Author: cschiwanza

Matthew Bromley scored a superb half-century to shepherd King Edward VII (KES) to a 32-run win over St David’s Marist Inanda in their Johnny Waite Trophy clash on the La Valla Oval at St David’s on Wednesday afternoon.

Bromley, the KES captain, called correctly at the toss and chose to bat first. He turned that decision into an excellent one by assuming control of the innings to power the visitors to 172/5, before his bowling attack restricted St David’s to 140/7 in reply.

From just 63 balls, Bromley struck a match-winning 87, with nine fours and three sixes. He and his fellow opener, Tiago Dias, who weighed in with an aggressive 46 from only 28 balls, partnered for 86 runs for the first wicket.

The KES skipper was happy to be the foil to Dias’s aggressive stroke play as they laid a solid foundation for the middle order to exploit.

After the opening pair were parted, Bromley and Troy Gordon kept the innings chugging along with a 49-run second-wicket stand. Bromley’s was part of one more meaningful stand, adding 32 runs with Abdullah Mohammed (12*) for the third wicket.

St David’s, who lost Roberto Mariano before he could get his eye in, consolidated and put themselves in a position to go for the win with a steady 61-run second-wicket partnership between Sohail Seonath (36) and Jonah Gruskin (44). Their partnership was broken by Luke Clark in the 12th over.

Michael Smithyman (23) and Kyle Butler (11) gave the St David’s innings a boost with their strike rates of 143.75 and 275. Unfortunately, for the home team, they didn’t stay in the middle long enough to make a significant impact.

Tyler Cloete was KES’s most successful bowler, knocking over 3/29 in four overs, while Keagan Hendey, Connor Kuijers, and Luke Clark chipped in with a wicket each.

St Stithians vs Parktown

Matthew Katzenstein slashed an unbeaten half-century to set St Stithians up for a comfortable 46-run win over Parktown Boys High on the Jamieson 1 field in Wednesday’s other Johnny Waite tie.

Katzenstein answered his captain’s call to bat first, blasting four sixes and six fours in an outstanding unbeaten 75 from 58 balls to lead Saints to 170/1. The home side’s bowling attack then restricted Parktown’s reply to 124/9.

The groundwork for the hosts’ success was laid by Katzenstein and Akhil Chilla (47), who shared an impressive 91-run opening partnership. Thomas Collins (39*), who replaced Challa in the 12th over, picked up from where the opener had left off and stitched together an unbroken 79-run second-wicket partnership with Katzenstein.

Parktown was soon on the back foot in their reply. Tendai Kadyamadare captured two wickets in the second over of their innings, accounting for openers Abdulla Wadee and Siya Dube, and from there it was an uphill slog.

Later in the innings, the pacer added two more wickets to finish with a decisive 4/36 from his four overs.

Challa emulated Kadyamadare and also struck twice in a single over to finish the match with 2/3 from one over.

Hlasi Mqingwana was Parktown’s shining light with a well-played 58 from 45 deliveries, but Mikaeel Garda (19) and Emile Fourie (15) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures in the match.

Summarised Scorecards

KES 172/5 (Matthew Bromley 87, Tiago Dias 46; Hayden Campbell 3/38, Christopher Emslie 1/23). St David’s 140/7 (Jonah Gruskin 44, Sohail Seonath 36; Tyler Cloete 3/29, Keagan Hendey 1/14). KES won by 32 runs.

St Stithians 170/1 (Matthew Katzenstein 75*, Akhil Challa 47; Josh van Rensburg 1/30, Ashton Govender 0/16). Parktown 124/9 (Hlasi Mqingwana 58, Mikaeel Garda 19; Tendai Kadyamadare 4/36, Akhil Challa 2/3). St Stithians won by 46 runs.

Nomandi Junior Secondary School will return to the national finals after an edge-of-the-seat four-run win over Woodridge College in their Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two match at the Bohemians Oval, in East London, on the weekend.

