KES surprises Affies, Pretoria Boys High rocks Jeppe
It was a day of mixed results, with surprises in both directions, for two of Johannesburg’s leading cricket schools, King Edward VII School (KES) and Jeppe High School for Boys.
Both crossed the Jukskei River, with KES, playing at Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies), producing a noteworthy six-wicket victory over the high-flying home side.
Just across the road, on Pretoria Boys High‘s Hofmeyr Oval, Jeppe, who beat Waterkloof the previous weekend, went down by five wickets to a spirited Boys High.
Rain and unfavourable weather conditions resulted in both matches being reduced from 50-over clashes.
KES won the toss and elected to bowl in their 40-over game against Affies, and Connor Kuijers relished that decision, leading a strong performance from the visitors in the field, which ended with Affies all out for just 144 within 36 overs.
Kuijers returned the outstanding figures of 4/20 at a miserly economy rate of 2.5 runs per over from his eight overs. He was well supported by Stelle Grooteman (2/7) and Tyler Cloete (2/25), who shared four wickets for a combined 32 runs.
All-rounders, Paul Bester (31) and Zian Labuschagne (26), contributed valuable runs towards the end of the Affies’ innings, not enough, though, to set KES a more challenging total.
When the Johannesburg school batted, Urav Mukhija appeared to be playing on a different pitch entirely, compiling an excellent 63. His opening partnership of 67 with Matthew Bromley (30) broke the back of the chase and created an ideal platform for Abdullah Mohammed, who delivered the knockout blow with a composed 30.
Victory was secured off the first ball of the 31st over.
At the Hofmeyr Oval, a half-century from the in‑form Lincoln Casias was overshadowed by the heroics of Boys High‘s Ethan Nel, who produced a match-winning knock of 58.
Casias finished unbeaten on 50, but he found limited support from his teammates, aside from the 32 contributed by Vegas Scott.
Ruan Coetzee spearheaded a disciplined effort from the home side’s attack, capturing 3/20 to help restrict Jeppe to 131/7 from their 35 overs.
Nel’s innings, aided by a valuable 27 from Tim Gordon, ensured Boys High kept their run rate healthy, and they overhauled the Jeppe total inside 33 overs.
The visitors’ spin stalwart Shreshth Kumar fought valiantly to apply pressure on the home side’s batting line‑up, but even his return of 2/28 was not enough to derail the Boys High charge to victory.
In the context of Jeppe‘s impressive season, it was a momentous win for Boys High.
Summarised scorecards
Affies 144/10 (Paul Bester 31, Zian Labuschagne 26; Connor Kuijers 4/20, Stelle Grooteman 2/7, Tyler Cloete 2/25); King Edward VII School 147/4 (Urav Mukhija 63, Matthew Bromley 30, Abdullah Mohammed 30; Lukas Cronje 2/29). King Edward VII School won by six wickets.
Jeppe 131/7 (35) (Lincoln Casias 50*, Vegas Scott 32; Ruan Coetzee 3/20, Dylan Kruger 2/19); Pretoria Boys High 132/5 (Ethan Nel 58, Tim Gordon 27; Shreshth Kumar 2/28). Pretoria Boys High won by five wickets.
