Lions the only team to win all their CSA u17 Rural Week pool games
Saturday’s third round of T20 matches at the CSA u17 Rural Week concluded with the Lions becoming the only team to win their three pool matches.
Boland also remained unbeaten, but their game against KZN Coastal on Saturday afternoon was abandoned due to rain.
Once again, runs were hard to come by, with only one batsman making a fifty. During the pool matches, there were just three in three rounds in total.
Lukhanyo Nkomonye, however, struck an undefeated 42 from 47 balls to help steer Kei to a seven-wicket victory over Limpopo, in a match in which only one other batsman made it into the twenties.
Limpopo, led by Marcus Ngobeni‘s 37, posted 90 all out, with Bulumko Didi capturing 3/2 and Ahlumile Honono 3/27. Kei, then, replied with 92/3, which was the most comfortable run chase yet put together at the Rural Week.
Matters were much tighter in the clash between North West and the Northern Cape, with North West totalling 89 all out and coming up four runs short of Northern Cape’s 93/9.
Candin Coetzee, the sixth bowler introduced into the Northern Cape attack, won them the match by knocking back 3/18 in two overs, which included bowling André Dreyer, who had appeared to be playing a match-winning innings. He hit seven fours and a six in making 57 from 47 deliveries, while North West’s next best score was Otlotleng Modise‘s nine.
Three batsmen in succession were dismissed for ducks – two of them by Liam Laing – as North West slipped from 64/3 to 89 all out in 6.4 overs.
In a tightly contested Eastern Cape derby, Eastern Cape Iinyathi number six, Akhanya Bontsi, got the runs flowing after a slow start from his peers, contributing an unbeaten 30 off 25 as the team from the Border region tallied 84/6 from their 20 overs.
In the run chase, Milani Manya troubled the Eastern Province (EP) batsmen, snapping up 3/12 in four overs. But Jordan Damons, whose wicket-taking tally reached 10 after only three matches, showed he’s no mug with the bat either, making 23 not out as EP reached 67/5 after 15 overs.
Unfortunately, that’s when rain came down, and the match was decided on the Duck-Lewis-Stern (DLS) Method, with Eastern Province being declared the winners by just six runs.
The Lions’ bowlers set them up for their third win on the trot, dismissing KZN Inland for only 71 in 17.5 overs. Thabiso Mosebi starred, with an outstanding return of 3/9 from four overs.
It took the Lions 15 overs to overhaul the Inland total, and they did it with four wickets to spare. Mosebi was again to the fore, making a patient 23 not out from 42 balls, while Farhaan Patel played his part with 20 from 31. Sisekelo Dlamini snared 2/2 in one over for Inland, and Stuart Talanda claimed 2/13 in three.
Batting first at Uplands College, Mpumalanga made a poor start against Free State. The home side was on 12/3 in the fourth over when Hendré Nel made his way to the crease. However, together with Andries Coetzer, he reversed the momentum of the contest, with the duo sharing a 49-run fourth-wicket partnership off 36 deliveries.
Coetzer played it cool, yet he still walloped six fours in his otherwise conservative 29 off 33 balls. Nel, in contrast, played with aggression, launching three sixes and a four in an explosive 26 off 12. Their vital partnership helped Mpumalanga to 104/8.
Liam Singleton led the Free State attack, with 3/21 from four overs, while Dumisani Johnson kept the Mpumalanga batsmen in check with his 2/11 in four.
In reply, the Free Staters were bowled out for 86 in the final over of their innings. Zander Fourie, with 23, and Nhlonhla Debese, with 20, shared a 44-run stand for the fifth wicket in eight overs.
Ziyad Patel returned a very tidy 2/8 from his four overs, while Najmul Mustafa bagged 2/4 from one over as Mpumalanga won by 18 runs.
At Hoërskool Nelspruit, the match between Boland and KZN Coastal was rained out in the twelfth over, with Coastal on 49/5. Karel Hugo rocked the KZN side with 3/7 in only 1.3 overs.
Summarised Scorecards
Mpumalanga 104/8 (Andries Coetzer 29, Hendré Nel 26; Liam Singleton 3/21, Dumisani Johnson 2/11); Free State 86/10 (Zander Fourie 23, Nhlonhla Debese 20; Najmul Mustafa 2/4, Ziyad Patel 2/8, Hendré Nel 2/19). Mpumalanga won by 18 runs.
Lions 72/6 (Thabiso Mosebi 23*, Farhaan Patel 20; Sisekelo Dlamini 2/2, Stuart Talanda 2/13); KZN Inland 71/10 (Thabiso Mosebi 3/9, Bokamoso Bantjie 2/15). Lions won by four wickets.
Northern Cape 93/9 (Ayaan Chaudhary 3/19, Jürgen Hesse 2/12, André Dreyer 2/17); North West 89/10 (André Dreyer 57; Candin Coetzee 3/18, Liam Laing 2/2, Janko Noeth 2/8). Northern Cape won by four runs.
Eastern Cape Iinyathi 84/6 (Akhanya Bontsi 30*; Enrique Strydom 2/18); Eastern Province 67/5 (Jordan Damons 23*; Milani Manya 3/12). Eastern Province won by six runs (DLS Method).
Limpopo 90/10 (Marcus Ngobeni 37; Bulumko Didi 3/2, Ahlumile Honono 3/27, Lukhanyo Nkomonye 2/13); Border Kei 92/3 (Lukhanyo Nkomonye 42*; Hlulani Maluleke 2/24). Border Kei won by seven wickets.
KZN Coastal 49/5; Boland 0/0. Match abandoned due to rain.
