, sharing a 94-run stand for the second wicket in only 9.2 overs.
It took a run out to end the damage, with Cameron Veenstra bringing about Odendaal’s demise after an aggressive knock. He faced only 25 balls but struck eight fours and three sixes in making 53.
Seletswane hung around for less than two more overs, but he helped advance the score to 118 before was the third man out, caught by Murray Weyer off the leg-spin of Asavela Khambule for 54 from 41. His innings had included four sixes and three fours.
Tahseen Hanslo also struck more sixes than fours as he bashed his way to the innings’ top score of 64 from 35 deliveries, with five sixes and four fours.
Further useful knocks by Aiden van der Westhuizen, with 22 from 12, and Cayden Sunker, with 17 from eight, boosted Saints to 247/7, at a very healthy 9.9 runs per over.
Kearsney’s bowlers came in for some stick, but Murray Weyer, with 2/31 from four, and Jack O’Donovan, with 2/33 from five, did a good job in the face of the big-hitting approach of their opponents.
It was going to take a special effort to chase down the Saints’ total, but Kearsney had, in O’Donovan, an in-form batsman who had topped the batting charts in the St John’s Rams T20 in Zimbabwe last weekend, scoring plenty of runs at a rapid rate.
He picked up from where he had left off and received fine support from Jason de Gryse, who smashed three sixes and a four in an entertaining eight-ball stay, which brought him 24 runs and saw Kearsney to 43 before he was the first man out only two balls into the third over.
O’Donovan, meanwhile, played both an anchor innings and an importantly hasty knock, contributing 64 from 34 deliveries, five of which went for six and another four for four, before he was the fifth man out in the 15th over, which left Matt Savage‘s charges on 146/5.
They needed another telling contribution and they got it from Murray Weyer, while Cole Young weighed in with an important 27 runs from only 13 deliveries, which included three fours.
After Young’s departure, Weyer continued meeting the challenge, delivering when it was most needed, with a quick-fire 53 from 33 balls, which included four fours and four sixes. With Kearsney closing in on victory, however, he was out in the 23rd over.
Keegan de Jager stayed on until the end, finishing with 21 not out from 21, but it was Asavela Khambule whose brave hitting powered Kearsney over the line. In just six balls, he blasted 17 not out, launching one delivery for a six and another two into the boundary, to see his side to a victory which was a credit to their positive approach to a stern challenge.
In the face of a big onslaught, Rushil Bhulla shone with the ball, claiming 2/29 from five overs. Tendai Kadayamadare also picked up two wickets from five, but he went at nine runs an over.
Tahseen Hanslo, who had punished the Kearsney bowlers, was on the receiving end, with his three overs going for 50, although he did remove Cole Young.
At Woodlands, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Hub XI put on a fine show, cruising to a 58-run victory over Jeppe in a T20 clash. It was an impressive performance with both bat and ball from the composite side.
Batting first, they tallied an excellent 195/2. Sabelo Mabanga and Nkosibonile Sibisi set them on their way with a rapid opening partnership of 88 off of only 7.4 overs. Christopher Elston had Sibisi caught for 34 from 25, with four fours and two sixes, but Jeppe was on the back foot.
Jevohndre Jacobs, when he took over from Sibisi, made sure it stayed that way. He and Sabelo added 65 in eight overs before the opener was caught by Matthew Costa off the bowling of Luke Kent-Brown for an outstanding 78 from 52 balls. His big knock had included seven sixes and four fours.
Matthew Florence joined forces with Jacobs and tacked on another 42 runs before the CSA Hub XI ran out of overs. Jacobs finished with 41* from 32, while Florence was on 19* from 14.
Christoper Elston, with 1/28 in four, was the best of the Jeppe bowlers.
Needing to score at 9.8 runs per over to win, Jeppe suffered an early setback when Kai van Aardt was dismissed for four. Unfortunately, for the Johannesburg side, a number of other top-order batsmen failed to fire, too. Only Ryan Young, with a defiant 50 from 29 balls, with seven fours and a six, stood firm against the CSA Hub XI’s bowling.
When he was dismissed, Jeppe was on 93/6 after 13 overs, still needing more than 100 runs to win at over 14 to the over. They didn’t come close. In the end, they were all out for 137, with 20 from Matthew Costa proving to be their second-highest score.
Orephemetse Seroke destroyed the Jeppe run chase, capturing 4/14 in three, while Rivhoninga Chauke, with 3/21 in three, and Sabela Mabanga, with 2/13 in two, heaped more misery on Jeppe as the CSA Hub XI scored a superb victory.
Summarised scorecards
St Stithians College 247/7 (Tahseen Hanslo 64, Richard Seletswane 54, Emile Odendaal 53, Murray Weyer 2/31, Jack O’Donovan 2/33); Kearsney College 249/7 (Jack O’Donovan 64, Murray Weyer 53, Cole Young 27, Rushil Bhulla 2/29, Tendai Kadayamadare 2/45). Kearsney won by three wickets.
CSA Hub XI 195/2 (Sabelo Mabanga 78, Jevohndre Jacobs 41*, Nkosibonile Sibisi 34); Jeppe 137/10 (Ryan Young 50, Matthew Costa 20, Orephemetse Seroke 4/14, Rivhoninga Chauke 3/21, Sabela Mabanga 2/13). CSA Hub XI won by 58 runs.
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