Somerset College to host three Western Cape rivals at T20 day
Somerset College is preparing for the new cricket season, and perhaps the Schools SA20 specifically, by tackling three T20 fixtures in a row on Saturday.
They’ve invited HTS Drostdy, Reddam House Constantia, and Bellville High School for a four-way quickfire event that will challenge the players’ intensity and endurance.
The schedule is as follows:
Round 1 08:30: Somerset vs Reddam, Drostdy vs Bellville.
Round 2 11:00: Somerset vs Drostdy, Bellville vs Reddam.
Round 3 14:00: Somerset vs Belville, Drostdy vs Reddam.
Somerset College last played against Parel Vallei in a Somerset West derby in February, when they went down by 30 runs in the two-day double innings fixture.
Although it was in a loss to their rivals, the match put Somerset College’s talent on show, with Mila Silamsi capturing 3/22 in eight overs, while Troy Varie knocked over 3/10 in 7.4 overs, which was his third three-wicket haul in succession after he had achieved that feat against Hermanus and HTS Drostdy, whom they’ll meet in the middle of their three games on Saturday.
Batsmen Callum Hughes and Buhle Mfunelwa, scored 49 and 46 respectively in that last outing, sharing a 79-run stand, and Hughes was also clutch against Drostdy two weeks earlier, compiling 69 runs off 104 balls to guide his team to victory.
Mitchell Walsh is an exciting and dangerous all-rounder for Reddam. His skills were on full display when they took on Hoërskool Durbanville in a limited overs clash. He missed out on being Reddam’s top scorer by only three runs, contributing 41, and followed up with a destructive bowling performance that brought him figures of 6/24.
Others to keep an eye on in the Reddam bowling attack are Joe Gitlin and Hayden Blackensee. Back in the summer, against Pearson, Gitlin, with 3/9, and Blackensee, with 2/20, tore through the Gqeberha school’s innings. Blackensee also snared 3/9 against Durbanville.
Sias Du Toit is a handy opening bowler for HTS Drostdy. His returns at the beginning of the year included a handy 4/25 against the Grey High 2nd XI in the first innings of a two-day fixture.
Drostdy opening batsman, Christopher du Toit, is a player to watch. He tallied 72 in the first innings of the same Grey High game. More pertinently, against Somerset College, in February, he scored a patient 78 off 124 balls. The Donkies ended up with just 139 all out in a tough 50-over match, but Du Toit stood firm in a sea of troubles.
AD van der Westhuyzen may be the pick of the Bellville bowlers. He secured 2/11 against Stellenberg in March, one week after taking 4/21 versus DF Malan.
Gustav Maass opens the batting for Bellville. Due to his side often chasing low totals, he wasn’t provided with many opportunities to go big near the end of the summer. However, he was often one of the higher scorers in the team. His scores included an unbeaten 40 off 35 balls in a T20 against Milnerton in February, while his opening partner, Xander Lategang, finished with a moderate 10 not out as Bellville cruised to a 10-wicket victory.
Saturday’s showdowns will be about more than victories alone. The grind and the intensity of three T20 fixtures in quick succession will serve as an opportunity to accelerate through early season rust.
