Author: froberholzer

Liam Mudenda and Pranav Raichetti’s excellence with the willow in hand guided St Stithians to a very comfortable seven-wicket victory over Helpmekaar Kollege in their T20 clash on Wednesday.

The pair’s 41-run partnership was the key to their successful pursuit of the 130 they required for victory.

Mudenda led the charge with an impressive 47 from 35 deliveries. The main feature of the formidable opener’s innings was his stroke-making, which led to him accumulating eight fours.

Raichetti started off slowly but worked the ball all around the wicket in a mature knock of 36 not out.

His aggressive running between the wickets was also a thorn in the side of the Helpies as the pressure on their fielding unit kept mounting. Raichetti then broke loose, sending the ball over the ropes for the maximum.

For the Helpies, Juan Minnaar shone with both bat and ball. When he arrived at the crease, his side was struggling, but Minnaar kept his composure to contribute a sensible 26 not out, which came from 25 balls and included one six.

Opening the bowling, he proved to be the dangerman for the Helpies and was the pick of their attack, capturing an impressive 2/26 from his four overs.

However, Henricus Meyer was the cornerstone of the Helpmekaar innings, giving it a boost with a wonderfully structured and unbeaten 50 from 40 deliveries. His contribution proved pivotal as he and Minnaar combined for a much-needed partnership of 74 in the latter stages of the innings, which helped their side to 129/4 from their 20 overs.

Unfortunately for the Helpies, that effort from the pair wasn’t enough to make up for a stuttering start to their innings. Saints showed class and control to chase down the victory target in the 17th over with plenty of wickets in hand.

Summarised scorecard: 

Helpmekaar Kollege 129/4 (Henricus Meyer 50*, Juan Minnaar 26*; Lhuan-dre Pretorius 1/26); St Stithians 132/3 (Liam Mudenda 47, Pranav Raichetti 36; Juan Minnaar 2/26). St Stithians won by seven wickets. 

 

 

Olefa Padi shone with the ball to guide his side, Potchefstroom Volkskool, to a comprehensive victory over Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool on Sunday in the Westvaal North-South T20 Tournament. He was outstanding, capturing 4 for 17 from his four-over spell to set Volkies on the path to victory.

Berno de Klerk played a vital role, too, sending three batsmen back to the pavilion, as he returned figures of 3 for 30.

Volkies, batting first, started well, thanks to De Klerk, who powered his way to an impressive 50 from just 28 deliveries.

However, it was Kobus Pienaar who stole the show. He swung the bat freely and often, sending the ball to all parts of the ground as he amassed a blistering 63 from just 31 balls. His innings, which boasted a healthy scoring rate of 203, included four fours and a staggering five sixes.

Heinrich Muller led the way for the Affies’ bowlers, signing off his North-South campaign with the impressive figures of 2/23 from his four overs.

Chasing 190 for victory, the usually consistent Affies’ batsmen couldn’t get into gear. They clawed their way to 67/6 before the reliable Janco Purchase launched a counter-attack, blasting 48 from just 24 balls.

Unfortunately for the Pretoria boys, not even 35 from Divan de Villiers was able to give their innings a much-needed boost, and they slumped to a meagre 126 all out, which left Potch Volkies the convincing winners by 63 runs.

Rondebosch came out firing in their last game, thumping a strong Grey College side by 66 runs. Batting first, Bosch’s Noah Heath made good use of the friendly surface, delivering an exquisitely played innings of 89 from only 53 deliveries.

Captain Jordan Neill, the scorer of two centuries earlier in the tournament, chipped in with 28, to help his side to a respectable 182/5.

The exertions of the past few days appeared to catch up with the Grey College batsmen, with lapses of concentration causing them to lose wickets at regular intervals. Raeeq Daniels was the pick of the Bosch bowling, claiming 2/26 in his four overs.

Under pressure, only Henru de Wet appeared to have answers to the Cape Town team’s attack. He made a well-played 22, but all around him the Grey innings crumbled as the Bloem boys stumbled to 116 all out.

Summarised scorecards:

Potchefstroom Volkskool 189/6 (Kobus Pienaar 63, Berno de Klerk 50, Attie Liebenberg 24, Ludwich Schuld 20; Heinrich Muller 2/23, Nicolai Bester 2/28); Affies 126/10 (Janco Purchase 48, Divan de Villiers 35; Olefa Padi 4/17, Berno de Klerk 3/30). Potchefstroom Volkskool won by 63 runs.

