Noordheuwel steamrolls Steyn City
Hoërskool Noordheuwel celebrated their qualification for the final of the Lions region’s Schools SA20 tournament by steamrolling Steyn City School by eight wickets in a 50-over encounter at Steyn City on Saturday.
Noordheuwel won the toss, elected to bowl first, and skittled the hosts for only 84 in 22.5 overs. The team from Krugersdorp, then, needed only 18 overs to reach 85/2 and secure victory.
JD Bezuidenhout and JJ Basson took the new ball for the Nories and made life difficult for the Steyn City batsmen. They pinned the opposition down with good line and length bowling, conceding only 31 runs in the first 10 overs and, importantly, capturing three early wickets, too.
Keegan Smallbone decided that the only way to deal with the Noordheuwel bowling attack was to go on the offensive and he proceeded to cream 14 runs off Tidimalo Moeketsane‘s first over.
However, the good vibes were short-lived. Moeketsane returned with a fiery second over that played a decisive role in the outcome of the match. He bagged two wickets, one of them Smallbone’s, to leave the home side reeling on 53/5.
Steyn City spent the next 10 overs desperately trying to hold on, but it was all in vain. There was no stopping Moeketsane, who knocked over 4/42 in six overs.
The Noordheuwel bowlers were so good that captain Corné Botha needed only four of them to bowl out Steyn City. The other three, besides Moeketsane -JJ Basson, JD Bezuidenhout, and Corné Olivier – took two wickets each. Only three Steyn City batsmen – Max Borroughes (25), Keegan Smallbone (18), and Matthew Little-Barbour (14) – made it into double figures.
As they did on Friday afternoon, in their Schools SA20 win over Monument, Noordheuwel spent considerably less time at the crease than their opponents.
Marius Penning played a patient innings, accumulating an unbeaten 38 runs from 57 deliveries and shared three partnerships. He and Corné Olivier combined for 38 runs, while Penning and Steph Jooste added only eight runs together. An unbroken stand of 39 for the third wicket with Brandon Pieters (20*) saw Noordheuwel home.
Steyn City did not do themselves any favours by conceding 17 extras, which accounted for a fifth of Noordheuwel’s total. Kurt Losch was the biggest offender with a tally of 13.
Gideon Coetzee and Somaan Khan were Steyn City’s two wicket-takers, but they could do little to stop Noodheuwel’s charge to victory.
Summarised Scorecards
Steyn City 84/10 (Max Borroughes 25, Keegan Smallbone 18; Tidimalo Moeketsane 4/42, Corné Olivier 2/10); Noordheuwel 85/2 (Marius Penning 38*, Brandon Pieters 20*; Gideon Peters 1/13, Somaan Khan 1/27).
Noordheuwel won by eight wickets.
