Seonath, Collins give St David’s and St Stithians perfect starts in Schools SA20
Sohail Seonath bashed a brilliant unbeaten century for St David’s Marist Inanda, while Thomas Collins top-scored for St Stithians College as their sides marched to victories over Monument and Dobsonville respectively in Switch Schools SA20 – Volume Two matches on Wednesday afternoon.
On La Valla Oval, the coin fell in favour of the St David’s captain, Jason Rowles, and the allrounder opted to bat first on a pitch he knows well.
Seonath piloted the innings from the top of the order and led the hosts to a healthy 169/2. Rowles, then, took control with the ball as St David’s limited Monument to 134/9 in reply, thus securing a 35-run win.
Seonath was the constant in the St David’s innings, flaying 12 fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 101 off only 65 balls.
The opener shared a 48-run opening stand with Roberto Mariano, then joined forces with Rowles for a brief 20-run second-wicket stand, before finally combining with Jonah Gruskin for an unbroken 101-run third-wicket partnership. Gruskin was not out on 33 from 26 balls at the end of the St David’s innings.
Rowles ensured that Monument struggled to build momentum in their run chase by striking twice in the second over to undermine Monnas‘ pursuit. From there, progress was slow, with the visitors losing wickets at regular intervals.
Ibrahim Haffejee did well, though, to chip in with a 28-ball 34, while Zaine van der Vyver scored 31 from 35 balls. However, no other Monument batsmen reached the 20-run mark.
Rowles did most of the damage with his spin, snaring four wickets for 18 runs in four overs. He was well-supported by his new ball partner, Christopher Emslie, who bagged three wickets for 28 runs from four overs.
In another match played on Wednesday, St Stithians put 159/5 on the board, batting first against Dobsonville at Dobsonville. Saints then delivered a stellar bowling performance to restrict the hosts to only 60/7 from their 20 overs, thus resulting in a 99-run victory.
Not everything went smoothly for St Stithians, with Dobsonville removing captain, Nicholas Bayly, and Ombesa Matsha in the opening 2.2 overs of the contest. Unfortunately for the home side, those early strikes resulted in Thomas Collins and Matthew Katzenstein joining forces at the crease.
The duo stitched together a match-winning 110-run third-wicket partnership. Collins top-scored for Saints with 66 from 54, hitting just two fours and a six, while Katzenstein pressed the accelerator, striking five fours and a six in his 35-ball 52.
When they batted, Dobsonville did well not to lose any wickets in the powerplay. The downside to their approach was that their run scoring rate was slow. After 6.4 overs, they had crawled to 18/1. In a 20-over clash, that proved to be their undoing. They were behind the required run rate and they never recovered.
Katlego Moshoete laboured hard for 26 from 55 balls, while Luvuyo Mtimkulu made 15 off 31. They were, however, the only batsmen to exit single figures scores.
Zaakir Hanslo was Saints’ most successful bowler with a pair of wickets for only eight runs in four overs. Jason Joiner also bagged a brace but went for 16 from two overs.
Summarised Scorecards
St David’s 169/2 (Seonath Sohail 101*, Jonah Gruskin 33*; Zian Maritz 2/26, Ibrahim Haffejee 0/6) Monument 134/9 (Ibrahim Haffejee 34, Zaine van der Vyver 31; Jason Rowles 4/18, Christopher Emslie 3/28). St David’s won by 35 runs.
St Stithians 159/5 (Thomas Collins 66, Matthew Katzenstein 52; Lethabo Mohatli 2/12, Lindokuhle Delport 1/14). Dobsonville 60/7 (Katlego Moshoete 26, Luvuyo Mtimkulu 15*; Zaakir Hanslo 2/8, Jason Joiner 2/26). St Stithians won by 99 runs.
