Author: mbloem

On Thursday, Paarl Gimnasium extended their unbeaten run for the 2025/26 season to four games, thanks to a phenomenal performance in a 30-over match against Trinity Grammar, a private boys’ school from Melbourne, Australia.

The visitors won the toss and sent the hosts in to bat. Last weekend, in their 59-run victory over Bishops, Gimmies relied on their tail enders to rescue their innings. This time out, though, their top and middle order delivered.

Up front, Gim made steady progress, with Matt Dippenaar scoring 37 runs off 40 balls, Dirk Hugo adding 24 off 24, and Wian Munnik chipping in with 38 off 36.

Then, after the top order laid a solid foundation, it was “Go big or go home” from the middle order.

Coming in at five, Derrick Groenewald top scored with a hasty 60 runs off 32 balls, cracking five fours and four sixes, for a healthy strike rate of 188. Charles King also raised the tempo, smashing three sixes in his 37 off 24 deliveries.

After batting at 8.43 runs per over, Paarl Gimnasium completed their 30 overs on a daunting 253/7.

Kye Davidson and Jacob Wellington sled the visitors’ attack with two wickets each, while Xander Hill was the most economical of their bowlers, conceding 6.2 runs per over while the rest went for more than eight.

When Trinity Grammar visited the crease, top order batsman, Akein Madarasinghe, played the anchor role with a patient 23 off 41, but none of his teammates hung around long enough to build a solid partnership.

The Gimmies bowling attack was as impressive and consistent as their batting lineup. De Waal Viviers took a telling 3/23 in his five overs, while Louis Koen was as accurate with the cricket ball as he is with the rugby ball at flyhalf. He claimed a miserly 2/2 in four overs, which included two maidens.

After 28 overs, Trinity Grammar was all out for 87, leaving Paarl Gimnasium the winners by a huge 166-run margin.

SCORES

Paarl Gimnasium 253/7 (Derrick Groeneweald 60, Wian Munnik 38, Charles King 37, Matt Dippenaar 37, De Waal Viviers 27, Dirk Hugo 24, Extras 22; Kye Davidson 2/32, Jacob Wellington 2/37); Trinity Grammar School 87/10 (Akein Madarasinghe 23; De Waal Viviers 3/23, Louis Koen 2/2).

Paarl Gimnasium won by 166 runs.

The toss went Wynberg Boys’ High‘s way, and they chose to bat first in their T20 fixture when Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) visited the Jacques Kallis Oval on Heritage Day.

For two-thirds of the contest, there was little to separate the sides. Then, Jason Raal got stuck into the Wynberg middle order, slowing their momentum by capturing 4/15 in his four overs.

That crucial spell steered the Maroon Machine to a comfortable 36-run win.

PRG’s opening batsmen got the visitors off to a strong start, with Marcus Conradie scoring 41 runs off 33 balls and Tiaan van Niekerk chipping in with 32 off 40.

Their 63-run opening stand was broken by Jiyaad Abrahams, who secured 2/23 in four overs. Abraham’s second wicket came shortly after his first, when he removed the dangerous Luca Plekker for a single run.

Just when the home bowlers smelled blood, Matthew Seymore came in with guns blazing. He blasted an unbeaten 53 off only 27 balls, bashing four fours and four sixes, to give the Stellenbosch outfit’s innings a massive boost to 164/4 after their 20 overs.

In reply, Wynberg began well, with the openers, Moosa Gabriels and Fawaaz Hendricks sharing a 44-run opening stand.

Gabriels contributed 31 off 20, cracking three fours and two maximums, while Hendricks batted more conservatively for his 22 off 21, which included a four and a six.

Dion Slabber ended their stand to put the first dent in the Wynberg chase. From there, Raal took over. His outstanding bowling effort led to Wynberg’s challenge losing momentum and they were, in the end, well beaten.

SCORES

Paul Roos Gimnasium 164/4 (Matthew Seymore 53*, Marcus Conradie 41, Tiaan van Niekerk 32; Jiyaad Abrahams 2/23); Wynberg Boys’ High School 128/8 (Moosa Gabriels 31, Fawaaz Hendricks 22; Jason Raal 4/15).

Paul Roos won by 36 runs.