Qhawe Tenjwa, the Nomandi captain, won the toss in the Eastern Cape regional final and elected to bat first. Her side advanced in fits and starts on their way to 116 all out in 19.2 overs. Tenjwa’s bowling attack then did just enough to restrict Woodridge to 112/6 in reply.

The victory underscored Nomandi’s dominance in the region, with the ladies from Port St John’s going back-to-back as the region’s number one.

After an indifferent start to the innings, which saw Nomandi’s top six batters score only 26 runs from 70 deliveries between them, Yonga Tenjwa and Yankela Mnqabashe mounted a spirited lower-order fightback that gave Nomandi a chance at victory. They joined hands at the close of the 12th over and resurrected Nomandi’s innings with a 35-run seventh-wicket partnership.

Yonga Tenjwa tallied an outstanding 28 from 24 balls, while Mnqabashe contributed 15 from 16 deliveries. Unako Nompandana (12) and Kwanele Kratshi (10*) were the only other batters to move beyond single figures.

Woodridge could have won the match had their batters better exploited a solid platform constructed by Quinn Foreman and Ava Horner.

Foreman was the top scorer in the match, with 42 from 43 balls, while Horner added 28 from 26 deliveries. Together, the duo shared an outstanding 61-run second-wicket partnership that left Woodridge on the brink of victory.

They, however, departed from consecutive deliveries in the 16th over. Foreman was the first to go, run out by Amile Bushula and Yolanda Mdumba. Then, Bushula bowled Horner with the next delivery. When they exited, Woodridge required 26 runs from 28 balls.

The pressure was on, and Woodridge’s batters struggled against Nomandi’s disciplined bowling at the death. Qhawe Tenjwa, Bushula, and Olwethu Njani held tight lines and hit good lengths to prevent Woodridge from hitting out.

Njani was Nomandi’s best bowler with a tidy 1/12 from four overs. Kratshi and Bashula took a wicket each, too, but had higher economy rates.

Fielding also played a huge role in Nomandi’s win. Of Woodridge’s six dismissals, three came by way of run outs.

Summarised Scorecard

Nomandi 116/10 (Yonga Tenjwa 28, Yamkela Mnqabashe 15; Ashlee Buhr 3/12, Quinn Foreman 2/23). Woodridge 112/6 (Quinn Foreman 42, Ava Horner 28; Olwethu Njani 1/12, Kwanele Kratshi 1/12). Nomandi won four runs.

Queens High galloped to a resounding 10-wicket win over Hoërskool Middelburg in their Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Phase Two match on St David’s Marist Inanda’s La Valla Oval on the weekend to claim a place in March’s national finals.

The toss went Middelburg’s way, and the Mpumalanga school elected to bat first, but they struggled to get out of the blocks, with their innings generating only 49 runs and ending after 12 overs.

Queens made light work of the chase, rocketing to 50/0 in only 3.5 overs.

Mankwana Moriri tore into Middelburg’s bowling attack, slamming an unbeaten 33 from 14 balls, including six fours, to lead her team to an emphatic victory. Nonkululeko Mthethwa, who had the best seat in the house to enjoy Moriri’s onslaught, added an unbeaten eight runs from 10 deliveries.

Earlier in the match, the Queens trio of Bonolo Phalane, Tshepang Choma, and Thanya Nkuna took eight wickets between them for a miserly combined 20 runs as they ran through the Middelburg batting lineup.

Phalane was the most successful, snapping up 3/6 in three overs, while Choma bagged 3/11 in three. Nkuna, who was the only bowler to deliver a maiden over, finished the match with the eye-catching return of 2/3 from three overs. Hlekani Chisane was the other wicket-taker, claiming one and going nine runs in two overs.

Only Alana van Melden made it into double figures for Middelburg, scoring 14 off 15 balls. Alicia Oliver came close to getting there, but she ran out of partners and was left stranded on nine not out from 11 balls.

