Schreuder, van Tonder tons give Free State cruising victory
The only two unbeaten teams left at the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week in Bloemfontein, Free State and Northerns, will face each other on Tuesday in the main match of the prestigious tournament.
This will be the first time in six years that Gauteng will not feature in the main match. Gauteng was also the winner of the main match of the tournament for the past three years. The last time Free State was in action in the main match was back in 2010 with the tournament’s last visit to Bloemfontein.
Free State’s opening batsman Christopher Schreuder (134) and captain, Raynard van Tonder (133 *), helped their team with a second wicket partnership of 184 runs over the fourth wicket to reach a virtually unassailable total of 353/3 in their allotted 50 overs. It also helped that the runs came at a run a ball.
Van Tonder then combined forces with Phillip Visser (53*) for an unbeaten fourth wicket partnership of 105 runs at just more than 11 runs per overs.
Eastern Province’s Chris Benjamin (105*) weighed in with an unbeaten half-century but his team still ended up 55 runs short of the Free State total.
Northerns captain, Joshua van Heerden (85), and Ruan de Swardt (71 *) laid the foundation for their side’s victory of six wickets over Gauteng. They shared a 118-run partnership over the fourth wicket. De Swardt struck four fours and three sixes in his innings. Gauteng’s openening batsman Joshua Richards’ (100) century was not enough to save his team from defeat.
Easterns’s Jarred Alder (110) also scored a century in a losing battle.
Eastern’s opening batsman Jarred Alder (110) also recorded a century in a losing cause. Boland won the match by five wickets thanks to a whirlwind innings by Sinalo Gobenio (96*). He made his way to the crease with his side’s total at 108/4 in the 28th over chasing an unlikely target of 290 for the victory.
Gobeni was honoured for his performance with the Coca-Cola Hero of the Day ward. He struck 13 boundaries of the 61 deliveries he faced of which six was maximums.
An allround performance by Richard Papenfus helped South Western Districts to a convincing 160-run victory over North West. He grabbed five wickets for 21 runs and also added 46 runs with the bat in hand.
Fixtures for Day 5 of the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week:
Free State vs. Northerns (UFS Oval)
Boland vs. Gauteng (Saints Vossies)
Easterns vs. Eastern Province (CUT Oval)
Western Province vs. Border (Grey Oval)
South Western Districts vs. Limpopo (UFS III)
KwaZulu-Natal Inland vs. Namibia (CBC I)
Northern Cape vs. Mpumalanga (Grey GCB)
KwaZulu-Natal vs. North West (Grey Casa)
Summarised Scorecards:
Free State 353/3 (Christopher Schreuder 134, Raynard van Tonder 133*, Phillip Visser 53*); Eastern Province 298/8 (Chris Benjamin 105*, Jimmy Sholto-Douglas 52; Gerald Coetzee 2/25). Free State won by 55 runs.
Gauteng 227/8 (Joshua Richards 100, Muhammed Mayet 42; William Ledwaba 41); Northerns 231/4 (Joshua van Heerden 85, Ruan de Swardt 71*). Northerns won by six wickets.
Easterns 289/6 (Jarred Alder 110, Justin Brink 65, Katleho Bala 49*); Boland 292/5 (Sinalo Gobeni 96*, Keagan Whitten 56*, Khanya Cotani 40). Boland won by five wickets.
KwaZulu-Natal 57 (Extras 22; Diego du Plessis 3/7, Mihlali Mpongwana 3/14, Michael Cohen 3/20); Western Province 61/2 (Jesse Christensen 32*, Hamza Saloojee 23). Western Province won eight wickets.
Northern Cape 122 (Craig Pinetown 32; James Ritchie 2/16, Sean Gilson 2/17, Thabang Ntilane 2/21, Ethan Bosch 2/24); KwaZulu-Natal Inland 123/3 (Jiveshan Pillay 33). KwaZulu-Natal Inland won by seven wickets.
Namibia 229 (Jurgen Linde 84, Albert van der Merwe 39; Luke Dallas 3/35); Border 235/3 (Jason Niemand 75*, Athenkosi Mfazwe 53, Jason Raubenheimer 48). Border won by seven wickets.
South Western Districts 278/9 (Grant Esau 59, Samnkelo Mvimbi 56, Richard Papenfus 46; Louis van Schalkwyk 2/20); North West 118 (Mohamed Suliman 32; Richard Papenfus 5/21, Joshua Kleu 3/22). South Western Districts won by 160 runs.
Limpopo 236/5 (Morné Venter 62, Ruvan Kruger 38, Timothy Elpinstone 37; Yusef Patel 2/18); Mpumalanga 175 (Ozayr Karodia 49; Sahil Patel 4/34, Ruvan Kruger 3/11). Limpopo won by 61 runs.
