Weather wreaks havoc as Switch Schools SA20 semi-finalists confirmed
After a heavily rain-affected second day of the Switch Schools SA20 Final Showdown Volume 2, only St Andrew’s School of Bloemfontein is left unbeaten.
Saints’ final pool match against Paarl Boys’ High ended in a no result after rain interrupted play, with the team from Bloemfontein struggling at 7/3. They will face Selborne College in one of the semi-finals tomorrow.
In the other semi-final, Jeppe High School for Boys will take on Cricket South Africa’s Hub Invitational side. Jeppe suffered their first defeat of the tournament against Selborne in the only match that delivered a result in the Boys Section today.
When rain interrupted the game on the Tuks Oval, the team from East London was five runs ahead according to the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Jeppe reached 140/4 in their allotted 20 overs with Vegas Scott (58) scoring a half-century. Selborne’s Merrick Collins (22*) and Reid Drake (26) got their side over the line with an invaluable partnership of 38 runs for the seventh wicket.
Joshua Wilkie (36) and Dan Tarr (18) also made valuable contributions with the willow.
The game of cricket usually has a lot of heartbreak, especially when Messrs Duckworth-Lewis-Stern enter the frame. If Jeppe had won the game against Selborne, the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool of Pretoria (Affies) would’ve reached the playoffs.
The team from the Jacaranda City will, without a doubt, think of what might have been. Their match against Graeme College in the morning session was the only other match in the Boys’ Section in which play was possible.
They had Graeme College against the ropes at 52/8 when rain stopped play. Armin Snyman led the charge with three wickets at the cost of 11 runs.
In the Girls Section, only one match was possible, with Saints Christian School of Potchefstroom defeating the Nkowankowa Hub by 12 runs.
Diarabilwe Ngubeni (4/10) and Reabetswe Dithipe (3/4) led the charge for Saints as they had Nkowankowa punch-drunk on 35/8 before rain interrupted the match.
HTS Drostdy and Nomandi will face each other tomorrow morning in the final pool match in the Girls’ Section. Neither side has played a game yet due to the rain interruptions, but a win would place the winner at the top of their pool.