Summarised Scorecard

Hoërskool Middelburg 49/10 (Alana van Melden 14, Alicia Oliver 9*; Bonolo Phalane 3/6, Tshepang Choma 3/11, Thanya Nkuna 2/3). Queens High 50/0 (Mankwana Moriri 33*, Nonkululeko Mthethwa 8*). Queens High won by 10 wickets.

Herman Basson produced an outstanding all-round performance to help power St John’s College to an emphatic 129-run win over Helpmekaar in their 50-over match on the Mitchell Oval at St John’s, on Saturday.

Nkosana Sibiya, the St John’s captain, won the toss and elected to bat first in the Blues‘ first home match of the year. His batsmen, led by Basson, tallied a healthy 295/9 in 49.5 overs. The Blues’ bowling attack then dismissed the visitors for 166 in 46.4 overs.

Basson struck eight fours and three sixes in a breezy 50-ball 75. He was set up well for success, arriving at the crease in the 14th over after a 76-run opening partnership between Sibiya (22) and Darshik Lutchman (46). However, he had barely settled into his innings before Lutchman was dismissed.

Basson consolidated and fired the Blues into a strong position with a 98-run third-wicket partnership with Joshua Hall, who weighed in with 44. That was the hosts’ highest stand and one of their three match-defining partnerships of over 50 runs. The other one was Hall and Connor van der Walt‘s 60-run fourth-wicket stand, with Van der Walt contributing 35.

Basson was also among the wickets as St John’s rolled through Helpmekaar’s batting lineup, claiming an impressive 2/12 in four overs.

Bryn Gilmour was the most successful of the home side’s bowlers, returning 3/42 from 10 overs, while Ethan Robinson did a tidy job, picking up 2/18 in 5.5 overs.

Xander Jackson put up a fight for Helpmekaar with an even-paced, unbeaten 59 from 92 balls. Unfortunately for him, he had little support from the rest of the batting order. Heinrich Minnaar, who contributed 25 runs from 44 deliveries, held up the St John’s bowlers for a while, but Stefan Trumpelmann, with 20, was the only other batsman to make it beyond the teens.

Northcliff vs Steyn City

Steyn City visited Northcliff High on Saturday and handed the hosts an eight-wicket thrashing on the Eksteen Oval.

The visitors, who won the toss and chose to field first, bowled out Northcliff for 236 runs in 41.2 overs. They, then, made light of the run chase, romping to 237/2 in 45.4 overs.

Jack Woolard was Northcliff’s shining light with a well-paced 63 from 60 balls and was well supported by Rouxwan Coetzer, who added 42 runs from 53 deliveries. The rest of the batsmen struggled to get into the game, however.

Austin van Jaarsveld and Qhama Kova led the Steyn City bowling attack, sharing six wickets between them. Van Jaarsveld finished with 3/46 from nine overs, while Kova took 3/38 in seven.

Steyn City was clinical with the bat in their run chase. The visitors made a strong statement of intent with a 73-run opening partnership between Murray Leith (53) and Brandan Lea (23) before Northcliff fought back by removing both openers within the space of 4.5 overs.

Their departures brought Joshua Michau (73*) and Kian Mcanda (56*) together, and they mounted an unbeaten 140-run third-wicket partnership that saw Steyn City to victory.

Summarised Scorecards

St John’s 295/9 (Herman Basson 75, Darshik Lutchman 46; Stefan Trumpelmann 3/37, Dominic Tait 2/32). Helpmekaar 166/10 (Xander Jackson 59*, Heinrich Minnaar 25; Bryn Gilmour 3/42, Herman Basson 2/12). St John’s won by 129 runs.

Northcliff 236/10 (Jack Woolard 63, Rouxwan Coetzer 42; Austin van Jaarsveld 3/46, Qhama Kova 3/38). Steyn City 237/2 (Joshua Michau 73*, Kian Mcanda 56*, Murray Leith 53; Regan van der Walt 1/32, Gareth Hunkin). Steyn City won by eight wickets.

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.

