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Kempies win in Super Over, Affies and Garsfontein go two from two

By Franco Oberholzer , in Cricket | Featured Cricket | News , at 2025-01-31 Tags: , , , , , ,

It doesn’t get closer than Friday afternoon’s Schools SA20 showdown between Hoërskool Kempton Park and Merensky Landbou Akademie.

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The pitches at Willowmoore Park pitch did not play easy on day one of the finals for the Northern Gauteng, Limpopo, and Easterns regions and the clash of the Kempies and the Plasies was further evidence of that.

Batting first, Kempton Park’s batsmen, as they had done in their morning match, a loss to Affies, struggled to get going.

The fact that the side from Tzaneen bowled 16 overs of tight spin also might have had something to do with that. Off-spinner Musa Nkuna led the way for Merensky snapping up three wickets for just seven runs from his four overs.

The experienced left-arm spinner Timothy Baker (2/8) and Cashan Jacobsz (2/31) performed well, too, and claimed four wickets between them in only six overs. Their efforts help limit Kempton Park to just 90/9 from their 20 overs. Captain Marko Richter batted nicely for his 21, but it wasn’t enough to see his side to triple figures.

Richter and co needed to bowl well, and they needed someone to step up if they were to have a chance of toppling Merensky. Strike bowler, Kristian du Plessis, did just that. He snapped up 2/12 in four overs to place the Tzaneen school’s run chase under heavy pressure. The rest of the Kempies’ bowlers played their part by sticking to tight lines and nagging lengths.

The Merensky skipper, Luka Heinlein, played a captain’s knock and, despite the stakes and the immense pressure, he tied the game off the last ball of the innings, finishing with 34 runs to his name.

Unfortunately for the side from Tzaneen, their super-over, in which they faced Wian Pieters, went awry. With a wicket and a run-out off consecutive balls, the Plasies were left with only two runs to defend. That cost them the game and handed Kempton Park their first win.

After victories in the morning, Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies) and Hoërskool Garsfontein made it two from two in the afternoon to finish the day as the only unbeaten sides in the competition.

The Ysbere smashed Phalaborwa Hub by a whopping eight wickets. Reuben van Zyl led the charge with a masterful and unbeaten 58 runs from only 42 balls. His onslaught included five fours and three sixes.

Xander Venter looked good for his unbeaten 24 runs as he and Van Zyl combined nicely for an 80-run partnership, which saw them canter to the 96 they needed for victory in the 12th over.

Meanwhile, JP Botha and Ruben Groenewald led a batting fightback, which lifted Affies to an emphatic 76-run victory over St Benedict’s College.

After Bennies’ Matthew Elphick picked up two wickets in just two balls, the side from Pretoria was in a spot of bother on 25/3. However, both Botha and Groenewald hit the ball sweetly in a match-winning partnership of 111 runs. Botha top scored with a superb 69, while Groenwald contributed an entertaining 62.

Clayton Horlick, most certainly a talent for the future, played some classy shots in his innings of 44 for St Benedict’s, but the school from Bedfordview needed further impactful knocks to challenge Affies. They came up well short and were bowled out for a disappointing 99.

Summarised scorecards 

Hoërskool Kempton Park 90/9 (Marko Richter 21; Musa Nkuna 3/7, Timothy Baker 2/8, Cashan Jacobsz 2/31); Merensky Landbou Akademie 90/10 (Luka Heinlein 34; Kristian du Plessis 2/12). Hoërskool Kempton Park won in the Super-Over.

Phalaborwa Hub 95/9 (Talenta Ndlovu 22; Zizwe Khumalo 2/13, Jared Carr 2/18); Hoërskool Garsfontein 96/2 (Reuben van Zyl 58*, Xander Venter 24*; Lesley Zimba 2/20). Garsfontein won by eight wickets.

Affies 175/6 (JP Botha 69, Ruben Groenewald 62; Matthew Elphick 2/21, Edward Smith 2/26); St Benedict’s College 99 (Clayton Horlick 44; JP Botha 3/20, SF Vermeulen 2/26). Affies won by 76 runs.

Franco Oberholzer
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.