Limpopo and Lions deliver dramatic semi at CSA u17 Rural Week
Sunday’s action at the CSA u17 Rural Week, taking place in Mpumalanga, involved the semi-finals in the Cup, Plate, and Bowl competitions, with the top four sides from the group stage contesting the Cup.
Each of the second placed teams from the groups, which comprised three sides each, moved into the Plate semis, while the third placed units shifted their attention to the Bowl.
Cup semi-finals
Limpopo and the Lions delivered an edge-of-the-seat semi-final, which was decided by the slimmest of margins.
Batting first, Limpopo narrowly failed to reach triple figures, accumulating 97/9 after their 20 overs. Opener Marcus Ngobeni was their leading run scorer, making 27 from 34 balls, while Tshepo Matsaneng claimed 3/6 in two overs for the Lions.
Needing to bat at 4.9 runs per over to win, the Lions mustered 4.8. They just missed out on forcing a Super Over, totalling 96/8, one run shy of levelling the scores.
Frederik Botes, Luhan Drotskie and Tiaan Haasbroek took two wickets apiece, but Limpopo let themselves down by giving away 18 extras, 16 of which were wides. That very nearly cost them a place in the final.
It was a first loss for the Lions, and it leaves Boland and Limpopo as the only unbeaten teams heading into the title game, where only one of them will finish the Rural Week undefeated.
In the semi-final between Boland and the Northern Cape, Luhan Noeth came in at five and struck 29 in an otherwise barren innings of 64 all out for the Northern Cape.
The trio of Karel Hugo, Bryan Cochrane and Chris Hughes were near unplayable at times, with Cochrane capturing 3/11 in four overs, while Hughes snapped up 2/8 in two overs. Between them, they dismissed four of the first five batsmen.
Later, Hugo’s 4/24 ensured there would be no fight back from the Northern Cape.
Liam Laing did everything he could to defend a sub-standard total, knocking over 4/2 in his four overs. However, his fellow Northern Cape bowlers weren’t able to produce the support Laing required to help lead his side to an improbable victory. Candin Coetzee’s 1/2 in one over was the only other dent in Boland’s run chase.
It took the Western Cape side 13 overs to reach 65/5, with opener Noah Goliath‘s 19 off 24 their top score.
Plate semi-finals
There was another low scoring game in the Plate semi-finals, where Onalenna Maphoso got the North West off to a great start against KZN Coastal by nabbing 4/7 in four overs. No batsmen made it into double figures as the KZN boys tumbled to 57 all out in the last of their 20 overs.
André Dreyer, who has been North West’s mainstay with the bat and ball throughout the tournament, led their run pursuit, top scoring with 32 off 23 balls.
There was a slight hiccup towards the end of the North West innings when Veolan Palavar collected 2/1 in one over, but, after 12 overs, they won by four wickets when they reached 58/6.
In an Eastern Cape derby, Eastern Province (EP) posted a substantial total of 176/8 against Kei.
In at three, Chris Zimmerman blasted five sixes and two fours in an impressive 64 off 34. He was well supported by opener Keagan Jattiem, who cracked four sixes and two fours in his 40 off 25. Together, the pair added a hasty 65 off 37 for the second wicket.
Despite EP’s strong performance at the crease, Bulumko Didi excelled for Kei, taking 4/16.
The contest turned into a rout when Kei’s batting folded with little resistance for only 22. Jordan Damons continued his excellent wicket-taking form, recording figures of 3/7 in four overs, while Andrew Muir, Enrique Strydom and Ockert Du Preez all picked up two wickets each as EP bounded to a massive 154-run win.
Shield semi-finals
Free State took on the hosts, Mpumalanga, in the Shield semi-finals and rode opener Aiden Hewitt‘s excellent innings to 115/6 and, eventually, victory by 38 runs. Hewitt’s contribution was 51 from 41 balls, with four fours and a six, and it was, also, 30 runs more than the next highest score attained by a batsman in the match.
Logan Schutte shone for the home side, sending four batsmen packing for only 12 runs from his four overs.
However, Mpumalanga’s run chase never really got going and they were restricted to just 77/9 in reply. Dumisani Johnson picked up 3/32 and Zander Fourie snared 2/11, both in four overs, to lead Free State’s effort in the field.
They’ll face the Eastern Cape Iinyathi in the Shield final after the boys from the Border region comfortably accounted for KZN Inland.
The bowlers continued to rule the roost when Inland batted first. Opener Devon Earle provided their only score above 20, tallying 24 off 25, as the KZN team was bowled out for only 76 after 19.3 overs.
Zingce Poni and Milani Manya did most of the damage for the Iinyahti. Poni bagged 3/17 in two overs, while Manya returned 2/11 from four.
While KZN Inland struggled at the crease, the Iinyathi didn’t. It took them only 9.2 overs to race to 80/3 and a seven-wicket victory.
Manya followed up his miserly bowling performance with an aggressive batting display, which brought him an undefeated 47 from just 24 balls, including three fours and four sixes.
Summarised Scorecards
Limpopo 97/9 (Marcus Ngobeni 27; Tshepo Matsaneng 3/6, Ruan Coetzer 2/22); Lions 96/8 (Frederik Botes 2/16, Tiaan Haasbroek 2/17, Luhan Drotskie 2/17). Limpopo won by one run.
Northern Cape 64/10 (Louhan Noeth 29; Karel Hugo 4/10, Bryan Cochrane 3/11, Chris Hughes 2/8); Boland 65/5 (Liam Liang 4/2). Boland won by five wickets.
KZN Coastal 57/10 (Onalenna Maphoso 4/7, André Dreyer 2/5); North West 58/6 (André Dreyer 32; Veolan Palavar 2/1). North West won by four wickets.
Free State 115/6 (Aiden Hewitt 51; Logan Schutte 4/12); Mpumalanga 77/9 (Hendré Nel 21; Dumisani Johnson 3/23, Zander Fourie 2/11). Free State won by 38 runs.
Eastern Province 176/8 (Chris Zimmerman 64, Keagan Jattiem 40, Andrew Muir 20; Bulumko Didi 4/16, Luthando Gwazela 2/16); Border Kei 22/10 (Jordan Damons 3/7, Enrique Strydom 2/1, Andrew Muir 2/3, Ockert Du Preez 2/10). Eastern Province won by 154 runs.
KZN Inland 76/10 (Devon Earle 24; Zingce Poni 3/17, Milani Manya 2/11); Eastern Cape Iinyathi 80/3 (Milani Manya 47*; Stuart Talanda 2/15). Eastern Cape Iinyathi won by seven wickets.