Josh Wilkie struck a brilliant half-century to guide Selborne College to a three-wicket win over Alice RPC when they crossed swords in an Eastern Cape region Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Phase Two semifinal tie on Selborne College’s Main Oval on Saturday.

In the other semi-final, St Andrew’s College thumped Grey High by nine wickets at Old Selbornian Club to set up a meeting with the local side, Selborne, in the regional final on Sunday morning.

Alice won the toss and, after electing to bat first, was restricted to 92/7. Wilkie, then, powered Selborne to 93/7 after only 11.4 overs.

He struck 53 runs from 26 balls, blasting five fours and four sixes in his 8.5-over stay in the middle. With those runs making up more than half of the required total, Wilkie ensured that the mini-collapse that followed his exit did not deny the host team victory.

He shared two crucial partnerships, with Cian O’Neil and Reid Drake. His second-wicket stand with O’Neil (18) was Selborne’s highest and produced 46 runs. Then, his 26-run third-wicket partnership with Drake (10), took them to the brink of victory.

When Alice batted, they lost two wickets in the fourth over and were unable to stage a strong recovery from there. Imange Nkubevana led their batting effort, top scoring with 24 from 33 balls. Only Yonela Mkholiswa (16) and Ambesa Linda (15) joined him with double figures.

Matthew Hendry was the most successful bowler in the match, capturing 3/7 for Selborne.

Grey High vs St Andrew’s College

At Old Selbornians, Grey High won the toss but battled at the crease and mustered only 90/9 from their 20 overs. St Andrew’s clinically chased that total down, reaching 91/1 after 17 overs.

Rhys Wiblin, the St Andrew’s captain, led from the front with both bat and ball to set up his side’s victory. With Grey taking to the crease first, he ripped through the Gqeberha school’s middle order, capturing 3/10 from four overs, to force them firmly onto the back foot.

Alejo Nota, with an unbeaten 29 from 34 balls, and Logan Groch, with 18 not out from 16, put up a valiant fight from numbers nine and 11, after Grey had stumbled to 48/9, but the tailenders’ efforts were too little too late after the top and middle order failed.

Despite their poor showing with the bat, Grey High might have thought that they, too, could cause Selborne problems at the crease when Nota dismissed Thomas Lake for nought with the last ball of the first over. However, Wiblin and Connor Holder responded with an unbeaten 91-run second-wicket partnership to see St Andrew’s home.

Wiblin struck an unbeaten 46 from 47 balls, while Holder finished not out on 40 from 52 balls.

When St Andrew’s and Selborne met in a round-robin match, it was the East London school that won, but that result will count for nothing when they meet for the title of champions of the Eastern Cape on Sunday.

Summarised Scorecards

Alice RPC 92/7 (Imange Nkubevana 24, Yonela Mkholiswa 16; Matthew Hendry 3/7, Avetandwa Manyongo 1/17). Selborne College 93/7 (Josh Wilkie 53, Cian O’Neil 18; Akhanya Bontsi 3/20, Unakho Njalisa 2/10). Selborne won by three wickets.

Grey High 90/9 (Alejo Nota 29*, Logan Groch 18*; Rhys Wiblin 3/10, Thomas Bissiahn 2/13), St Andrew’s College 91/1 (Rhys Wiblin 46*, Connor Holder 40*; Alejo Nota 1/9). St Andrew’s College won by nine wickets.

Alice RPC 76/10 (Akhona Ntlathi 18*, Ambesa Linda 12; Luthando Gwazela 3/13, Bulumnko Didi 2/8). Mqanduli Village 70/10 (Siphumeze Nonwana 16, Sibahle Bango 11; Yonela Mkhohliswa 2/10, Awonke Ngini 2/13). Alice RPC won by six runs.

Nomandi 34/10 (Lelam Mdumba 20, Aphelele Ruze 7; Alejo Nota 3/3, Connor Parry 2/0). Grey High 35/0 (logan Goddard-Ford 16*, James Upton 13*; Aphelele Ruze 0/17, Thobela Sibonda 0/18). Grey High won by 10 wickets.

