Kloppenberg sets Grey High on course for semi-finals, Selborne bounces back


Grey High all-but confirmed their qualification for the semifinals of the Eastern Province and Border Schools SA20 tournament by beating Queen’s College by eight wickets in the second round of matches in East London on Friday afternoon.
All has not been decided, but Grey High has one foot in the semifinals after posting back-to-back wins in Pool A.
Their morning victory over Selborne was thanks to Connor Parry’s patient innings, and their afternoon win was courtesy of some serious hitting from Teun Kloppenberg.
Josh Wilkie scored the first half-century in the tournament as Selborne bounced back from their morning loss with a vengeance, overrunning Mqanduli Village by 123 runs.
Pearson is in a good position after recording their first win in the afternoon, a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over Jumba High, after they shared the points with Mqanduli Village because of a waterlogged outfield in the morning.
Teun Kloppenberg launched more sixes than the Queen’s batting line-up combined, lashing four on his way to an unbeaten 28 off 13 deliveries to lead the Gqberha boys to an emphatic eight-wicket victory. He arrived at the crease in the sixth over, with Grey High on 29/2, chasing only 59 runs to win.
The target was low because of an incredible shift put in by Grey’s spin contingent, led by Drisden Pretorius. The left-arm spinner was practically unplayable in his four overs, one of which was a maiden. He conceded only three runs for his three wickets. Led by his star turn, Grey High rolled Queen’s for only 58 in 19 overs.
Grey, then, needed only 8.5 overs to get to 63/2 and claim the spoils.
When Kloppenberg arrived at the crease, Luke Tait had laid a platform with his 17-ball 18. The right-hander, then, shared an unbroken 39-run third-wicket partnership with Connor Parry (11*) that saw Grey High over the line.
Selborne College bounced back from a defeat at the hands of Grey in the morning with a comprehensive 123-run win over Mqanduli Village, thanks to a Josh Wilkie masterclass with the bat, which brought him a brilliant 66 off 53 deliveries. Wilkies’ effort was the first half-century of the tournament, on a day when batsmen struggled to get themselves, which resulted in teams being knocked over for low totals.
Wilkie also shared a 57-run fifth-wicket stand with Reece Waite (39). Theirs’ was the highest partnership in all matches played on Friday. Their efforts also helped Selborne chalk up the highest total of the day, 174/8. That total proved to be a mountain too high for Mqanduli Village, who stuttered their way to 51/8 in reply.
Siphumeze Nonwana (21) was the only Mqanduli Village batsman who offered resistance to the Selborne bowling attack, which was led well by Michael Hess and Mjo Lukhanyiso. Hess sent down three overs, one of them a maiden, conceded three runs, and took two wickets. Lukhanyiso also bagged a brace while conceding 11 runs from his three overs.
Pearson powered their way to a first victory with an emphatic 10-wicket win over Jumba High. Pearson’s bowling and fielding were outstanding, and they enjoyed immediate success, grabbing two wickets in the first over. For the first wicket, Jonathan Holmes clean-bowled Momeleze Nama. For the second, Jadyan Ward executed a run out to send Baphelele Silo packing.
Those two dismissals led to a procession of wickets falling, with Jumba High’s batsmen falling like dominoes. None made it to 10 runs. Their highest scorer was Chulumanco Soyizwaphi, with eight. Jadyan Ward was outstanding with the ball for Pearson, capturing three wickets for four runs, while Sulaymaan Gangat was equally good, snaring three wickets for two runs in 1.1 overs.
Matthew Burton (15*) and Jude Septoo (6*) made light work of the run chase, needing only 11 balls to see Pearson to victory. Burton creamed three fours, while Septoo found the boundary once, to match Jumba High’s number of fours.
In the girls’ section, Nomandi put together a brilliant performance against Stirling, who had played well against Pearson in their morning match. In that clash, Stirling took just under nine overs to reach 67/3 and claim victory, thanks to Cayleigh Wankel’s brilliance with the bat. Against Nomandi, at Hudson Park, their batting failed.
Wankel put on another brilliant show, bagging four wickets for a paltry five runs as Stirling skittled Nomandi for 77 runs. However, her performance was matched by Enkosi Mditshwa’s five-wicket haul for Nomandi.
Mditshwa was a handful as she knocked over 5/8 in 3.4 overs. She was superbly backed up by Thembakazi Gegesi (3/2) and Olwethu Njani (1/1), as Nomandi destroyed the Stirling batting lineup, dismissing the East London school for only 11 runs in 7.4 overs to claim a big 66-run victory.
Earlier in the match, Mditshwa top-scored for Nomandi with 16 runs. Njani (10) and Sikho Khetho (14) were the only other batters to reach double figures. Stirling’s leading batter was Tama Tandwa (5).
Scorecards
Queen’s College 58/10 (Joe Aucamp 12, Duncan Hayes 9, Drisden Pretorius 3/3, Connor Parry 2/2). Grey High 63/2 (Teun Kloppenberg 28*, Luke Tait 18, Khazimla Simama 2/16, Mthokozisi Mbambo 0/14). Grey High won by eight wickets.
Jumba 22/10 (Chulumanco Soyizwaphi 8, Ahlume Honono 4, Jadyan Ward 3/4, Sulaymaan Gangat 3/2). Pearson 23/0 (Matthew Burton 15*, Jude Septoo 6*, Baphalele Silo 0/7, Chulumanco Soyizwaphi 0/16). Pearson won by 10 wickets.
Selborne 174/8 (Josh Wilkie 66, Reece Waite 39, Bulumnko Didi 3/16, Awande Siganga 2/38). Mqanduli Village 51/8 (Siphumeze Nonwana 21, Sinawo Nongalo 5, Michael Hess 2/3, Mjo Lukhanyiso 2/11). Selborne won by 123 runs.
Girls’ section
Nomandi 77/10 (Enkosi Mditshwa 16, Sikho Khetho 10, Cayleigh Wankel 4/5, Lwando Kese 2/11). Stirling 11/10 (Tama Tandwa 5, Cayleigh Wankel 1, Enkosi Mditshwa 5/8, Thembakazi Gegesi 3/2). Nomandi won by 66 runs.
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