Menlopark continue promising form, Cornwall Hill College too strong for Centurion
Menlopark continued their promising form in the Titans A-league with a convincing victory over Prestige College away from home.
The home side won the toss and decided to put Menlopark in to bat first. a decision that proved fruitful for the men from Prestige College early on as they struck with two quick wickets to put the visitors under pressure.
Lethabo Kunene showed his tremendous skill with the ball, tearing through the Menlopark batters to claim impressive figures of 3/54 in his outing with the ball.
However, Gert-Nico van Zyl, kept a calm head as he knuckled down to get his side back on track. Van Zyl made a well-played mature 46 off 70 deliveries, falling just four runs short of a well-deserved half-century. After losing two of his partners relatively quickly, Van Zyl found support in the stalwart all-rounder, Steve Stolk, who contributed with 37 of 41 deliveries before he too had to depart.
Pierre de Villiers made use of the platform laid by Van Zyl and Stolk, providing the necessary emphasis needed at the back end with a vital cameo of 37 from 48 balls helping the visitors reach a respectable 211 all out.
Prestige College also got off to a rocky start as they too lost early wickets in their search of the 212 runs required for victory. Tiaan Serfontein (2/39) was at the forefront of the early onslaught claiming a wicket on the last ball of the first over.
The impressive Lethabo Kunene shone again, this time with the bat, restoring order to the crumbling Prestige innings with a wonderful 46 of 70 deliveries before he also had to depart, falling victim to the impressive Ewald Meyer.
Meyer continued his remarkable spell to claim figures of 3/18 in his allotted ten overs, putting his side in a dominant position.
However, Sifiso Maseko proved to be a thorn in the side of the Menlo bowlers as he braved it out to top score with 48 from 98 deliveries, falling agonisingly close to a well-deserved fifty.
After Maseko’s departure, the Menlo bowlers didn’t hang around to close out the Prestige innings, bundling the home side out for only 164, to claim a 47-run victory away from home.
Cornwall Hill College proved to be too strong for Hoërskool Centurion beating them convincingly with 84 runs. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first.
Gerhard Lock continued his amazing form with a wonderful run-a-ball century scoring 105 of 105 deliveries lower down the order. Lock capitalized on a solid platform laid by his top order batters in the forms of Richard Williams who made a well-constructed 41 from 50 balls and Amo Tshoagong (21, 50b).
Divan van Tonder experienced a wonderful day with the ball for the home side, claiming impressive figures of 4/48 in his 9-over spell.
Tristan de Klerk also contributed with a solid cameo of 31 from 38 deliveries towards the back end to ensure that his side reached a very defendable 257/8 in their allotted 50 overs.
Centurion’s innings never seemed to get going as the visitors applied continuous pressure with the ball, causing the home side to lose wickets on a regular basis.
It was once again the impressive Van Tonder who continued his form found with the ball as he also top scored with 56 from 92 deliveries. Van Tonder found support in Elgun Brooker (36, 59b) as the pair looked to get their team bag on track.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be as the home side were bundled out for a meagre 173 runs, handing Cornwall Hill yet another well-deserved victory.
Summarised scorecards:
Menlopark 211/10 from 47.2 overs (Gert-Nico van Zyl 46, Steve Stolk 37, Pierre de Villiers 37; Lethabo Kunene 3/54, Teko Modiba 2/31, Keamogetswe Semenya 2/25); Prestige College 164/10 from 45 overs (Sifiso Maseko 48, Lethabo Kunene 46; Ewald Meyer 3/18, Gert-Nico van Zyl 3/41, Gerhard Engelbrecht 2/25, Tiaan Serfontein 2/39). Menlopark won by 47 runs.
Cornwall Hill College 257/10 from 50 overs (Gerhard Lock 105*, Richard Williams 41, Tristan de Klerk 31, Amo Tshoagong 21; Divan va Tonder 4/48); Centurion 173/10 from 39.3 overs (Divan van Tonder 56, Elgun Boeker 36; Jon-Martin de Jesus 5/28, Richard Williams 2/27, Tristan de Klerk 2/26). Cornwall Hill College won by 84 runs.