St Andrew’s College 104/8 (Thomas Lake 42, Oliver Whitaker 21*; Lwando Gwaza 3/10, Avetandwa Manyongo 2/16). Selborne College 107/6 (Josh Wilkie 49*, Cian O’Neil 15; Rhys Wiblin 3/26, Thomas Bussiahn 1/26). Selborne won by four wickets.

St Andrew’s College and Selborne College overpowered their opposition on day one of the Eastern Cape leg of the Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Phase Two matches on Friday.

Both sides finished the day at the summit of their respective pools. St Andrew’s leads Pool A, where they’re up against Alice RPC and Mqanduli Village, while Selborne is top of Pool B, facing Grey High and Nomandi.

St Andrew’s College

St Andrew’s dispatched Mqanduli and Alice with relative ease in two rain-interrupted matches at the Bohemians Oval. Their first port of call was an eight-wicket win over Mqanduli in a 12-over per side match.

Rhys Wiblin, the St Andrew’s College captain, won the toss and elected to bowl first. His attack responded well to their skipper’s show of faith and restricted Mqanduli to 47/6, before the College batsmen raced to 48/2 in seven overs.

Wiblin top-scored with an unbeaten 25 from 20 balls, and he received support from Thomas Lake, who tallied 12 from 15 balls. Akhumzi Ntleki was a shining light for Mqanduli, with an unbeaten 15 from 25 balls, while the rest of their batsmen perished for single-figure scores.

Later in the day, Connor Holder struck an unbeaten 91 from only 62 balls to set St Andrew’s up for a 15-run win over Alice. His half-century drove St Andrew’s to 133/4 in 18 overs. Alice was on 38/2 in reply when the rain stopped the match. That left them below Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par score.

Holder looked as if he was batting on a different surface because none of the batsmen on either side were able to record a strike rate of 100 or more. St Andrew’s College’s Ben Scharges, who scored the second-most runs in the match, managed 20 from 29 balls, while Alice’s Ambesa Linda was unbeaten on 18 from 22.

Selborne College

Cian O’Neil took centre stage as Selborne cantered to a six-wicket win over Grey High in a key showdown before thrashing Nomandi by 215 runs. Both matches were played at the Old Grey Sports Club.

When the toss went Selborne’s way, they bowled first in an 11-over per side contest. That was a good call. They limited the hosts to 68/4 before rocketing to 75/4 in 8.5 overs. O’Neil smashed 21 on only seven balls, while Thomas Lyon anchored the innings with an unbeaten 19 from 18 balls.

Later in the day, O’Neil retired out, after scoring a brisk 28-ball 62, to set Selborne up for a total of 243/7 against Nomandi. Avethandwa Manyongo and Matthew Hendry also had fun with the bat at Nomandi’s expense. Manyongo faced 23 balls for his unbeaten 45, while Hendry scored 43 from the same number of deliveries.

Nomandi’s run chase ended before it began. Thobela Sibonda scored a laboured 10 runs from 22 balls as they crumbled for only 28 from 13.1 overs. Aphelele Ruze, who scored five from 13 balls, was the second-highest scorer, but no other batsman made it to three runs.

O’Neil led the Selborne bowling attack with 3/5 in three overs. Afika Xuba snapped up 2/10, while Reid Drake, Titus Sweetnam, and Matthew Hendry took a wicket each.

Summarised Scorecards

St Andrew’s College 133/4 (Connor Holder 91*, Ben Scharges 20; Nonophelo Gidane 2/28, Y Makholiswa 1/27).  Alice RPC 38/2 (Ambesa Linda 18*, Lithabo Gantsho 8; Oliver Whitaker 1/4, Thomas Bussiahn 0/15). St Andrew’s College won by 15 runs (DLS).

Selborne College 243/7 (Cian O’Neil 62, Avethandwa Manyongo 45*; Mosuli Nombida 2/45, Khulani Pikiso 1/35). Nomandi 28/10 (Thobela Sibonda 10, Aphelele Ruze 5; Cian O’Neil 3/5, Afika Xuba 2/10). Selborne won by 215 runs.