Rondebosch 182/5 (Noah Heath 89, Jordan Neill 28; Darion Rabie 2/33); Grey College 116/10 (Henru de Wet 22; Raeeq Daniels 2/26). Rondebosch won by 66 runs.

Other Results:

St Andrew’s School 157/8 (Naude Botha 29, Jordan van der Berg 27, Connor Nel 26, Schalk Liebenberg 23; Blake Simpson 2/18); Westville Boys’ High 158/4 (James Kruger 73, Aryan Gopalan 44; Liebenberg 1/21). Westville won by six wickets.

Selborne College 204/7 (Jacques van der Merwe 104, Tre Gilbert 41, Ethan Currin 22; Dawico Kruger 3/13, DW van Rooyen 2/47); Hoërskool Nelspruit 112/10 (Vaughn van Zyl 38, Dawico Kruger 20; Qina Nuka 3/19, Ethan Currin 3/33). Selborne College won by 92 runs.

Waterkloof made history by becoming the first team to win two Westvaal North-South T20 Tournaments, and they did it with titles in successive years. The Pretoria boys achieved the feat after defeating their fellow city dwellers, Menlopark, in the 2023 Final on Sunday.

At a windy Camp Discovery, the Klofies had an opportunity to wield the willow first. Divan Behrens, who was on song from his team’s very first outing, continued his good form in the title-decider.

He set the tone with an important 40 from just 26 deliveries and, together with Wian Ruthven (34, 19b), the pair led a recovery after the loss of an early wicket.

Riley Miller also got in on the act with a vital 30, while Franco Cronje weighed in with 28. Their cameos helped Klofies to a respectable and very defendable 162/10, with their last wicket going down off the last ball of the innings.

Tiaan Serfontein, who spearheaded the Menlo attack, shone with the ball, returning the impressive figures of 4/31 from his four overs.

In reply, the fearsome Steve Stolk got Menlo off to the kind of start they needed. He was ruthless on anything off-length, smashing an aggressive 39 from only 19 balls.

The turning point, however, came from the bowling of Jacques van Niekerk. His miserly spell of 2/18 in four overs drastically swung the momentum back in favour of the Klofies and heaped pressure on the opposition’s batsmen.

Franco Cronje, after his important 28 with the bat, showcased his all-round game by picking up 3/56 with the ball.

Wian van Deventer resisted boldly, striking a superb 51 not out from just 27 deliveries. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t quite enough to get his team over the line, with the Klofie bowlers holding the powerful Menlopark batting line-up to only 151/9 to claim a historic 11-run victory.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius and St Stithians finished their campaign strongly with a convincing eight-wicket victory over Grey High. The left-hander rounded off his tournament with a second century in as many days, racing to 109 not out from a mere 50 deliveries.

His opening partner, Liam Mudenda, also enjoyed good form with the bat throughout the event and added a good-looking 34 at the top of the order.

The Saints’ mainstay with the ball, Kwena Maphaka, put Grey High on the back foot, with two wickets up front, which played a vital role in restricting the side from Gqeberha to 156 for 7 from their 20 overs. The left-arm paceman finished with 2/37 in his final spell of the tournament.

For Grey High, Corbi van Heerden (46, 31b) put up his hand with the bat. He exhibited some wonderful stroke-play to come up just four runs shy of what would have been a richly deserved half-century.

Kian Cambier chipped in with an impressive 36 from 27 balls and, lower down the order, Xander Elkington contributed a much needed 34, to privode some late impetus to the Grey batting effort.

However, with Pretorius and Mudenda in imperious form, the Grey bowlers were unable to prevent St Stithians from cruise to a convincing victory.

Summarised scorecards

Waterkloof 162/10 (Divan Behrens 40, Wian Ruthven 34, Riley Miller 30, Franco Cronje 28; Tiaan Serfontein 4/31, Steve Stolk 2/27, Matt van der Westhuizen 2/31); Menlopark 151/9 (Wian van Deventer 51, Steve Stolk 39; Franco cronje 3/56, Jacques van Niekerk 2/18, Hernus Marais 2/18). Waterkloof won by 11 runs.

