Marais, Van Aarde tons highlight Grey Festival’s two-day declaration games
The Grey Festival, taking place in Gqeberha this year – it alternates between Gqeberha and Bloemfontein – opened with two-day declaration matches on Thursday and Friday, and two of the big winners were set up for victory by a century from one of their batsmen.
Grey High vs Kearsney College
After being sent out to bat by the hosts on Grey High’s Pollock Oval, Kearsney College struggled to build effective partnerships.
Run scoring came slowly as wickets fell regularly and, after 54.2 overs, they were all out for only 129.
Batting eighth in the order, Daniel Miskey made the visitors’ top score of the match, hitting eight fours in his 40 off 68 balls.
Anré Schoeman was largely responsible for Kearsney’s batting struggles, collecting figures of 4/43 from 11 overs.
Opener Cullen Marais got Grey off to a great start in their reply, blasting 13 fours and a six in an outstanding 107 off 121 deliveries. Arriving after the fall of the first wicket, Connor Parry kept the momentum rolling with 76, while the fifth man in, Logan Goddard-Ford, tallied an unbeaten 82.
Leg spinner Rivan Moodley was electric for the Greyhounds, snaring 6/65 across a lengthy 23.5 overs. Despite his excellent effort, Grey High took a big 182-run lead on the first innings after tallying a mighty 311 all out in 75.5 overs.
In the Botha’s Hill boys’ second innings, Moodley and Keegan De Jager smashed three fours apiece in their contributions of 23 runs each. But matters went swiftly downhill after their dismissals.
Logan Groch was chiefly responsible for the slide, capturing 5/11 in 9.1 overs, but Micha Wessels, with 2/12, and Matthew Tinley, with 2/25, also played their part as Kearsney tumbled to 80 all out, leaving Grey High the handsome winners by an innings and 102 runs.
Die Hoërskool Menlopark vs Namibia Invitational
Victoria Park High played host to the showdown between Die Hoërskool Menlopark and the Namibia Invitational outfit.
The Pretoria locals visited the crease first and produced 154 all out in 56.3 overs. In a battling batting effort, number eight batsman, Heinrich Claassen, topped the scoring stats, making a conservative 25 off 52 deliveries.
The Namibian side’s opening bowler, Waldo Smith, produced a strong return of 4/17 from only four overs. Erik Lintvelt was a touch costly, but he snared some vital wickets in the Menlo middle order, claiming 3/83 in 17.3 overs.
Like Menlo, the Invitational side had to rely on their lower order to boost their innings. Dan Brassel, at nine, and Rowan van Vuuren, at 10, provided a 52-run ninth wicket partnership to take their team past their opposition’s total.
Brassel hit a steady 38 off 54 balls, while Van Vuuren struck a solid 41 off 46, with both cracking three fours and two sixes, which helped the Namibians to 200 all out and a 46-run first innings’ lead.
Parkies‘ second innings didn’t start well. However, Monré Koekemoer, their seventh man to the crease, stopped the opposition bowlers’ flow of wickets. He came up only four runs shy of a century, taking 169 balls to score 96, which included seven fours and three sixes. Still, despite his valiant effort, Menlopark was all out for 207 after 74.4 overs.
While Koekemoer starred with the bat, Jovan Hartman was superb with the ball for the Namibia Invitational XI, knocking over 7/63 from 17 overs.
The Namibians, then, chased down their 162-run victory target with eight wickets to spare, finishing on 166/2 after 34 overs.
Openers, Adriaan Coetzee and Tiaan van der Merwe set up the win with an 88-run first wicket partnership. Coetzee was undefeated at the end, having struck three fours and a six in his 60 off 101, while Van Der Merwe walloped four fours and six sixes in his 58 off only 45 deliveries.
Pearson High vs St. Andrew’s School
Like Grey High, St. Andrew’s School needed only one innings to secure victory, outplaying Pearson High at Pearson.
Batting first, after Saints‘ skipper Reuben van Aarde called the coin flip incorrectly, the home side posted 140 all out, with Daniel Smithdorff and Jude Septoo both providing 37 runs.
Three of the Saints‘ bowlers earned two wickets apiece, with Nikhil Sukraj’s 2/10 in nine overs being the neatest return from the trio.
Van Aarde, batting at four, then demonstrated patience and grit in compiling 116 off 241 deliveries in a Test-like performance. He hit 12 fours while Schalk van Rensburg contributed six fours and a six in his 41. Between them, the rest of the team added only two fours and a six.
Besides those two players, the Saints’ batsmen offered little, and they were all out for 223. Pearson’s new ball bowlers, Aiden Mitchell and Jaydan Ward, did well, claiming 3/19 and 2/20 respectively.
Trailing by 83 runs on the first innings, Pearson collapsed in their second visit to the crease, scraping only 45 all out in 22 overs.
Opening bowler Heindré Serfontein set Saints on course for an emphatic victory, bagging 3/8 in six overs, while Nikhil Sukraj and FG Botha both took 2/3; the only difference being that Sukraj achieved those figures in four overs, while Botha did it in two.
In the end, St Andrew’s School won by an innings and 38 runs.
Summarised Scorecards
First Innings
Kearsney College 129/10 (Daniel Miskey 40, Aaron Blackburn 29, Rivan Moodley 21; Anré Schoeman 4/43, Connor Parry 2/8, Logan Groch 2/16); Grey High 311/10 (Cullen Marais 107, Logan Goddard-Ford 82*, Connor Parry 76, Rivan Moodley 6/65, Michael Groom 2/71).
Second Innings
Kearsney College 80/10 (Keegan de Jager 23, Rivan Moodley 23; Logan Groch 5/11, Micha Wessels 2/12, Matthew Tinley 2/25). Grey High won by an innings and 102 runs.
First Innings
Die Hoërskool Menlopark 154/10 (Heinrich Claassen 25, Keagan Hills 24, Monré Koekemoer 21, Jacques de Villiers 20; Erik Lintvelt 6/43); Namibia Invitational 200/10 (Rowan van Vuuren 41, Dan Brassel 38, Michael Muller 30, Tiaan van der Merwe 25, Adriaan Coetzee 25; Jovan Hartman 7/63).
Second Innings
Die Hoërskool Menlopark 207/10 (Monré Koekemoer 96, Keagan Hills 31; Ben Brassel 4/33, Erik Lintvelt 2/37); Namibia Invitational 166/2 (Adriaan Coetzee 60*, Tiaan van der Merwe 58, Janko Engelbrecht 34*). Namibia Invitational won by eight wickets.
First Innings
Pearson High 140/10 (Daniel Smithdorff 37, Jude Septoo 37; Nikhil Sukraj 2/11, Heindré Serfontein 2/26, Erhard Barends 2/30); St. Andrew’s School 223/10 (Reuben van Aarde 116, Schalk van Rensburg 41, Extras 23; Aiden Mitchell 3/19, Jaydan Ward 2/20, Jude Septoo 2/59).
Second Innings
Pearson High 45/10 (Heindré Serfontein 3/8, Nikhil Sukraj 2/3, FG Botha 2/3). St. Andrew’s School won by an innings and 35 runs.
