Wilkie bats Selborne College into Switch Schools SA20 National Final
Josh Wilkie hit an unbeaten half-century to shepherd Selborne College to a comfortable eight-wicket win over St Andrew’s College in the final of the Eastern Cape leg of the Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Phase Two tournament at Selborne on Sunday afternoon in East London.
The win, their second over St Andrew’s in Phase Two, secured Selborne the Eastern Cape’s slot at the National Final in March.
Rhys Wiblin, the St Andrew’s captain, won the toss, elected to bat first, and helped his side to 122/7 in 20 overs, scoring almost half their runs. Wilkie was in top form for Selborne, hitting an unbeaten half-century to help them to 123/2 in 16.4 overs, which kept intact their clean record in Phase Two.
Wilkie, who was the top run-scorer in the tournament, with 188 from five innings, struck an undefeated 57 from 50 balls, which included seven fours, in his match-winning innings.
He and Thomas Lyon, who made 18, put together a 33-run opening stand. Wilkie and Cian O’Neil, who made 12, then further bolstered Selborne’s innings with 20 from only 12 balls. Later, Wilkie joined forces with Matthew Hendry, and they shared an unbroken 70-run third-wicket stand that saw them past the finish line, with Hendry ending on 27 not out.
Wiblin had earlier anchored the St Andrew’s innings with a steady 60 off 64 balls that spanned 19.4 overs as he tried to navigate the visitors to a winning total. Unfortunately, for the St Andrew’s captain, support from his teammates was sparse.
The Makhanda school’s highest partnership was 46 between Wiblin and Mida Nkontso for the third wicket, with Nkontso contributing 18 from 22 balls. Connor Holder and William Stevens, with 10 runs apiece, were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.
At the heart of the St Andrew’s batting struggles was Selborne’s star bowler, Dan Tarr, who knocked over 3/15 in three overs. Reid Drake lent good support, snagging 2/20 in two, and Rosh Els played his part by picking up 1/18 in three.
Summarised Scorecard
St Andrew’s College 122/7 (Rhys Wiblin 60, Mida Nkontso 18; Dan Tarr 3/15, Reid Drake 2/20). Selborne College 123/2 (Josh Wilkie 57*, Matthew Hendry 27*; William Stevens 2/27). Selborne won by eight wickets.
