SA Schools cruises to win over SA Fillies

The SA Schools girls’ u19 team recorded a comfortable 31-run win over the SA Fillies in a T20 match on the last day of the CSA Girls u19 Week, at the JB Marks Oval, in Potchefstroom, on Friday.

The toss went the Fillies’ way, and their captain, Mpumelelo Mashiloane, opted to field first. SA Schools responded with 122/8 from their 20 overs. That proved to be enough, with the SA Fillies being limited to 91/6 in reply.

Simoné Lourens, with a quickfire 19 off 11 balls, and Chris-Mari Bezuidenhout, with 34 off 26, got SA Schools going with a rapid 37-run opening partnership in less than four overs.

Captain Mieke van Voorst replaced Lourens and weighed in with 26 from 23 deliveries. She also shared a 29-run second-wicket stand with Bezuidenhout, who departed when there were 66 runs on the board.

The SA Fillies fought back strongly, picking up three wickets for three runs in seven balls. Enkosi Mditshwa set the collapse in motion with Bezuidenhout’s dismissal in the eighth over before Thembakazi Gegesi accounted for Rethabile Nthoba and Fay Cowling in the space of three deliveries.

SA Schools struggled to recover after that, but Murisi Rikhotso, who scored an unbeaten 15 from 14 balls, helped the side to finish strongly., having batted at just over six runs an over.

In reply, the SA Fillies stumbled out of the blocks. They lost opener Maria van der Vyver in the second over, trapped LBW by Respect Mabasa. Soon, The Fillies were on the back foot. By the end of the powerplay, they were in serious trouble on 25/5.

Fay Cowling put the skids under the SA Filliers with a double-strike in the seventh over, which accounted for Mashiloane and Diedré van Rensburg. That forced their batters into a more conservative approach, and they were kept in check and restricted to below 100 runs.

Mi-Jeanne Botha top-scored for the SA Fillies with a cautious unbeaten 33 from 50 balls. Enkosi Mditshwa and Ashley Barnard were the only other Fillies’ batters to reach double figures, with Mditshwa making 15 runs from 21 deliveries and Barnard scoring 12 off 13.

Cowling was the pick of the SA Schools’ attack, capturing 3/18 from four overs.

Summarised Scorecard

SA Schools 122/8 (Chris-Mari Bezuidenhout 34, Mieke van Voorst 26, Simoné Lourens 19; Imaan van Schalkwyk 2/12, Thembakazi Gegesi 2/20). Fillies 91/6 (Mi-Jeanne Botha 33*, Enkosi Mditshwa 15; Fay Cowling 3/18, Ziya Mohanlall 1/5). SA Schools won by 31 runs.

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CS Chiwanza

CS Chiwanza is a former poet and now a full-time storyteller of Southern African sports. He jokes that those who can't do a thing well enough either teach or write. He knows the right way to hold a cricket bat and the right grip for the wobbleball, but can't do either well enough to be picked for a good team. So he writes. However, he mastered the best dart grip and spends hours stat-padding against his wife and kids.

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