Mqanduli Village 26/10 (Sibahle Bango 7, Sinakekele Sele 5; Obakhe Memani 3/1, Logan Groch 3/2, Usman Niazi 3/2). Grey High 27/0 (Cullen Marais 13*, James Upton 9*). Grey High won by 10 wickets.

Mqanduli Village 47/6 (Akhumzi Ntleki 15*, Sibahle Bango 7; Oliver Whitaker 2/14, James Badenhorst 1/5). St Andrew’s College 48/2 (Rhys Wiblin 25*, Thomas Lake 12). St Andrew’s College won by eight wickets.

Grey High 68/4 (Cullen Marais 27*, Connor Parry 25; Rosh Els 2/8, Lwando Gwaza 1/18). Selborne College 75/4 (Cian O’Neil 21, Thomas Lyon 19*; Anfred Jansen 2/12, Obakhe Memani 1/13). Selborne College won by six wickets.

Alice RPC 84/3 (Awonke Ngini 37, Lithabo Gantsho 20; Thobela Sibonda 2/19, Khulani Pikiso 1/13). Nomandi 23/10 (Lizalise Rhadebe 5, Wanda Tenjwa 5; Nonophelo Gidane 3/1, Unakho Njalisa 2/2, Alungile Soga 2/3). Alice RPC won by 61 runs.

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.

Goolam Ahmed produced a sensational display of death bowling to help Jeppe High School for Boys secure a hard-fought and crucial seven-run win over King Edward VII (KES) in their Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Phase Two match on the La Valla Oval at St David’s Marist Inanda on Thursday afternoon.

Jeppe and KES, who secured the top two places in the Johannesburg leg of the first phase of the competition, are competing against Hoërskool Nelspruit and Middelburg Hoërskool for a spot in the national finals.

When the toss went Troy Gordon’s way, the KES captain chose to bowl first. Jeppe huffed and puffed and scrambled their way to 89 all out in 19.4 overs. With not many runs to defend, Jeppe’s bowlers then pulled together and restricted KES to 82/7 from their 20 overs.

Jeppe’s success with the ball hinged on Goolam Ahmed’s ability to deny Wade McQuinn (15*) and Tyler Cloete (1*) nine runs from the final over. McQuinn is one of the most explosive batsmen in the region, and the task of tying him down was a big ask. However, Ahmed kept a cool head and darted in unplayable yorkers to the KES pair to concede a mere two runs.

Ahmed finished with a vital 1/6 from two overs, while Keegan Cockburn removed two batsmen for 22 runs from his four overs. Phemelo Sekopane also performed superbly, snagging 1/4 from three overs.

The KES batsmen struggled to find traction, with only three of them reaching double figures, led by Urav Mukhija‘s modest 16 from 37 balls. McQuinn was next best, with 15 from 33 deliveries, followed by Gordon, with 10 off six.

KES found the going at the crease tough, but so, too, did Jeppe, who had only one batsman make it to twenty. Three others made it into double figures, but only just. Aiden Reyneke top-scored with 21 from 24 deliveries, while Sekopane (11), Lincoln Casais (10), and Shreshth Kumar (10) added a combined 31 runs.

Jeppe’s victory over KES was their second of the day. In the morning, they cruised to a massive 117-run win over Nelspruit on the Temba Bavuma Oval. Ryan Young struck a brilliant 60 from 39 deliveries, and Vegas Scott weighed in with a wonderful 47 off 43 balls to catapult Jeppe to 177/5.

Zizi Mkhize then captured an eye-opening three wickets without conceding a run as Jeppe bundled out Nelspruit for only 60 runs in 17 overs. Cockburn and Reza Ayob played their part, too, bagging a brace each.

