St Stithians and King Edward VII march into Johnny Waite finals
St Stithians College and King Edward VII (KES) will play for the title in the final of the Johnny Waite Trophy tournament after they registered victories over Steyn City School and Helpmekaar Kollege, respectively, in their semifinal ties on Wednesday.
Matthew Katzenstein and Nqaba Matunda combined their talents with bat and ball to help St Stithians record a 20-run win over Steyn City on Steyn City’s Main Oval.
Nicholas Bayly, the Saints’ captain, called correctly at the toss, elected to bat first, and his team combined to score 135/5 in 20 overs. Then their bowlers banded together to restrict Steyn City to 115/9 in reply.
Katzenstein played a measured innings, scoring 54 from 51 balls, which included one six and one four. Mostly, though, he manipulated the field with ones and twos, while spending almost 14 overs out in the middle. He and Thomas Collins, who made 34, also shared a match-winning 71-run second-wicket partnership.
Nicholas Bayly (18) and Matthew Anderson (13) were the only other St Stithians’ batsmen to reach double figures.
Austin van Jaarsveld, with 2/18, and Kurt Lorch, with 2/28, were the standout bowlers for Steyn City.
When the home side batted, Nqaba Matunda dismissed three of their top-four batsmen. He was the pick of the Saints’ attack, capturing a decisive 4/28 in four overs.
Tajendra Naidu lent outstanding support, nabbing 3/18 in four overs, while Zaakir Hanslo chipped in with the other two wickets.
Keegan Smallbone, the Steyn City captain, fought a lone battle against the St Stithians’ bowling attack, fighting fire with fire in a brisk 38-ball 53.
He struck more sixes than the visitors’ batting lineup combined, with three maximums, and he matched the total number of fours scored by St Stithians’ batsmen, two.
King Edward VII vs Helpmekaar
King Edward VII (KES) cantered to a comfortable six-wicket win over Helpmekaar on the Main Oval at the University of Johannesburg.
The Red Caps, who were playing away from home, won the toss and decided to bowl first, which proved to be a good call, thanks to the disciplined lines and lengths their attack maintained, which led to the hosts being restricted to 120/9 from their 20 overs.
That made the requirement easy to calculate, just over a run a ball, and KES duly won in 18.3 overs when they reached 121/4.
Matthew Bromley, the Red Caps’ captain, used six bowlers in the Helpmekaar innings, and all of them took wickets. Steele Grooteman was the most successful of the lot with 2/16 in four overs.
Ryan Erasmus and Connor Kuijers also claimed a brace of wickets each, while Wade McQuinn, Keagan Hendey, and Tyler Cloete got rid of one batsman each.
Zuan Joubert, who entered the fray at the fall of the second wicket, was adjudged to be the Player of the Match after standing tall with a quickfire 51 from 28 deliveries, which ensured Helpies put a competitive total on the board after a lacklustre start to their innings.
The KES run chase started slowly, but McQuinn and Abdoullah Mohammed mounted an unbroken 64-run fifth-wicket partnership to shepherd them past the finishing line.
McQuinn top-scored for the Red Caps with an unbeaten 34 runs from 33 balls, while Mohammed finished on 33 not out from 35 deliveries.
Before they joined forces, the KES top four had mustered only 41 runs.
Summarised Scorecards
St Stithians 135/5 (Matthew Katzenstein 54, Thomas Collins 34; Austin van Jaarsveld 2/18, Kurt Lorch 2/28). Steyn City 115/9 (Keegan Smallbone 53, Joshua Michau 8; Nqaba Matunda 4/28, Tajendra Naidu 3/18, Zaakir Hanslo 2/16). St Stithians won by 20 runs.
Helpmekaar 120/9 (Zuan Joubert 51, Keegan van Schoor 24; Steele Grooteman 2/16, Ryan Erasmus 2/17, Connor Kuijers 2/19). King Edward VII 121/4 (Wade McQuinn 34*, Abdullah Mohammed 33*; Dominic Tait 2/26, Stefan Trumpelmann 2/28). King Edward VII won by six wickets.
