Mkhize stars as Jeppe overpowers Randburg
Zizi Mkhize struck an unbeaten half-century and claimed two wickets to help Jeppe High School for Boys score a comfortable 44-run win over Hoërskool Randburg in their Johnny Waite Trophy match at Jeppe on Thursday.
Mkhize was in fine form, blasting two sixes and as many fours in his unbeaten 52 off 33 deliveries. The left-hander shepherded Jeppe, who had won the toss and elected to bat first, to 162/5.
The home side’s bowling attack backed up their batsmen with a clinical display, restricting Randburg to 118/8 in reply.
“Zizi Mkhize is an exciting talent. He scored a 50 on Wednesday and followed that up with this half-century,” Casey Arnold, the Jeppe head coach, said.
“He has just come into the first team. He also bowls good off-spinners. We are extremely excited about Zizi and how he has taken to first-team cricket.”
When Mkhize arrived at the crease, Jeppe was in trouble after losing two wickets in six balls, which reduced them from a decent 42/2 to a wobbly 42/4. The new batsmen, Mkhize and Keegan Caxeiro, needed to arrest the fall of wickets before it devolved into a collapse.
The pair shared the crease from the eighth to the 17th over and in that time produced a 78-run fifth-wicket stand. Caxeiro anchored the partnership with a patient 40 off 44 deliveries, but he also let loose for two sixes and a single four. Unlike earlier, when he departed, one wicket did not turn into two. No more went down after his dismissal.
Mkhize and Sipho Potsane (15*) saw out the remaining overs, combining for an unbroken 37-run seventh-wicket partnership.
“We have had a really good start to the year, barring the mishap against St John’s. We are starting to understand our plans as a team,” Arnold said.
When Randburg visited the crease, Reza Ayob gave Jeppe the start they wanted with the ball, bagging a wicket with his second delivery of the first over. Randburg hadn’t yet registered a run. Potsane followed that up with a wicket in the fifth over to leave Randburg in a spot of bother on 22/2.
The visitors halted Jeppe’s attack for a while as they rebuilt and consolidated through Liam Peek (56) and Josef van den Berg (31), who put on 42 for the third wicket. But Van den Berg’s dismissal in the 11th over proved to be Randburg’s undoing. He was one of Mkhize’s two victims.
The visitors needed another partnership to keep their run chase on track. They, however, lost wickets at regular intervals, which made that impossible. The next four batsmen failed to score a total of 10 runs between them. Peek finished with a hard-fought 56 off 57 balls, but he didn’t receive the support he needed. His outstanding effort was in vain.
Left-arm spinner Sipho Potsane was Jeppe’s most successful bowler, snaring three wickets for 15 runs in four overs. Mkhize chipped in with two for 23 from four, while Reza Ayob kept Randburg in check, capturing one for 17, also from four.
Summarised scorecard
Jeppe 162/5 (Zizi Mkhize 52*, Keegan Caxeiro 44, Louw Geldenhuys 2/27, B Viljoen 1/19,). Randburg 118/8 (Liam Peek 56, Josef van den Berg 31, Sipho Potsane 3/15, Zizi Mkhize 2/23). Jeppe won by 44 runs.
