Saints and Jeppe unbeaten after opening day of Final Showdown
Only two unbeaten sides, St Andrew’s School of Bloemfontein and Jeppe High School for Boys, are left after the opening day of the Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Final Showdown being hosted at the University of Pretoria.
Both sides managed to defend low totals in their afternoon matches to keep their unbeaten records intact.
Saints reached only 99/9 in their 20 overs against Hilton College, with Schalk van Rensburg (19) leading the charge. Hilton’s Sange Qangule (3/15) and Obakeng Motsepa (3/24) produced the goods up front, leaving Saints struggling at 44/5 in the eighth over.
Hilton finished a mere five runs short of the St Andrew’s total, with Cameron Hargraves (23*) and Luke Wilson (17*) at the crease. They needed 13 from the last over bowled by Heindré Serfontein (0/20) but finished on 94/6.
The pick of the St Andrew’s bowling attack was Nikhil Sukraj, who removed three batters at a cost of only 27 runs. He also rearranged the stumps of the prized wicket of Robert Burman (27).
Saints won their first game of the day against Cricket South Africa’s Hub Invitational by two wickets. Serfontein led the charge with a superb all-round performance, snapping up 2/6 while also contributing 37 runs with the bat.
Jeppe would feel relieved as well as elated after securing a narrow three-run victory over the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) of Pretoria on the Tuks Oval. The side from Johannesburg was bowled out for 108 runs in a contest reduced to 19 overs each.
Zian Labuschagne (3/15) and Nico Loggenberg (3/20) caused the Kensington crew problems.
Jeppe’s Goolam Ahmed then stepped up, removing three batters for only 21 runs. He was well supported by Zizi Mkhize (2/20).
Affies needed 10 runs from the final six deliveries bowled by Ahmed. They managed only six runs, with Paul Bester finishing unbeaten on 19.
Ahmed was the opening day’s best bowler. He also recorded the remarkable figures of 3/7 as his side restricted Graeme College to 49/7 in a game that was reduced to 14 overs per side. Daniel Keating (3/8) also added to Graeme’s misery.
The leading run-scorer on the opening day was Paarl Boys’ High‘s opening batter Abriam Jacobs with 79 runs in his side’s two matches, which included the only half-century (56) of the day against Hilton College.
Boishaai, however, lost both their matches against Hilton College and the CSA Hub XI despite Jacobs’ heroics.
Hilton College’s Obakeng Motsepa (2/19) showed in the win against Boishaai that he is a player to look out for in the future. Cameron Hargroves (42*) and Barack Munawa (25) were also in top form in the opening game.
Paul Bester (3/16) starred in Affies’ 69-run victory over Selborne College. His captain, Vihan Pretorius (2/11), and Nico Loggenberg (2/11) also produced noteworthy performances.
Summarised Scorecards:
ROUND 1
Hilton College 130/7 (Cameron Hargroves 42*, Barack Munawa 25; Neil Louw 2/12), Abriam Jacobs 2/22); Paarl Boys’ High 125/8 (Abriam Jacobs 56, Neil Louw 17; Cameron Hargroves 2/14, Obakeng Motsepa 2/19). Hilton College won by five runs.
CSA Hub Invitational 104/7 (Bulumko Magatya 32; Heindré Serfontein 2/6, Berno Coetzee 2/16); St Andrew’s School 105/8 (Heindré Serfontein 37, Berno Coetzee 17; Enathi Kitshini 2/15). St Andrew’s School won by two wickets.
Affies 129/7 (Ethan Williams 34, Vihan Pretorius 29; Avetandwa Manyango 3/23); Selborne College 62/10 (Merick Collins 15; Paul Bester 3/6, Vihan Pretorius 2/11, Nico Loggenberg 2/11). Affies won by 69 runs (DLS Method).
Graeme College 49/7 (Zuko Pontshi 12; Goolam Ahmed 3/7, Daniel Keating 3/8); Jeppe High School for Boys 52/1 (Vegas Scott 22*, Aiden Reyneke 15*; Luphelo Mdyesha 1/14). Jeppe High School for Boys won by nine wickets.
ROUND 2
Paarl Boys’ High 96/10 (Abriam Jacobs 23, Ullrich Drotschie 21; Taywin Adams 3/8, Kamogelo Matlala 2/9); CSA Hub Invitational 97/5 (Bulumko Magatya 32, Deveric Petersen 21; Ra-ed Fredericks 2/13). CSA Hub Invitational won by five wickets.
St Andrew’s School 99/9 (Schalk van Rensburg 19, Berno Coetzee 15, Erhard Barends 15; Sange Qangule 3/15, Obakeng Motsepa 3/24); Hilton College 94/6 (Robert Burman 27, Cameron Hargroves 23*, Luke Wilson 17*; Nikhil Sukraj 3/27). St Andrew’s School won by five runs.
Jeppe High School for Boys 108/10 (Lincoln Casais 21, Aiden Reyneke 17; Zian Labuschagne 3/15, Nico Loggenberg 3/20); Affies 105/9 (AJ Morkel 30, Paul Bester 19*, Zian Labuschagne 17; Goolam Ahmed 3/21, Zizi Mkhize 2/20). Jeppe High School for Boys won by three runs.
Selborne College 121/6 (Dan Tarr 36*, Reid Drake 33*, Josh Edwards 15; Caleb Jattiem 2/18); Graeme College 109/9 (Enrique Strydom 31, Zuko Pontshi 17, Corbin Tidbury 17; Lwando Gwaza 4/20, Avetandwa Manyongo 2/11, Matthew Hendry 2/18). Selborne College won by 12 runs.