Yorkshire Hub delivered a strong performance to soundly defeat Kimberley Boys’ High School by six wickets in a T20 match on Tuesday.

After Kimberley was sent out to bat, they struggled to get going.

Kago van der Linde top scored with 17 runs off 21 balls, striking three of his side’s eight fours, but the Hub’s bowlers dominated.

Khamohelo Pharedi led the way, delivering a decisive and economical four-over spell during which he captured a superb 3/4.

Keorapetse Jantjies and Rethabile Mabuya also chipped in with two wickets each.

Jantjies snapped up 2/15 in four, while Mabuya’s contribution was 2/20, also from four.

Jantjies also delivered with the bat, top scoring for the Yorkshire Hub as he clubbed three fours in his 21 not out from only 12 deliveries.

At the top of the order, Oarabile Tabakena launched the only six of the match, but he was dismissed for 12 after facing nine deliveries.

Sobusa Sefate provided Kimberley Boys’ High with some hope by taking 2/12 in two overs. Unfortunately, for him, his peers were unable match his wicket-taking ways.

SCORES

Yorkshire Hub 78/4 (Keorapetse Jantjies 21*; Sobusa Sefate 2/12); Kimberley Boys’ High 74/10 (Kamohelo Pharedi 3/4, Keorapetse Jantjies 2/15, Rethabile Mabuya 2/20).

Yorkshire Hub won by six wickets.

Paarl Boys’ High vs Parel Vallei High School

T20s are short enough as it is. But Paarl Boys’ High made Tuesday’s clash with Parel Vallei High even shorter than usual, chasing down PV’s 55-run total in only 31 balls to deliver an emphatic 10-wicket victory.

After winning the toss, Parel Vallei, the visitors, opted to bat first, but that proved to be a questionable decision.

Raaez Isaacs, though, liked it. The Boishaai bowler delivered a stellar performance, ripping the stumps out of the ground on three occasions in his four overs, on his way to capturing 5/12.

Reese Petersen also did a number on PV, snapping up 2/3 in just eight balls.

Chris Hughes was the only Parel Vallei batsman to make it into double figures, scoring 22 runs off 19 balls, which included smashing five of his side’s eight fours. After just 11.2 overs, PV was back in the changing room, all out for a disappointing 55.

Faced with a small winning target, Boishaai opening batsmen, Niel Louw and Ab Jacobs, threw caution to the wind and chased it down in only in 5.1 overs.

Jacobs flayed 42 off 21 deliveries, launching four sixes, along with three fours, in his aggressive knock, while Louw’s contribution was a more subtle 16 off 10, which featured a four and a six.

Boland Landbou vs Wesbank High School

It’s seldom that one might see 139 runs being scored and 20 wickets falling. That’s an average of 6.95 runs per wicket and a wicket falling every 10.1 balls, but that’s what happed in the match between Boland Landbou and Wesbank High at the Malmesbury Cricket Club, where conditions hugely favoured the bowlers.

Despite the low scoring, the Paarl outfit banked a huge 101-run victory over the Kuils River school.

Sent out to bat first, the Farmers struggled to make it look like they were playing a T20. Matthew Geldenhuys more than doubled up Boland Landbou’s next highest scorer, weighing in with 34 runs off 24 balls. He also struck twice as many boundaries as any other batsman, contributing three fours and a six.

With three balls remaining in their innings, Boland Landbou was dismissed for 120. The trio of Melvino Marang, Lee Johndre, and Elgino Dyasone claimed two victims each for Wesbank, with Marang’s 2/19 and Johndre’s 2/20 leading the way.

When Wesbank batted, it was more a case of trying to survive than trying to win. Their reply lasted only 14.1 overs, and it rendered just 19 all out, with five batsmen sent packing for ducks.

Francois Prins delivered the astonishing bowling figures of 5/2 from his four overs, while Kobus Conradie also impressed, claiming 3/6, also from four overs.

SCORES

Paarl Boys’ High School 58/0 (Ab Jacobs 42*); Parel Vallei 55/10 (Chris Hughes 22; Raeez Isaacs 5/12, Reese Petersen 2/3, Aden Batt 2/14).

Paarl Boys’ High won by 10 wickets.