Grey High 156/7 (Corby van Heerden 46, Kian Cambier 36; Kwena Maphaka 2/37); St Stithians 163/2 (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 109*, Liam Mudenda 34; Xander Elkington 1/30). St Stithians won by eight wickets.

Other Results

SACS 167/7 (Oliver Whitehead 57, Hamish Anderson 47; Logan Fouri 2/21, Charl Prinsloo 2/32, Wouter Kielblock 2/36) Hoërskool Centurion 169/9 (Morne Prinsloo 44, Judah Phillips 28*, Pieter Naude 26, Divan van Tonder 25, Jayden Meyer 25; Fayyaad Adams 3/22). Hoërskool Centurion won by one wicket.

Wynberg Boys’ High 235/5 (Xavier Garvs 117, Ben Hansen 78; Pieter Geldenhuys 2/28, Christiaan Bourbon Leftley 2/57); Paarl Boys High 178/5 (Borboun Leftley 50, Johan Wege 46, JJ van der Sandt 38, Gideon du Toit 20; Naas Beets 2/24, Divan Linde 2/25). Wynberg Boys’ High won by 57 runs.

Rondebosch Boys’ High booked their place in the semi-final of the Westvaal North-South T20 Tournament with a convincing victory over old rivals SACS on Saturday.

Noah Heath led the way with a well-constructed 86 from 60 deliveries, while Declan Gillespie delivered the aggression for his side, taking just 42 balls for his 77. Those two big knocks enabled Bosch to total a challenging 200/3.

Fayaad Davids shone with the ball for SACS, producing an impressive return of 2/22.

Unfortunately for SACS, their batting woes of Friday continued as they stumbled out of the gate, losing wickets at regular intervals. It was Davids, once again, to the rescue for SACS as he cracked a blistering 54 from 25 balls. Litha Kaai also chipped in with a well-played 39 lower down the order.

SACS, though, were dismissed for 148, leaving them 52 runs shy of the Rondebosch total.

Waterkloof booked their spot in the semi-final against the Cape Town school after coming out on top against Potchefstroom Volkskool in a fixture that was a repeat of last year’s final.

The Klofie bowlers wrought early damage, with GJ de Swardt (3/13) and Ruan van der Vyver (3/16) combining for six wickets between them at a cost of only 29 runs.

Louis van Wyk (19, 15b) offered some resistance, but it wasn’t Volkies’ day as they were bundled out for a disappointing 92.

In pursuit of a low total, Waterkloof didn’t make it easy for themselves. However, a quickfire 23 from Wian Ruthven was exactly what the doctor ordered and the Klofies overhauled Volkskool with four wickets left standing.

Grey College also secured a spot in the final four with a 45-run victory over Hoërskool Centurion.

Opener Juan Viljoen produced an explosive and scarcely believable 55 from just 13 deliveries, at a staggering strike rate of 423, to power the Bloemfontein boys onto the front foot.

Adem Nieuwoudt also continued the onslaught, striking an impressive 75 not out from only 47 balls. Ruben Maree did his bit, too, weighing in with 52 to help Grey power their way to 220 for 4.

Centurion’s innings also got off to a blistering start, thanks to Charl Prinsloo‘s rapid 68 from 35 deliveries at the top of the order. However, most of the Centurion batsmen struggled to come to terms with the daunting required run rate. Divan van Tonder, though, contributed 42.

Unfortunately for the locals, it wasn’t enough. They were bowled out for 175, leaving Grey College the comfortable winners by 45 runs.

Summarised scorecards:

Rondebosch 200/3 (Noah Heath 82, Declan Gillespie 77; Fayaad Davids 2/22); SACS 148/10 (Fayyaad Davids 54, Litha Kaai 39, Josh van Wyngaardt 23; Gillespie 3/20, Graeme Engelbrecht 2/13). Rondebosch won by 52 runs.

Potchefstroom Volkskool 92/10 (Louis van Wyk 19; Ruan van der Vyver 3/16, GJ de Swardt 3/13); Waterkloof 95/6 (Wian Ruthven 23; Olefa Phadi 3/20, Diaan van der Merwe 2/25). Waterkloof won by four wickets.

