Roos and Grooteman sparkle as KES decimates Northcliff
Zieg Roos and Steele Grooteman shared seven wickets between them as they bowled King Edward VII School (KES) to a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Northcliff High School at Northcliff on Sunday.
Roos, the KES captain, won the toss and asked Northcliff to bat first. That was a good decision as KES bundled out Northcliff in 39 overs for only 82.
Coach Vincent Jordaan’s side easily chased down the victory target. They needed only 17.1 overs to score 86/1.
Sunday’s win was KES’s third victory of the year. They already have five matches under their belt in 2025 before the Northcliff game. They won against Queens High School and Trinity House Rand Park Ride and lost to Waterkloof. Their other matches, against Parktown and St John’s College, were washed out by rain.
Northcliff’s batsmen were watchful in the first 10 overs of the weekend’s encounter and compiled 37 runs in 9.4 overs before the opening stand was broken. Connor Kuijers provided KES with the breakthrough with the dismissal of Jack Woolard, who had scored a patient 22 off 38.
Wollard’s dismissal, unfortunately for Northcliff, began a procession of wickets over the next 29 overs, with Northcliff immobile, stuck in quicksand.
Roos tossed the ball to Steel Grooteman in the 15th over and the bowling change had an immediate impact. Grooteman grabbed a wicket with his second delivery to send Nkosana Tshabalala packing. That was the first of three wickets captured by Grooteman, who also accounted for Kyle Davies and Cade Bradley. He finished with a very tidy three wickets for 17 runs in 10 overs.
Roos, meanwhile, was adjudged the Player of the Match after his bowling performance.
He introduced himself into the attack in the 22nd over, strung together a couple of quiet overs, conceding five runs in two overs, and was, then, rewarded with a wicket off his first delivery of the 26th over, his third over. The KES captain tied down the Northcliff batsmen, conceding a miserly 1/1 runs per over, and claimed a superb 4/10 from his nine overs.
The bowlers’ outstanding performances served up a low total for KES’s batsmen to chase and they accomplished that at a canter. Tiago Dias (21*) and Khwezi Nyamathe (27) shared a 32-run partnership before it was broken by Declan Diesel in the fifth over, but Nyamathe’s wicket proved to be the only one that Northcliff was able to take before KES claimed victory.
Dias and Eric Southey (29*) shared an unbroken 54-run second-wicket partnership to see them home.
Summarised scorecard
Northcliff 82/10 (Jack Woolard 22, Kyle Davies 14, Zieg Roos 4/10, Steele Grooteman 3/17). King Edward VII 86/1 (Eric Southey 29*, Khwezi Nyamathe 27, Declan Davies 1/22, Alex West 0/9). KES won by nine wickets.
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