Boland Landbou 120/10 (Matthew Geldenhuys 34; Melvino Marang 2/19, Lee Johndre 2/20, Elgino Dyasone 2/35); Wesbank High School 19/10 (Francois Prins 5/2, Kobus Conradie 3/6).

Boland Landbou won by 101 runs.

In the opening round of their Schools SA20 campaign, Hoërskool Fichardtpark delivered a complete all-round performance to claim a seven-wicket victory over the Bloemfontein Hub XI on Friday.

The Hub XI batted first, donning their protective gear, and, boy, did they need it. Player of the match, Juan Mostert, went hard at the batsmen.

His excellent four-over spell of bowling produced a sparkling return of 4/10. It included 17 dot balls and not a single boundary conceded.

Junior Direko was the only Bloemfontein Hub batsman to place the Fichies’ bowlers under pressure, striking five fours in his 31 runs off 28 balls.

After only 17 overs at the crease, however, the Hub XI was dismissed for 89.

Faced with a low victory target, the Fichardtpark batsmen were in a rush to chase it down. Jaden Geldenhuys lashed seven fours and a six in a quickfire 38 off just 21 balls to lead his side’s charge.

Those boundaries, together with some sharp running between the wickets, saw Fichies bounding along at over 12 runs to the over, and, with the aid of 11 extras, they overhauled the Bloemfontein Hub XI’s 89, scoring 95 in only eight overs for the loss of just three wickets.

Luthando Mnyameni was the standout Hub bowler, collecting 2/34 from his four overs. Unfortunately, the other Hub bowlers struggled to contain the scoring as Fichardtpark’s aggressive batting approach bore fruit.

It was, thus, fitting, perhaps, that Nevin Olivier sealed the win by hitting a six off the fourth delivery he faced.

SCORES

Hoërskool Fichardtpark 95/3 (Jaden Geldenhuys 38; Luthando Mnyameni 2/34); Bloemfontein Hub 89/10 (Junior Direko 31; Juan Mostert 4/10, Daniel Badenhorst 3/11, Heinrich Kemp 2/12).

Hoërskool Fichardtpark won by seven wickets.

On Saturday, Paarl Gimnasium‘s bowlers delivered with both bat and ball on the Frank Reid Oval to lift the visitors to a 59-run victory over the hosts and favourites, Bishops Diocesan College.

Batting first, Gimmies were in early trouble, slipping to 48/5. Their tail enders, though, were more like a strong spine, with De Waal Vivier being the thickest vertebra.

Batting at nine, he stood tall, scoring a heroic and unbeaten 83 runs off 79 balls. His knock included five of Paarl Gim’s eight sixes, plus three fours.

Louis Koen batting at 10 – he also plays at 10 for the 1st XV – provided invaluable support with a hasty 45 off 29, as the pair put on 82 for the ninth wicket. Koen was also responsible for the other three sixes in the visitors’ innings.

Beon Swanepoel then teamed up with Vivier to put on an unbroken 69 for the tenth wicket, contributing 19 off 13, to see Paarl Gim to 275/9 after their 50 overs. It was a sobering total for Bishops to chase after they had the visitors struggling on 124/8.

Much like Paarl Gim, Bishops made a less than convincing start to their innings, stumbling to 67/5.

Their innings was steadied, though, by Samuel Stavely-Alexander and Michael Kruiskamp whose 129-run sixth-wicket partnership kept them in the game.

Stavely-Alexander, playing his 100th game for the Bishops’ 1st XI, delivered a noble batting performance, scoring 73 off 65, which included three fours and seven sixes. Kruiskamp matched Stavely-Alexander with seven sixes and added four fours in his 70 off 68.

It was, however, the Gimmies batting hero, Vivier, who broke the dangerous partnership, dismissing Kruiskamp with a caught and bowled to swing the momentum back in the Paarl team’s favour.

From there, the Bishops’ challenge fell away as their tail enders were unable to match Gim’s lower order excellence. They were all out for 216 in 39.4 overs.

Waldus de Jager, with 3/10 in 6.4 overs, sealed the deal, while Swanepoel, Koen and Vivier all contributed two wickets a piece.

Those four were the heroes of the day for the visitors, but none more so than Vivier. He changed the momentum of the contest in both innings. Those who chase lost causes often find victory where others lack the mettle to go.

