McQuinn shines as KES wins at Jeppe
Wade McQuinn starred with bat and ball as King Edward VII defeated Jeppe High School for Boys by five wickets in their 50-over encounter on the Bottom Oval, at Jeppe, on Saturday.
Jeppe, who won the toss and elected to bat first, failed to build partnerships that could contribute towards a substantial total and was bowled out for 98 runs in 28.3 overs. In their chase, KES galloped to 101/5 in 21.3 overs to claim victory.
The KES-Jeppe cricket showdown is one of the oldest contests in the country. The two sides have been locking horns since around 1905. Jeppe was one of the first schools that KES contested against in cricket.
McQuinn was one of the six bowlers who strangled the Jeppe batting order, denying them any room to express themselves. The all-rounder was the visitors’ best bowler with two wickets for 18 runs in six overs. His first wicket was the dismissal of Jeppe’s star batter, Aiden Reyneke, whom he dismissed for only four runs in the 15th over. The wicket left Jeppe struggling on 51/3.
That was the beginning of the crumbling of Jeppe’s innings. The hosts had put together a 38-run opening stand between Munib Ayob (15) and Ethan Elliot (24). That opening pairing was broken in the 10th over. A short while later, Jeppe lost Ayob in the 14th over, then Reyneke in the next one. Jeppe’s collapse was so calamitous they lost nine wickets in 15 overs for a mere 60 runs.
Elliot was the only Jeppe batter to score 20 or more runs.
When it was their turn to bat, KES ran into trouble in the first over. They lost Luke Clark for a three-ball duck. They hadn’t consolidated when they lost Tiago Dias in the fourth over. This began to look bleak when they lost their third wicket of the innings in the 10th over, which left them on 22/3. However, that was also the moment McQuinn arrived at the crease.
McQuin carved four fours and four sixes on his way to an unbeaten 47 off 28 balls to guide his side to victory. His strike rate of 168 told the story of a batter operating on a different plane from everyone else. He was on rarefied air.
Sipho Potsane was the pick of the bowlers for Jeppe with two wickets for 17 runs in five overs.
Summarised Scorecards:
Jeppe High School for Boys 98/10 (Ethan Elliot 24, Ryan Young 16; Wade McQuinn 2/18, Eric Southey 2/12); King Edward VII 101/5 (Wade McQuinn 47*, Troy Gordon 16; Sipho Potsane 2/17, Franco Nortje 1/13) King Edward VII won by five wickets.
