St John’s College trump St Stithians in Johnny Waite T20 clash
St John’s College got the better of St Stithians in a Johnny Waite T20 clash played on Mitchell Field on Wednesday with a well-rounded performance.
Thomas Ivers led the way with the bat for the home side, after captain Joe MacRobert had opted to bat first. Macrobert was shifted up to open the innings with Nkosana Sibiya, and the pair got the visitors off to a fast start.
Macrobert, with a quick-fire 30 from 15 deliveries, which included five fours and a six, provided the kind impetus coach Bongani Ntini would have been hoping for when he made the move. Sibiya weighed in with 19 from 17 balls.
Benefitting from that good platform, Ivers blasted his way to a well-played half-century from just 35 deliveries, which steered St John’s to a better than par total of 172/9 from their 20 overs.
Cayden Sunker was the pick of the St Stithians’ bowlers, claiming 3/25 from his three-over spell. Ethan Jacobs lent good support, picking up 2/32 in four.
Set a challenging run chase, St Stithians’ opening batsmen, Liam Mudenda and Pranav Raichetti played well and delivered the kind of start Saints would need to successfully pursue the big St John’s total.
They put on 93 in 11.2 overs before Mudenda was out to Daniel Bruwer for a sparkling 55 from 33 deliveries, which included five fours and three sixes.
However, David Ireland’s spell of two wickets for 27 runs, which included the dismissals of Raichetti for 40 and the dangerous Emile Odendaal for 10, swung the momentum back in favour of St John’s.
Not even a quick cameo from Aidan van der Westhuizen (24, 14b) was enough to lift St Stithians to the win as they were held to 157/4 in their reply.
King Edward VII School showed their class in a convincing victory over the tournament’s defending champions, Jeppe High School for Boys.
Opening batsman Callum Ritchie led the way with a remarkable 90 runs from just 57 deliveries, which featured a whopping seven sixes and six fours. Tiaan Goosen also got in on the action, filling the supporting role well, with 42 runs, which helped KES to a sound 173/3 from their 20 overs.
The wicket had appeared to be batsmen-friendly when KES was at the crease, but Jeppe’s batsmen struggled with the track. Tiago Almeida was the pick of his side’s batsmen, but his run-a-ball 21 runs simply wasn’t going to cut it when Jeppe needed to score at 8.7 runs per over to win.
After Almeida’s departure, things went pear-shaped for Jeppe as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and they were soon in deep trouble on 47/7.
A late flurry from Keegan Caxerio (19) and Munib Ayob (17) put a better slant on the Jeppe scorecard, but their team’s challenge never materialised.
Matthew Burgess starred with the ball for KES, bagging 2/6, while Christian Sabela (2/11) and Callum Ritchie (2/16) also excelled in a superb bowling effort, which took KES to a convincing 82-run victory.
Summarised scorecards
St John’s College 172/9 (Thomas Ivers 50, Joe MacRobert 30; Cayden Sunker 3/25, Ethan Jacobs 2/32); St Stithians 157/4 (Liam Mudenda 55, Pranav Raichetti 40; David Ireland 2/27). St John’s College won by 15 runs.
King Edward VII School 173/3 (Callum Ritchie 90*, Tiaan Goosen 42, Cameron Smith 26; Ryan Harcourt-Baldwin 1/15); Jeppe High School for Boys 91/10 (Tiago Almeida 21; Matthew Burgess 2/6, Christian Sabela 2/11, Callum Ritchie 2/16, Michael Holmes 2/28). King Edward VII School won by 82 runs.