Grey College 220/4 (Adem Nieuwoudt 75*, Juan Viljoen 55, Ruben Maree 52; Charl Prinsloo 2/44); Centurion 175/10 (Prinsloo 68, Divan van Tonder 42; Kamo Mokoena 3/40, Henru de Wet 2/19, Darion Rabie 2/22). Grey College won by 45 runs.

Other results:

Paarl Boys’ High 236/3 (Johan Wege 91, Dian van der Westhuizen 73, Christian Bourbon Leftley 45; Ethan Currin 1/31); Selborne College 165/6 (Currin 63*, Waden Plaatjies 51; Leftley 2/21, Aden Batt 2/27). Paarl Boys’ High won by 71 runs.

St Stithians 235/5 (Liam Mudenda 77, Lhuan-dre Pretorius 61, Emile Odendaal 30, Chris Anderson 31, Richard Seletswane 27; Connor Nel 3/50); St Andrews 168/10 (Jordan van der Berg 49, JC Young 37, Andre du Preez 21; Tahseen Hanslo 3/43, Seletswane 2/29, Ethan Jacobs 2/30, Pretorius 2/40). St Stithians won by 67 runs

Westville 150/9 (Max Robertson 50, Roxton Payne 26, Nicandro Kristna 21); Zander Nutt 4/30); Grey High 152/5 (Marco Giaconi 66, Xander Ellington 44; Daylan Boyce 1/30). Grey High won by five wickets.

Wynberg Boys’ High 211/5 (Divan Linde 62, Paul James 51, Xavier Garus 35, Ben Hansen 28; DW van Rooyen 2/19); Hoërskool Nelspruit 183/4 (Nathan Duncan 46, Jayden Meyer 45, Brendan Boucher 43, Dawico Kruger 24; Linde 3/31). Wynberg Boys’ won by 28 runs.

 

 

The long wait for Super Steve to come off at the Westvaal North-South T20 Tournament is finally over. The young batsman from Menlopark proved to many why he was acquired by the Pretoria Capitals for the second edition of the SA20 early next year.

Stolk amazed with a breathtaking 152 not out, from just 72 deliveries, in their encounter against Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool. His marvellous innings included a whopping 21 boundaries, consisting of nine fours and 12 sixes, at a rapid strike rate of 212.

Willem Sevenster picked up where he left off the day before, racing to a wonderful 70 from just 41 balls. Together, the pair amassed a stunning 158-run partnership in just shy of 14 overs. With both players rolling along, Menlopark posted a staggering 245/2 against a very good side.

Affies, however, saw that total as a challenge, not as a death sentence. They got away to a flying start, with Lukas Janse van Rensburg (33, 19b) and Jorich van Zyl (32, 16b) combining for an aggressive opening stand of 70-run from just 34 deliveries.

Janco Purchase and Ruben Groenewald also made good use of the batting-friendly conditions to put the Menlopark attack under severe pressure. Purchase made the Menlo fielders chase leather, racing to a blistering 59, while Groenewald was every bit as destructive, contributing 58.

With Affies well on their way to what would’ve been an astounding victory, GN van Zyl turned the tide with a remarkable spell. He bagged the first five-for of the tournament, snaring an econmocial and telling 5/25 in his four overs.

His heroics meant Menlopark managed to defend their mammoth total, barely, with Affies finishing on 239 for 9 after a courageous run chase.

Summarised scorecard:

Menlopark 245/2 (Steve Stolk 152*, Willem Sevenster 70; Nicolai Bester 1/26); Affies 239/9 (Janco Purchase 59, Ruben Groenewald 58, Lukas Janse van Rensburg 33, Jorich van Schalkwyk 32, Divan de Villiers 26; GN vs Zyl 5/25, Pierre de Villiers 2/41). Menlopark won by six runs.

 

Marcus Bakker delivered one of the great T20 schoolboy innings on day two of the prestigious Westvaal North-South T20 tournament. The all-rounder from Waterkloof set Camp Discovery alight with a barely unbelievable 169 not out from just 66 deliveries.

Flying along at the staggering strike rate of 256, Bakker’s innings included eight fours and an eye-opening 19 sixes. This meant that an astonishing 146 of his runs came in boundaries. Bakker’s innings is also the highest ever recorded at the tournament.

Divan Behrens played second fiddle with 29 from 25, showing his maturity as he worked the ball about to get the destructive Bakker on strike as much as possible.

