{"id":89393,"date":"2026-01-29T19:26:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=89393"},"modified":"2026-01-29T19:26:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:26:25","slug":"middelburg-aims-to-tighten-its-grip-on-the-top-of-the-log-in-lichtenburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=89393","title":{"rendered":"Middelburg aims to tighten its grip on the top of the log in Lichtenburg"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Eduan
Eduan Strydom, of Ho\u00ebrskool Middelburg, in full flow during the Mpumalanga Premier League in 2025. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With Ho\u00ebrskool Middelburg<\/strong> on a roll, the other five sides in the C Section of the Finsbury League<\/strong> find themselves playing catch-up ahead of the third of the five rounds on Saturday<\/p>\n

With a strong, well-balanced line-up, Middies<\/strong> <\/em>surged to the top of the standings after an emphatic victory over Ho\u00ebrskool Zwartkop<\/strong> last weekend.<\/p>\n

Beyond tightening their grip on first place in the C Section, their 318-run demolition of Zwarries<\/strong><\/em> also saw their big guns rediscover their form. Khaya Majola<\/strong> star Eduan Strydom<\/strong>‘s magnificent 183 was the highest individual score recorded thus far in the Noordvaal in 2026.<\/p>\n

Alongside him, another familiar name, Gavin Genis<\/strong>, has also found his rhythm, smashing 171 runs from just 66 balls in his last two innings.<\/p>\n

The duo has sent a huge warning in flashing red lights to the Ho\u00ebrskool Lichtenburg <\/strong>bowling attack that awaits them on Saturday.<\/p>\n

They’re currently winless, but a victory for all-rounder Jurgen Hesse<\/strong> and his side would be a huge boost for Liggies<\/strong><\/em>‘ campaign, and it would give them some breathing room as the promotion-relegation matches draw nearer.<\/p>\n

Zwartkop, who will be hurting after last weekend’s wipeout, has home advantage against the only other unbeaten side in the section, Ho\u00ebrskool Dinamika<\/strong>, of Alberton.<\/p>\n

Dinamika’s two victories owed a lot to valuable contributions from their lower-order batsmen. They don’t boast a star-studded line-up and have rather relied on balanced team performances to deliver good results.\u00a0The all-round experience of Branko Steenberg<\/strong>, a regular in the 1st XI for several years, however, is a big asset.<\/p>\n

For Zwarries, Wynand Frylick<\/strong> will be a key performer. His middle-order batting and bowling will need to fire if they are to rein in a confident Dinamika outfit in Centurion.<\/p>\n

In the capital of Limpopo, Ho\u00ebrskool Pietersburg<\/strong> welcomes Ho\u00ebrskool Centurion <\/strong>for Pieties<\/strong><\/em>‘ first Finsbury fixture on their home ground.<\/p>\n

Pietersburg won against Lichtenburg their last time out, thus staying within reach of the log leaders. Khaya Majola<\/strong> all-rounder Stephan Swanepoel<\/strong> leads a strong and experienced batting line-up, which also features AJ Galloway<\/strong> and Hanru Marias<\/strong>, who are both in their third year of 1st XI cricket.<\/p>\n

Centurion heads to Polokwane armed with the all-round skills of Morn\u00e9 Prinsloo<\/strong>, the younger brother of Charl Prinsloo<\/strong> of the Northern Cape Heat<\/strong>, and Morn\u00e9 Venter<\/strong>, who will need to shine if the visitors are to topple Pieties<\/strong><\/em>, who are usually a formidable proposition on their home ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Ho\u00ebrskool Middelburg on a roll, the other five sides in the C Section of the Finsbury League find themselves playing catch-up ahead of the third of the five rounds on Saturday With a strong, well-balanced line-up, Middies surged to the top of the standings after an emphatic victory over Ho\u00ebrskool Zwartkop last weekend. Beyond […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":89471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/89471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}