SCORES

Paarl Gimnasium 275/9 (De Waal Vivier 83*, Louis Koen 45, Wian Munnik 26, Waldus de Jager 20, Extras 40; Luke de Klerk 3/51, Daniel Perold 2/69); Bishops Diocesan College 216/10 (Samuel Stavely-Alexander 73, Michael Kruiskamp 70, James Robb-Quinlan 27; Waldus de Jager 3/10, Louis Koen 2/28, Beon Swanepoel 2/46, De Waal Vivier 2/48).

Paarl Gimnasium won by 59 runs.

Pacing is an extremely important aspect of a two-day, two-innings match. Without a limited overs cap per innings, the batting side needs to find a balance between the balls remaining and runs on the scoreboard. Grey College have struggled to find that ratio in their last two games in the format.

They drew with Selborne College a fortnight ago and then drew with Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) on Saturday. On both occasions, the Bloemfontein side looked like the better team on their home ground, but they ran out of time to claim victory.

Batting first, on Friday, against the Stellenbosch visitors, Grey went big, declaring their innings on 367/9.

Opening batsman Aiden Dodd, was to the fore, scoring a Nelson, 111 runs, for the hosts. He also scored 78 in the first innings against Selborne.

Against the East London school, Henru de Wet struck an aggressive 103. This time, he chipped in with 57.

Jason Raal, Nathan van den Berg and Dion Slabber picked up two wickets each for PRG.

The visitors found the going tougher at the crease than Grey did and were bowled out for only 169. Nathan van den Berg showed off his all-round game, top scoring with 67, while Slabber was the second highest scorer for Ou Polla’s Boys, with 32.

Daniel Hayidakas led the Grey attack with the second-best bowling figures of the match, claiming 2/18. Bergh Vorster, Sicelo Matayi and the consistent Otto Krause, all removed two batsman each.

With a 198-run lead, but limited time remaining, Grey forced Paul Roos to follow on. When the match ended, the visitors were on 230/8 in their second innings, only 32 runs ahead.

Marcus Conradie settled in nicely to score 70, while Jason Raal contributed 40. However, it was Slabber’s unbeaten 31 off 86 that was arguably the most valuable performance of his side’s second innings. He farmed the bowling, keeping the tail enders safe, to steer Paul Roos to safety.

Jano Venter returned 2/17 for Grey, while Otto Krause claimed 2/31.

SCORES

Grey College 367/9 dec. (Aiden Dodd 111, Henru de Wet 57, Juan Maree 50, River Scott 34, Pieter Smit 33, Otto Krause 25*, Extras 21; Jason Raal 2/46, Nathan van den Berg 2/60, Dion Slabber 2/69); Paul Roos Gimnasium 169/10 (Nathan van den Berg 67, Dion Slabber 32, Etienne Serfontein 27; Daniel Hayidakas 2/18, Bergh Vorster 2/22, Sicelo Matayi 2/25, Otto Krause 2/33); Paul Roos Gimnasium 230/8 (Marcus Conradie 70, Jason Raal 40, Dion Slabber 31*, Xander van Niekerk 29, Enré van Zyl 26, Extras 20; Jano Venter 2/17, Otto Krause 2/31).

Match drawn.

Parel Vallei High School played superbly in front of their home audience on Saturday, overwhelming Hoërskool Durbanville by 185 runs in their 50-over encounter.

The hosts got off to a strong start, with opening batsmen Benjamin Traut and Sevi Barlow, scoring 61 and 37 runs respectively and putting on 61 for the first wicket. After their dismissal, though, they experienced a few hiccups, losing three wickets for 46 runs.

However, when Matthew Vermeulen and Ruben du Plessis came in at six and seven respectively, with the score on 150/5, they compiled a phenomenal 139-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

Du Plessis weighed in with 65 runs off 64 balls, while Vermeulen tallied 67 off 75. Perhaps feeling frustrated, the visiting bowlers lost their discipline and conceded 38 wides and 12 no balls as PV’s score was boosted by 53 extras in total.

After their 50 overs, the hosts ended on a healthy 320/9.

Durbanville was able to muster only 135 all out in response, with  their only batsman to get going. By the time he came in, after the fall of the seventh wicket, Durbies were on the ropes on 47/7.

Despite the immense pressure, Lewis played well, striking six fours before being cruelly dismissed on 49. He was the last man out.