Amidst the chaos, Paarl Boys’ High‘s Marco Cato bagged the impressive figures of 2/44 in his outing with the ball.

Although the Klofies lost a little momentum towards the end of their innings, Bakker’s heroics powered them to a mammoth total of 237/4 in their 20 overs.

Unfortunately for the men from the Paarl, there were to be no heroics on their side as they struggled from the outset to find a response to the big Waterkloof total. Dian van der Westhuizen put up his hand with a wonderful 46 from 27 balls, while Christiaan Wege also weighed in with a quickfire 29.

Jacques van Niekerk proved to be the main threat with the ball for the Klofies, claiming two scalps for only 10 runs. Behrens got back in on the action as he, too, claimed two wickets to help restrict Paarl Boys’ High to 150/8 in their 20, a substantial 87 runs short of their required target.

St Stithians cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Westville. After coming up short against Affies earlier in the day, Saints were desperate to get back to winning ways.

Westville wielded the willow first, a situation that seemed to suit Max Robertson perfectly. In at three, he led the way for the Griffins with a wonderfully constructed 61 from 36 balls. Alongside the left-hander, Nicandro Kristna chipped in with a valuable cameo of 35 not out as the pair’s contributions helped Westville to a competitive total of 177/7 in their 20 overs.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius was the mainstay for Saints with the ball, sending down four overs and capturing 3/16.

Unfortunately for Westville, the in-form top order from St Stithians simply had too much firepower. Aiden van der Westhuizen scored his second half-century for the day with a dominating 61 from just 29 balls, which included six sixes. Richard Seletswane continued his wonderful form as he, too, brought up yet another fifty, contributing a blistering 53 from 23 deliveries, to see Saints cruise to victory.

Rondebosch‘s Jordan Neill proved his class with bat in hand against Affies, scoring a second consecutive century. He backed up his 130 not out against Westville with a classy 119 from only 61 deliveries.

Bongile Mfunelwa, meanwhile, continued to enhance his strong run tally for the tournament with an innings of 42. It seems as if Neill and Mfunelwa enjoy each other’s company as they combined for a 186-run partnership against Affies and a stand of 127 in their win over Westville.

For Affies, it was their stalwart Ruben Groenewald who stepped up to the plate with a blistering 53 off just 23 balls. Janco Purchase also chipped in with a powerful 35 and, together with important cameos from the rest of the Affie batters, the Pretoria side mustered a very competitive total of 212/7.

The Neill and Mfunela combination, however, proved to be a winning recipe for the Capetonians, who recorded a convincing victory with eight wickets to spare.

Summarised scorecards:

Waterkloof 237/4 (Marcus Bakker 169*, Divan Behrens 29; Marco Cato 2/44); Paarl Boys’ High 150/8 (Dian van der Merwe 46, Christiaan Wege 29; Jacques van Niekerk 2/10, Behrens 2/44). Waterkloof won by 87 runs.

Westville 177/7 (Max Robertson 67, Nicandro Kristna 35*, Aryan Gopalan 28; Lhuan-dre Pretorius 3/16, Kwena Maphaka 2/47); St Stithians 182/3 (Emile Odendaal 61, Richard Seletswane 52, Pretorius 26; Gopalan 2/40). St Stithian won by seven wickets.

Affies 212/7 (Ruben Groenewald 53, Janco Purchase 35, Jorich van Schalkwyk 34, Divan de Villiers 33, Lukas Janse van Rensburg 24; Raeeq Daniels 2/31, David Simon 2/33); Rondebosch 217/2 (Jordan Neill 119, Bongile Mfunelwa 42, Noah Heath 31; Andru van Zyl 1/34). Rondebosch won by eight wickets.

Wynberg Boys’ High 146/9 (Beni Hansen 28, Shadley Allie 26, Divan Linde 25; Wouter Kielblock 3/18, Rehan Lues 3/33, Zandre Boezaardt); Hoërskool Centurion 147/7 (Divan van Tonder 29, Judah Phillips 28, Pieter Naude 24, Morne Prinsloo 22, Elgun Broecker 22; Divan Linde 3/15). Centurion won by three wickets.

Willem Sevenster‘s match-winning performance of 113 from only 50 deliveries helped Menlopark cruise to a thumping 150-run victory over SACS in their last pool game in the Westvaal North-South T20 Tournament on Friday.

