Young and Parrish shine for Jeppe, Steyn City’s Sunker sinks King Edward VII
Ryan Young and Ryan Parrish produced classy performances to help Jeppe secure a 25-run win over St Stithians College in their Johnny Waite Trophy match on the Dlamini Oval at St Stithians on Wednesday.
Young, the Jeppe captain, called correctly at the toss and elected to bat first on a dry and dusty pitch, on which the visitors compiled 115/9 in their 20 overs. The Black Caps, then, made good use of the conditions, bowling out Saints for only 90 runs in 18.4 overs.
The Black Caps were in dire straits when Young walked out to bat, off to a stuttering start on 10/2 after three overs. The skipper soon righted the ship, joining forces with Aiden Reyneke (28) for a 60-run third-wicket partnership, which ended when Tajendra Naidu dislodged Reyneke in the 12th over.
Young, whose comfort at the crease made it appear as if he was batting on a different surface, cruised to 43 before being dismissed by Naidu after a 31-ball stay. No other Jeppe batsman reached double figures as the hosts ripped through their batting order.
Zaakir Hanslo was the destroyer in chief for Saints, snaring 4/13 in four overs. Naidu chipped in with his brace, claiming 2/23 from four, while Tendai Kadyamadare, who also bagged a pair of wickets, conceded 11 runs in three overs.
When they took to the field, Jeppe’s bowlers took a leaf from the St Stithians’ playbook and bowled tight lines that denied the hosts room to play attacking shots.
Ryan Parrish was the pick of the Jeppe bowlers, capturing 3/14 runs in four overs, while Zizi Mkhize and Keagan Cockburn chipped in with two wickets each, and Reza Ayob and Shreshth Kumar removed one batsman each.
Thomas Collins and Akhil Challa were St Stithians’ joint top scorers with 24 runs apiece, but support was sparse. Only Tendai Kadyamadare, with 10 runs from 12 balls, joined them beyond a single-figure score.
Steyn City vs King Edward VII
Sachin Sunker scored an unbeaten half-century to steer Steyn City to a six-wicket win over King Edward VII (KES) in their T20 clash on Steyn City’s A Field.
When Keegan Smallbone, the Steyn City captain, won the toss and chose to field first, his bowlers answered the call by restricting the visitors to 142/6 in 20 overs. It took their full allotment of overs, but Steyn City chased down that total, making it to 146/4 to claim victory.
Sunker, who arrived at the crease in the fifth over, struck an unbeaten 62 from 49 runs. Crucially, he was also part of four partnerships that pushed the hosts past the finish line. The highest of those was a 38-run stand with Smallbone for the fifth wicket.
Smallbone, who replaced Max Burroughs (11) in the middle in the 15th over, gave the hosts a much-needed boost with a brisk 20 runs from 10 balls.
Earlier in the day, Steele Grooteman had given KES a fighting chance with a belligerent 73 from 48 balls, a knock that transformed KES’s innings. When he walked out to bat, the visitors were in trouble on 21/3 after 3.4 overs. When he returned to the dugout, they had improved to 141/6.
Austin van Jaarsveld was the pick of the bowlers for Steyn City, claiming 2/30, while Kurt Losch, Max Burroughs, and Somaan Khan claimed a scalp each.
Summarised Scorecards
Jeppe 115/9 (Ryan Young 43, Aiden Reyneke 28; Zaakir Hanslo 4/13, Tendai Kadyamadare 2/11, Tejendra Naidu 2/23). St Stithians 90/10 (Thomas Collins 24, Akhil Challa 24; Ryan Parrish 3/14, Zizi Mkhize 2/17, Keegan Cockburn 2/23). Jeppe won by 25 runs.
King Edward VII 142/6 (Steele Grooteman 73, Keagan Hendey 19; Austin van Jaarsveld 2/30, Somaan Khan 1/18). Steyn City 146/4 (Sachin Sunker 62*, Keagan Smallbone 20; Tyler Cloete 1/22, Ryan Erasmus 1/25). Steyn City won by six wickets.
