Scott lifts Jeppe to Schools SA20 win, Chikwava stars in St John’s victory
Vegas Scott struck an outstanding half-century to help Jeppe clinch a convincing eight-wicket win over St David’s Marist Inanda in their Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two contest on the Gier Oval, at St David’s, on Tuesday afternoon.
At St John’s, the home side’s left-armer Tapiwa Chikwava spun circles around Dainfern College to see his side to victory in double-quick time on Mitchell Field.
St David’s vs Jeppe
After a wonderful showing at the Wildeklawer T20, where they finished third, Jeppe’s young team maintained their momentum by defeating St David’s Marist Inanda in their second-round tie.
Vegas Scott led the charge for Jeppe with a sensational and rapid half-century, which lifted the visitors to 167/2 in 15.4 overs and earned them an important win over the national runner-up, St David’s, who won the toss and chose to bat first, scoring 165/4.
The hosts started well with a solid 117-run opening stand between Roberto Mariano (62) and Sohail Seonath (57) in 14.3 overs. While brisk, it wasn’t enough to set St David’s up for a winning score. SA u19 player, Jason Rowles, came in and played a high-tempo knock that added 36 runs from 22 balls, but the home side needed more runs on the scoreboard.
Scott wasted no time before he got going in Jeppe’s chase. The Jeppe opener slashed seven fours and three sixes in his 64, which took only 35 balls. His stay in the middle lasted 12 overs, and when he departed Jeppe was in a strong position on 126/2.
Nathan Elliott, with whom he shared a 48-run second-wicket partnership, then took the reins and steered the visitors to a comfortable win, weighing in with an unbeaten 47 off 32 deliveries.
When Jeppe crossed the line with 4.2 overs to spare he was in the company of his captain, Ryan Young, who made 16 not out.
St John’s vs Dainfern College
In Houghton, Tapiwa Chikwava spun a web around the Dainfern College batsmen, snaring 4/2 as the Blues bundled the visitors out for only 23 in 14.2 overs. Nkosana Sibiya then faced just eight deliveries to score an unbeaten 14 runs as he spirited St John’s to 27/1, and a nine-wicket win, in only 2.2 overs.
In the lead-up to the match, rain had fallen over Johannesburg for a couple of days, and when Sibiya, the St John’s captain, won the toss, he was eager to take advantage of the tricky conditions. Bowling first was an easy decision and the right call.
Dainfern started slowly, scoring only four runs in the first three overs. Then, their first wicket went down in the fourth over. From there, their innings quickly fell apart. They were, at least, helped by 12 extras, which made up more than half of their total.
Chikwava showed great discipline, delivering three maiden overs on his way to snaring 4/2 from four overs, while Herman Basson picked up three wickets, but he was the only bowler to concede double-digit runs, going for 11.
When they batted, it took St John only 12 minutes to overhaul Dainfern’s 23 runs.
Summarised Scorecards
St David’s 165/4 (Roberto Mariano 62, Sohail Seonath 57; Zizi Mkhize 2/21, Reza Ayob 1/33). Jeppe 167/2 (Vegas Scott 64, Ethan Elliott 47*; Jason Rowles 1/23, Miles Pegg 0/32). Jeppe won by eight wickets.
Dainfern 23/10 (Tapiwa Chikwava 4/2, Herman Basson 3/11). St John’s 27/1 (Nkosana Sibiya 14*; Hilton Pieterson 1/6). St John’s won by nine wickets.
Fourways High 127/6 (Dylan Coulentianos 35, James Lottering 30; Melokuhle Dladla 2/27, Zaheer Suleman 1/10). Central Hub 115/9 (Yazdaan 38, Tameem Ismail 24; Aidan Fish 2/12, Dylan Coulentianos 2/16, Nathan Malherbe 2/29). Fourways won by 12 runs.
