Noordheuwel shocks St John’s College

Hoërskool Noordheuwel shocked St John’s College, winning by four wickets on Saturday, to bring down the curtain on a difficult week for the Johannesburg school, who have been without the services of their injured influential all-rounder, Luke Francis.

After winning the toss, Norries opted to bowl first and that decision paid quick dividends. The Krugersdorp school’s opening bowlers, Damien Hopkins (2/29) and JJ Basson (2/42), struck early to have St John’s struggling on 3/2 after just two overs.

Darshik Lutchman kept his composure, however, to lead a fightback for the visitors. Batting at three, he accumulated a well-played 61 from 103 deliveries.

He found good support from Oliver Tait (50, 49b), who also notched a half-century and captain Joe MacRobert (32).

Ruan Strauss swung the momentum back in Norries’ favour, capturing 3/38, while Marius Penning made a telling contribution with his return of 2/33 as St John’s were limited to 226 all out.

Duan van Aswegen (68, 74b) and Pieter Bezuidenhout (53, 86b) gave the Noordheuwel innings an impressive start, combining well for a 94-run opening stand, before a brilliant run out by Lutchman provided a much-needed breakthrough.

Alec Loveland snapped up 2/38, but Dylan Potgieter (31) and Ethan Smit (28), saw Norries across the line in the 46th over to claim a big scalp for the team from Krugersdorp.

St John’s had begun their weekend with a five-wicket loss to the touring SACS 1st XI in a T20 clash on Friday.

The hosts batted first but were unable to get on top of a good bowling performance by the Cape Town school. Reece Theunis did the most damage for the Capetonians, claiming three wickets for just 13 runs. Nicholas Nejthardt (2/14) and Ulrich Roth (2/18) provided good support, sharing four wickets between them.

Oliver Tait (31) and Darshick Lutchman (24) led a St John’s recovery, which helped their side to 109/9 from their 20 overs.

Knowing SACS was chasing a very average total, Reza Salie (54, 49b) played aggressively, scoring at more than a run a ball, to record a well-played and decisive half-century. His contribution set SACS up for the win, which was duly delivered by Rowan Taplin (22) and Litha Kraai (20).

David Ireland (2/18) and Malan du Plessis (2/28) performed well with the balls for St John’s, but they didn’t have enough runs on the board.

Summarised scorecards

St John’s College 226 (Darshik Lutchman 61, Oliver Tait 50, Joe MacRobert 32, Alec Loveland 29; Ruan Strauss 3/38, Damien Hopkins 2/29, Marius Penning 2/33, JJ Basson 2/42); Noordheuwel 229/6 (Duan van Aswegen 68, Pieter Bezuidenhout 53, Dylan Potgieter 31, Ethan Smit 28; Alec Loveland 2/38). Noordheuwel won by four wickets.

St John’s College 109/9 (Oliver Tait 31, Darshik Lutchman 24; Reece Theunis 3/13, Nicholas Nejthardt 2/14, Ulrich Roth 2/18); SACS 111/5 (Reza Salie 54, Rowan Taplin 22, Litha Kraai 20; David Ireland 2/18, Malan du Plessis 2/28). SACS won by five wickets.

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Franco Oberholzer

Franco is a sports fanatic from Tzaneen, a small town in Limpopo. Obsessed with both cricket and rugby, he still does the sport at club level when given the chance. Combining the rush of sports with his other passion, writing, gives him the fix any sport-crazy fan needs. In his spare time, he spends quality time with family and friends, preferably around a braaivleis fire.

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