Young ushers Jeppe into the Switch Schools SA20 national finals
Ryan Young scored a sublime 47 off only 31 balls to set Jeppe up for a 27-run win over King Edward VII (KES) in their Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Phase Two clash on the La Valla Oval at St David’s Marist Inanda on Friday.
“Really happy for the boys. They deserve it. Let’s see where we can go in Phase Three, but I’m just happy the boys are doing us proud at Jeppe,” Casey Arnold, the Jeppe coach, told SuperSport Schools Plus after the victory, which qualified the Kensington school for the national finals.
Casey’s charges shrugged off challenges from KES, Hoërskool Nelspruit, and Middelburg Hoërskool in the preliminary rounds of Phase Two and completed their campaign on a high note with a second win over KES in two days in the regional final, which brought together the top two qualifiers from Central Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
In the title decider, the toss went Young’s way, and the Jeppe captain chose to bat first. He, then, led his side to 137/7 before his bowlers and fielders turned in a solid all-round performance to bowl out KES for 110 from 18.5 overs.
Young might have second-guessed his decision to bat first when Jeppe lost Vegas Scott with only one run on the board. Aiden Reyneke (17) and Phemelo Sekopane (24) stabilised matters with a 43-run second-wicket partnership, however. Zizi Mkhize came in at number four, but his stay in the middle was brief and produced just five runs.
His exit, though, created room for Young, who took over in the middle and took control of the innings. He struck five fours and a single six in his crucial knock, and he was also part of a 70-run fifth-wicket partnership with Lincoln Casais (27), which took the match away from KES.
Tyler Cloete dismissed three of Jeppe’s top run-scorers, getting rid of Young, Sekopane, and Reyneke, on his way to a superb return of 4/13 from four overs. Despite Cloete’s excellent spell, Jeppe mustered a challenging total.
In reply, Luke Clark was quick out of the blocks for KES, racing to 45 from only 30 deliveries to get the boys in red off to a solid start with his opening partner, Tiago Dias, who made 21, and combined with Clark for a 64-run stand in just over nine overs.
Unfortunately, for KES, the rest of their batting line-up was unable to make use of that strong platform. Seven of the next nine batsmen fell for single-digit scores, and the two that made it to double figures managed only 10 and 11 apiece.
Reza Ayob led the charge for Jeppe with the ball, knocking over 3/18 in three overs. He received superb support from Sekopane, who shut down the KES run scoring and picked up 2/9 in his four overs. Mkhize, meanwhile, nabbed 2/24 from three overs.
Summarised Scorecards
Jeppe 137/7 (Ryan Young 47, Lincoln Casais 27; Tyler Cloete 4/13, Abdullah Mohammed 2/18). KES 110/10 (Luke Clark 45, Tiago Dias 21; Reza Ayob 3/18, Phemelo Sekopane 2/9). Jeppe won by 27 runs.
Nelspruit 107/5 (Marcus Froneman 34*, Luan Siebrits 22; Keegan Hendey 1/14, Steele Grooteman 1/19). KES 113/4 (Troy Gordon 43*, Tiago Dias 28; Kesha Moore 2/24, Safwaan Miller 1/12). KES won by six wickets.
Middelburg 116/8 (Gavin Genis 27, Hendré Nel 23; Reza Ayob 2/22, Zizi Mkhize 2/25). Jeppe 119/4 (Aiden Reyneke 56*, Vegas Scott 18; Herman Potgieter 1/11, Ricardo Ras 1/18). Jeppe won by six wickets.