KES and Middelburg, who each recorded a win, still have a shot at qualifying for the final. KES defeated Middelburg by nine runs when the sides crossed swords in the morning, with Troy Gordon and company putting 139 runs on the board before restricting Middelburg to 130/8 in reply.

Middelburg bounced back from that loss with a 37-run win over Nelspruit in the afternoon. Najin Swart scored a match-winning 65 from only 47 balls to lift Middelburg to 167/9. Reyno Botha put up a good fight for Nellies, contributing 43 from 34 balls, but Nelspruit came up short, finishing on 130/6 from their 20 overs.

On Friday morning, Middies will aim to carry the momentum of that win into their clash with Jeppe. KES will be hoping to overrun Nelspruit to secure a place in the title game.

Summarised Scorecards

Jeppe 89/10 (Adam Reyneke 21, Phemelo Sekopane 11; Tyler Cloete 3/13, Steele Grooteman 2/22). KES 82/7 (Urav Mukhija 16, Wade McQuinn 15*; Keegan Cockburn 2/22, Phemelo Sekopane 1/4). Jeppe won by seven runs.

Middelburg 167/9 (Nijan Swart 65, Hendré Nel 31; Samuel Day 4/18, Hanru van der Merwe 3/38). Nelspruit 130/6 (Reyno Botha 43, Gherdu van Eeden 21; Herman Potgieter 3/27, Ricardo Ras 1/11). Middleburg won by 37 overs.

Jeppe 177/5 (Ryan Young 60, Vegas Scott 47; Safwaan Miller 2/28, Enrico Joubert 2/38). Nelspruit 60/10 (Reyno Botha 18, Samuel Day 14; Zizi Mkhize 3/0, Reza Ayob 2/9). Jeppe won by 117 runs.

KES 139/10 (Urav Mukhiv 30, Troy Gordon 25; Herman Potgieter 3/21, Eduan Strydom 2/27). Middelburg 130/8 (Nijan Swart 39, Hendré Nel 29; Wade McQuinn 2/10, Luke Clark 2/21). KES won by nine runs.

Kreesan Pillai scored an unbeaten half-century to lead Glenwood to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Framesby in their Grey Cricket Festival T20 match at Framesby on Sunday.

The toss went the way of the home team, who elected to bat first and scored 153/7 in their 20 overs.

Glenwood was aggressive and clinical in their run chase, taking only 15 overs to power their way to 159/2 and victory.

Pillai led the chase with a free-flowing and unbeaten 91 from 58 balls, cracking five sixes and seven fours. He and his opening partner, Jayden Pillay, got the Glenwood innings off to an explosive start, combining for 49 runs from only 17 deliveries.

Pillai then joined forces with Neel Patel for a 57-run second-wicket partnership, before wrapping up an impressive win with an unbroken 53-run third wicket stand with Mishael Gunawardana, who weighed in with 34 not out.

Earlier in the day, Nicholas Joubert took only 29 balls to score 45 and lead Framesby to a total north of 150 runs. He also laid a platform for the hosts with a 29-run opening partnership with Corné Matthee, who pitched in with 18.

Joubert then stitched together the innings’ highest partnership, 49 runs for the second wicket, with Miles Feltham, who matched Matthee’s 18. Dandré Henwick (25) and Durandt Rootman (14) made starts but failed to kick on.

Kamo Moloto and Qhamani Sikhutswa led the Glenwood bowling attack with a brace of wickets each. Moloto’s return was 2/16 from three overs, while Sikhutswa bagged 2/27 from four.

Kearsney vs Jeppe

Captain Ryan Young led from the front with a half-century for Jeppe in a tight two-wicket win over Kearsney College in a 30-overs-a-side contest played on the ABSA Oval at Nelson Mandela University.

Kearsney put up 165/8 after opting to bat first. Then, the tightly contested clash went down to the wire, with Jeppe tallying 166/8 in reply and winning with only one ball to spare.

Young scored a run-a-ball 61 to power the Johannesburg school to victory. When he made his way to the middle, Jeppe desperately needed their skipper to deliver. They were on 36/3 and on the back foot.