Opening the batting, Sevenster went out with the intent to take the game to the bowlers.

The wicketkeeper-batsman played some exquisite shots, but the feature of his innings was his ability to hit straight. His knock, played at a tremendous strike rate of 226, included 12 fours and a whopping seven sixes.

Marco Strydom and Pierre de Villiers continued the carnage, with both batting at a run rate of around 200. Strydom, too, peppered the straight boundaries, smashing 36 from just 19 balls. The southpaw, De Villiers, showed an appetite for the spinners, contributing a quickfire 32 in the latter stages of the innings, to help Menlopark tally an intimidating 239/8.

Unfortunately, facing a required run rate of 12 runs per over to win, the visitors from the South crumbled to a disappointing 89 all out. Oliver Whitehead tried valiantly with a counter-attacking 20 from 15 deliveries, but a decisive spell of 4/16 from Steve Stolk sank the SACS hopes of a remarkable victory.

Potchefstroom Volkskool bounced back in style after suffering defeat against Centurion earlier on day two by handing a strong Selborne College outfit a 43-run loss. Louis van Wyk was tremendous with the willow in hand, launching boundaries to all corners of the ground as he pummelled 103 not out from just 45 balls, which set the tone for the Volkies’ batsmen to come.

Berno de Klerk also got in on the act with a significant knock of his own, smashing 86 from 51 deliveries, to lift Volkskool to a massive total of 239 for 9 from their 20 overs.

Selborne, however, weren’t about to lay down and accept defeat. At the crease, they too got off to a good start. Jacques van der Merwe led the charge with a blistering 43 from just 15 balls. Together with Ben van der Merwe (38, 17b) and Ethan Currin (37, 26b) the side from the Eastern Cape put up a valiant fight.

But Berno de Klerk followed up his outstanding batting display with a wonderful spell of 3/41, which played a crucial role in holding the Selbornians to 196 all out.

Grey High came out on top in a one-wicket thriller, won off the last ball of the game, against St Andrew’s School. Kian Cambier‘s 49 from 31 and an important 34 from Marco Giaconi at the top of the order proved pivotal to Grey High’s successful chase of 175 for victory.

For Saints, it was the in-form André du Preez and captain, Connor Nel, who set the tone with the bat. Du Preez notched up a wonderful half-century scoring at more than a run a ball, while Nel’s 50 came off just 29 deliveries as they totalled 174 for 9.

Opening bowler Andrew Sobiech threw the cat amongst the pigeons with an impressive spell of 4/42 to undermine Grey’s run chase. Unfortunately for the Bloemfontein school, it was not quite enough as Grey High sneaked across the line to claim a hard-fought victory.

Summarised Scorecards:

Menlopark 239/8 (Willem Sevenster 113, Marco Strydom 36, Pierre de Villiers 32; Fayyaad Davids 3/49); SACS 89 (Oliver Whitehead 20; Steve Stolk 4/16, Tiaan Serfontein 2/20). Menlopark won by 150 runs.

Potchefstroom Volkskool 239/9 (Louis van Wyk 103*, Berno de Klerk 86, Kobus Pienaar 22; Thomas Marais 2/54); Selborne College 196/10 (Jacques van der Merwe 43, Ben van der Merwe 38, Ethan Currin 37, Aron Senekal 35; Berno de Klerk 3/41, Dian Liebenberg 2/31). Potchefstroom Volskool won by 43 runs.

St Andrew’s School 174/9 (André du Preez 50, Connor Nel 50, Schalk Liebenberg 36; Ben Ristow 2/23, Tristan Grudling 2/44); Grey High School 175/9 (Kian Cambier 49, Marco Giaconi 34; Andrew Sobiech 4/42, Dakalo Leketa 2/15, Conor Nel 2/31). Grey High School won by one wicket.

 

Menlopark fired off a serious warning shot to their opposition in the Westvaal North-South T20 tournament on Friday morning. The hosts chased down a challenging target of 201 set by Saint Andrew’s School with relative ease.

Marco Strydom (34, 22b) and Marcus de Aguiar (34, 17b*) led the charge with solid contributions.

Alongside the pair, Willem Sevenster chipped in with a blistering cameo to swing the momentum in favour of Menlopark. He sent the ball to all parts of the ground, racing to his 30 from just 13 balls.

