Rew inspires St Stithians to Schools SA20 win over St John’s
Tom Rew smashed an unbeaten half-century to lead St Stithians College to a nine-wicket victory over St John’s College in their Schools SA20 Lions’ region quarterfinal tie on Wits University’s A field on Friday afternoon.
St John’s won the toss and elected to bat first. They found it tough sledding, clawing their way to 129/9 in their 20 overs. Lazarus Mokoena’s Saints’ outfit made light work of the victory target, racing to 130/1 in just 15 overs.
Rew stroked eight fours and bashed four sixes on his way to an unbeaten 81 off only 42 deliveries.
The number three batsman arrived at the crease in the second over, following the dismissal of Liam Mudenda, who had scored a watchful 10 runs from nine balls. That was a better start than St John’s made. They lost their first wicket in the first over of the match. However, it was hardly the start St Stithians wanted.
They knew that what they needed to win was what St John’s had lacked in their innings, a good partnership. Rew and Ombesa Matsha delivered it.
Rew got off the mark with a boundary and didn’t look back from there. The teenager took a particular liking to St John’s captain Alec Loveland, whom he took for 16 runs in the 12th over. St Stithians had kept up with the required run rate through the first 11 overs of their innings, and they had the advantage of wickets in hand. That fruitful 12th over proved to be a turning point in the tie and it went a long way towards sealing the victory for Mokoena’s charges.
Matsha was happy to pick up singles and give the strike to his in-form partner as he played the role of the foil to Rew’s fluent knock. The opener struck only two boundaries in his unbeaten 34 off 39 balls.
Earlier in the day, Zaakir Hanslo ran through the St John’s batting lineup, snaring four wickets for 16 runs in four overs. His first wicket was the dismissal of Nkosana Sibiya (29) in the ninth over. The opener had shared a 60-run second-wicket partnership with James Yuill (26). After Sibiya’s removal, the St John’s innings went downhill.
None of their next five batsmen reached double figures as the innings fell apart. Aiden Barberrini, with an unbeaten 26 from 18 balls, batting ninth in the order, helped St John’s muster 129. The only other St John’s batsman to make it into double figures was Lwazi Khuphe and he barely made it, contributing 10.
Hanslo was well-supported with the ball by Tom Collins, who took two wickets for 12 runs in two overs. The other wicket-takers were Cayden Sunker, Tendai Kadyamadare, and Tahseen Hanslo, who all bagged a wicket each.
Summarised Scorecard
St John’s 129/9 (Nkosana Sibiya 29, Aiden Barberrini 26*; Zaakir Hanslo 4/16, Tom Collins 2/12); St Stithians 130/1 (Tom Rew 81*, Ombesa Matsha 34; Herman Basson 1/21).
St Stithians won by nine wickets.