Jamiel Ismael was the pick of the bowlers for PV, knocking over 5/31 in 9.1 overs. Bowling with a philosophy of: “You miss, I hit”, Ismael beat the bat thrice while being on target, to earn a LBW decision, while he twice sent the bails flying.

SCORES

Parel Vallei High School 320/9 (Matthew Vermeulen 67, Ruben du Plessis 65, Benjamin Traut 61, Sevi Barlow 37, Extras 53; Erich Vermeulen 3/73, Jan van Tonder 2/38, Liam Kirsten 2/58); Hoërskool Durbanville 135/10 (Lucien Lewis 49; Jamiel Ismaeel 5/31).

Parel Vallei won by 185 runs.

The visitors, Paarl Gimnasium, have a daunting challenge ahead of them when they take on Bishops on the Frank Reid on Saturday.

Last weekend, in a 50-over contest, Bishops defeated Stellenberg High by 103 runs. They’ll be aiming to continue their dominance against Gimmies.

Against Stellies, Cameron Macbeth top-scored with 84 for the hosts, and he’ll be eager to turn those two digits into three.

His top order partners, Adnaan Lagadien and James Robb-Quinlan, are also due some runs in the 300-ball format.

However, scoring won’t come easy. The home batting lineup will be wary of the challenges posed by the visitors’ bowling attack.

Back in the summer, when the sides met in a Schools SA20 fixture, Wian Munnik claimed 2/11 in two overs, while Charles King returned 2/28 in four overs.

Bishops did, however, win the match by 32 runs, and later went on to lift the national title.

Munnik is also a handy opening batsman, although he wasn’t able to show that when Gim met Bishops last time. Matt Dippenaar and Dirk Hugo will also want to prove themselves against the southern suburbs’ side.

Another player to keep an eye on is middle order dangerman, Louis Koen, who is more recognised for his exploits at flyhalf for the 1st XV. He owns an educated boot, but he’s a clean hitter of the cricket ball, too.

Meanwhile, in the Bishops’ bowling attack, Julian Pilkington will be targeting a fifth three-wicket haul in succession on Saturday. He’s in fine form, but it is the all-round variety and versatility of the home side’s attack, led by Waco Bassick, that will pose a major threat to Paarl Gim. They’ve been at the forefront of Bishops’ successes in 2025.

With the Bishops’ attack leading the way, the biggest questions to be asked and answered on Saturday will be posed to the Paarl Gim batsmen and, with a number of the hosts’ batsmen due, the visitors will hope that their wait continues.

Boland Landbou delivered an absolute masterclass to rocket to an enormous 199-run win over Hoërskool Dirkie Uys on Thursday in a Schools SA20 clash in Paarl.

Francois Prins was astounding with the willow, lashing an unbeaten 119 runs off only 69 balls. His phenomenal innings included 14 fours and three sixes, at a strike rate of 178.

Divan Meyer batted slightly faster, smashing eight fours and two sixes in an impressive 66 off 36, for a strike rate of 183.

After the Farmers had put 237/3 on the board, Dirkie Uys was unable to deal with the pressure of having to score at 11.9 runs per over to win against a dialled-in Boland Landbou bowling attack.

Kobus Conradie was the best of the bowlers and the only one to send down the maximum four overs, which he ended with 2/3, with two maidens. Most can only dream of securing an economy rate of 0.8, never mind that he achieved it in a T20 fixture.

Diwan Schoeman’s 2/6 in 2.4 overs also helped to seal the deal as the visitors crumbled to 38 all out. Ernie Crow was the only Dirkie Uys batsman to reach double figures, striking two four in his 10 runs off 11 balls.

Boland Landbou could hardly have asked for a better result in the opening game of their Schools SA20 campaign. However, they will know the standard of opposition is going to ramp up considerably when big guns, including Rondebosch and Bishops, join the fray in mid-October

Nonetheless, a win is a win, and the Farmers will be buoyed by it ahead of further battles to come.

SCORES

Boland Landbou 237/3 (Francois Prins 119*, Divan Meyer 66, Extras 26); Dirkie Uys 38/10 (Kobus Conradie 2/3, Diwan Schoeman 2/6, Troy Davis 2/10).

Boland won by 199 runs.