Opening bowler JC Young led the Saints’ bowling attack, claiming the impressive figures of 2/30.

Meanwhile, Schalk Liebenberg set the standard for the Saint Andrew’s batsmen, compiling a wonderful 78 from just 42 deliveries. He found substantial support from Andre du Preez, who played equally well for his 53. Together, they helped the side from Bloemfontein post 200 for 8 in their 20 overs.

Waterkloof cruised to a thumping victory of eight wickets against Hoërskool Nelspruit. With Nellies batting first, the Klofie bowlers needed to hit their straps early and so they did. GJ de Swardt shone with a return of 2/12 in his four overs, while Franco Cronje returned similar figures, but from two overs.

With those two setting the tone, Waterkloof exerted a vice-like grip on the Nelspruit batting to restrict the opposition to a meagre 88/8 from their 20 overs.

Divan Behrens‘ 27 from 17 deliveries and a well-played 27 from Marcus Bakker broke the backbone of the run chase. A contribution of 26 from Wian Ruthven was the final nail in the coffin as the Klofies got home with more than 10 overs to spare.

Summarised Scorecard:

St Andrew’s School 200/8 (Schalk Liebenberg 78, André du Preez 53; GN van Zyl 3/29); Menlopark 202/7 (Marco Strydom 34, Marcus de Aguiar 34*, Willem Sevenster 30, Ben Strydom 26, Pierre de Villiers 23, Wian van Deventer 21; JC Young 2/30). Menlopark won by two wickets.

Hoërskool Nelspruit 88/8 (Luke Poisson 18; GJ de Swardt 2/12, Franco Cronjé 2/12); Waterkloof 89/2 (Divan Behrens 27, Marcus Bakker 27, Wian Ruthven 26; Brendan Boucher 1/8). Waterkloof won by eight wickets.

Rehan Lues continued his impressively destructive batting to help Hoërskool Centurion overcome last year’s runners-up, Potchefstroom Volkskool, by a comprehensive six wickets on day two of the Westvaal North-South T20.

Lues smashed an eye-opening 60 from only 21 deliveries in the Pretoria side’s successful chase of the 172 runs they required for victory. On Thursday, he blasted an equally impressive 71 from only 24 balls against Selborne College. Batting at a strike rate of 286, the power hitter’s innings included three fours and six sixes.

Dian van Tonder lent solid assistance, with his constructive 40 from 38 laying the platform for Lues to do the damage. Charl Prinsloo also played his part with a belligerent 38 from only 17 balls at the top of the order.

For Potch Volkies, Diaan van der Merwe shone with the bat, top scoring with a vital 46 not out, which came off only 33 deliveries. Berno de Klerk (44, 35b) and Louis van Wyk (42, 18b) helped boost the Potchefstroom visitors to a total of 171/9 from their 20 overs.

Unfortunately for Volkies, they couldn’t withstand the onslaught from Lues as Centurion cruised home with 3.2 overs to spare.

Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool came out on top against a very strong St Stithians outfit.

Divan de Villiers continued his astonishing form with yet another superb performance. The all-rounder backed up his unbeaten 80 on Thursday with 31 in Friday morning’s match. He also bagged another three scalps to take his tally to seven in only two outings in the tournament thus far.

It was Jorich van Zyl, however, who stole the limelight, top scoring with a-run-a ball 39, which helped his side across the line.

Emile Odendaal was the mainstay for the side from Johannesburg, blasting his way to a classy 50 from 32 deliveries. Together with Odendaal, Lhuan-dre Pretorius displayed his power once again and contributed a well-played 34 at the top of the order.

Ethan Jacobs did his utmost to stop the Affies’ batsmen with the ball in hand, but the local lads made it over the line with one ball to spare and four wickets left in the bank.

Summarised scorecards:

Potchefstroom Volkskool 171/9 (Diaan van der Merwe 46*, Berno de Klerk 44, Louis van Wyk 42; Zandre Boezardt 2/27, Logan Fourie 2/34); Hoërskool Centurion 172/4 (Rehan Pretorius 60*, Dian van Tonder 40*, Charl Prinsloo 38; Dian Liebenberg 2/18). Centurion won by four wickets.