Young and Ethan Elliot, who weighed in with 41, stabilised the innings with a 45-run fourth-wicket stand. Later, Young and Phemelo Sekopane joined hands for Jeppe’s highest partnership, 66 in 64 balls, for the sixth wicket, with Sekopane going on to score a crucial 31 not out.

Dolphins‘ Khaya Majola Week left-arm paceman, Litha Gonya, led the Kearsney attack, capturing 3/30 in 5.5 overs.

Kearsney’s innings progressed in fits and starts, but Michael Groom, with 36 from 34 balls, launched a stubborn and effective lower-order resistance, batting at nine.

Before Groom’s late burst, captain Keegan de Jager scored a steady 35 from 31 balls to hold the Kearsney innings together. Christo Badenhorst, who finished with 26 not out, was the only other of the batsmen from Botha’s Hill to go beyond the teens.

Shreshth Kumar was Jeppe’s most successful bowler, snagging 3/20 in six overs, while Reza Ayob tied down the Kearsney batsmen, surrendering only 12 runs from his six overs while also picking up two wickets.

St Charles Colts XI vs Die Hoërskool Menlopark

Die Hoërskool Menlopark signed off with a win, downing the St Charles Colts XI by five wickets in a T20 contest on the Kolisi Field at Grey High.

After Saints lost an early wicket, Fabian Da Rosa and Tlotlang Kobe made strong and steady progress, adding 118 runs off 91 balls for the second wicket before Da Rosa was caught off the bowling of Verster Richter for 53 from 54 deliveries, which included five fours and two sixes.

Following Da Rosa’s departure, St Charles lost momentum, with another three wickets falling in quick succession, the last of those being that of Kobe, which left them on 129/5 after 18 overs. He became one of four victims of Jordan van Eck, out for 59 from only 43 balls, with seven fours and a six.

In the last two overs, the Pietermaritzburg boys injected some momentum back into their innings by smashing 23 runs, with Cohen Cameron launching two sixes in a quickfire 19 not out from 12 deliveries.

Van Eck was the pick of the Menlo bowlers, claiming 4/30 from his four overs.

Menlopark’s reply got off to the worst possible start when they lost opener, Andre Kruyshaar, to the first ball of their innings. Just like Saints, though, Menlo responded to the early loss of a wicket with a good second wicket stand.

Keagan Hills and Jacques de Villiers took just 41 deliveries to tack on 52 runs. Then, Hills and Monré Koekemoer hit the accelerator, adding 66 in only 37 balls.

De Villiers contributed 32 off 25 balls, Hills slammed five fours and three sixes in his 57 from 42, and Koekemoer crunched three sixes and two fours in his 35 from 23.

He was the third of three batsmen out, but by then Menlopark was within touching distance of victory on 142/4 after 15.5 overs.

Ten balls later, they reached 157/4 to take the win with 15 deliveries to spare.

Summarised Scorecards

Framesby 153/7 (Nicholas Joubert 45, Dandré Henwick 25; Kamo Moloko 2/16, Qhamani Sikhutswa 2/27). Glenwood 159/2 (Kreesan Pillai 91*, Mishael Gunawardana 34*; Miles Feltham 1/22, Dandré Henwick 1/20). Glenwood won by eight wickets.

St Charles Colts XI 152/5 (Tlotlang Kobe 59, Fabian da Rosa 53; Jordan van Eck 4/30, Vester Richter 1/34). Menlopark 157/4 (Keegan Hills 57, Morne Koekemoer 35; Dresden Coetzee 1/10, Christopher Uys 1/10). Menlopark won by six wickets.

Kearsney 165/8 (Michael Groom 36, Keegan de Jager 35; Shreshth Kumar 3/20, Reza Ayob 2/12). Jeppe 166/8 (Ryan Young 61, Ethan Elliot 41, Phemelo Sekopane 31*; Litha Gonya 3/30, Rivaan Moodley 1/24). Jeppe won by two wickets.