St John’s squeaks by Pretoria Boys High in a thriller
St John’s College snatched a stunning last-ball six-wicket win over Pretoria Boys High (PBHS) in their T20 encounter at PBHS on Wednesday afternoon.
The win extends St John’s unbeaten run to four games in a row.
PBHS won the toss, elected to bat first, and made their way to a laboured 130/9. The Blues kept spectators on the edge of their seats as they battled their way to 133/4 in reply.
Throughout their innings, St John’s kept abreast with the required run rate, thanks to important contributions from Connor van der Walt (37) and Herman Basson (25).
The Blues’ most important partnerships were the third-wicket stand between Basson and Joshua Hall that added 41 runs to the total and the 61-run fourth-wicket partnership between Hall and Van der Walt.
Those impactful back-to-back partnerships ensured that the Blues stayed on course and were held together by Hall’s patient, unbeaten 41 from 46 deliveries.
With two overs remaining, St John’s needed 16 runs to win. Victory appeared all but certain. However, Justin Basdeo had other ideas. He produced four dot balls in an over that cost the hosts only three runs and swung the pendulum in their favour.
Tapiwa Chikwava and Hall had it all to do in the last six balls. They ran hard, converted ones into twos and pushed to run three off what should have been two runs. Then, almost unbelievably, Chikwava slogged a six off the final delivery to grab victory for the visitors. He finished unbeaten on 14 from eight balls.
Earlier in the day, Bryn Gilmore led a gritty effort from the St John’s bowling attack, which ensured that Boys High was kept in check. The leg spinner snagged 3/28 in four overs to undermine the hosts’ batting efforts.
Chikwava and Luke Hartman, with a brace of wickets each, chipped in, too, with Chikwava claiming 2/21 in four, and Hartman returning 2/22 in four, also.
Tim Gordan, with 27, and Ethan Nel, with 21, were the only PBHS batsmen to make it past 20. Dylan Kruger (19), Tshepang Baloyi (13), Victor Louw (13), and Euan Gottfried (11) all reached double figures but failed to kick on.
Summarised Scorecard
Pretoria Boys High 130/9 (Tim Gordan 27, Ethan Nel 21; Bryn Gilmore 3/28, Tapiwa Chikwava 2/21, Luke Hartman 2/22). St John’s College 133/4 (Joshua Hall 41*, Connor van der Walt 37; Euan Gottfried 2/27, Justin Basdeo 1/18). St John’s won by six wickets.