St Stithians 155/7 (Emile Odendaal 50, Lhuan-dre Pretorius 34, Richard Seletswane 28; Divan de Villiers 3/39); Affies 161/7 (Jorich van Schalkwyk 39, Divan de Villiers 31; Ethan Jacobs 3/26). Affies won by four wickets.

 

Divan de Villiers proved to be the difference for Affies as they opened their account with a 20-run victory over Westville Boys’ High on the first day of the Westvaal North-South Tournament.

De Villiers, batting at three, set the tone with the bat, blasting his way to a crucial unbeaten 80 from only 45 balls. He was supported well by Ruben Groenewald, who struck 56 from just 27 deliveries, and Janco Purchase, whose 34 came at a strike rate of 200.

Affies’ big hitting brought them 17 sixes and 13 fours as they posted an intimidating 221/4 in their 20 overs.

Left-arm spinner Roxton Payne was the pick of the Westville bowlers, his figures an impressive 1/27 from four, amidst the Affies’ onslaught.

With a difficult task in front of them, the Westville batters weren’t going to die wondering. Opener Max Robertson was exceptional, taking the fight to the well-balanced Affies’ bowling attack. He smashed a scintillating 98 from only 48 deliveries, including six fours and a whopping nine sixes, at a staggering strike rate of 204.

However, it was De Villiers who delivered the magic once again. With Westville poised to chase down the 222 required for victory, he stepped up to the plate to knock over 4/21 in his four overs, which was instrumental in holding Westville to 201/9 in their response.

Paarl Boys’ High secured a thumping victory of 53 runs over Hoërskool Nelspruit at Menlopark. Christiaan Wege set the stage for their victory, making 64 from 58 balls at the top of the order to steer the Capetonians to a respectable 166/8.

Nelspruit’s batsmen struggled in their reply. However, there were promising signs of a return to form for Jayden Meyer. The opener seemed to be batting on a different wicket to his team-mates, making 52 at a shade under a run a ball, while all around him the other Nelspruit batsmen battled to come to terms with the Boishaai attack.

Aden Batt spearheaded the Paarl team’s effort in the field, claiming a superb 4/15 from his four overs. Batt’s spell, along with valuable contributions from the rest of the bowlers, meant that Nellies tallied only a meagre 113/8 in their 20 overs.

Last year’s runners-up, Potchefstroom Volkskool, got off to an indifferent start against Wynberg Boys’ High.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first, Volkies lost their stalwart, Ludwich Schuld, to the first ball of the game. However, Louis van Wyk stepped up to the plate with an important 37. The Liebenberg duo, Attie (27, 18b) and Dian (24, 22b), chipped in with valuable contributions to help the Potchefstroom boys reach 156/7 in their 20 overs.

Wynberg enjoyed a solid start to their run chase, with Paul James (37, 31b) and Kyle Williams (22, 30b) sharing an opening stand of 61. However, after losing the opening pair, the momentum swung back in favour of the Volkies.

Kobus Pienaar, with 2/22, led the way with the ball, and good support from his fellow bowlers helped Volkskool restrict Wynberg to 144/9 in their 20, to pull out an important 12-run victory in their opening Pool A match.

Summarised Scorecards:

Affies 221/4 (Divan de Villiers 80, Ruben Groenewald 56, Janco Purchase 34, Lukas Janse van Rensburg 24; Roxton Payne 1/27); Westville Boys’ High 201/9 (Max Robertson 98, Blake Simpson 24, Shaun McGough 24; De Villiers 4/21, Heinrich Muller 2/38). Affies won by 20 runs.

Paarl Boys’ High 166/8 (Christiaan Wege 68, Johan Wege 31, JJ van der Sandt 30, Christiaan Bourbon Leftley 21; Davico Kruger 1/23); Hoërskool Nelspruit 113/8 (Jayden Meyer 52; Aden Batt 4/15). Paarl Boys’ High won by 53 runs.

Potchefstroom Volkskool 156/7 (Louis van Wyk 37, Attie Liebenberg 27, Dian Liebenberg 24, Themba Sontjane 22; Yaaseen Moos 2/21, Divan Linde 2/28); Wynberg Boys’ High 144/9 (Paul James 37, Kyle Williams 22; Kobus Pienaar 2/22). Potchefstroom Volkskool won by 12 runs.