{"id":90112,"date":"2026-02-08T15:08:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T13:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=90112"},"modified":"2026-02-08T15:08:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T13:08:38","slug":"some-breathing-space-for-hts-middelburg-after-a-victory-in-tzaneen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=90112","title":{"rendered":"Some breathing space for HTS Middelburg after a victory in Tzaneen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cricket<\/p>\n

Stellar performances from Henco Britz<\/strong> and Armand Kotze<\/strong> gave Ho\u00ebr Tegniese Skool (HT) Middelburg<\/strong> some much-needed breathing space following a commanding bonus-point victory over Merensky Landbou Akademie<\/strong> in Tzaneen on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The win means that HTS is now well-placed to avoid the promotion\/relegation fixture scheduled for 21 February. If they avoid that game, they’ll also retain their place in the Finsbury League<\/strong>‘s D Section.<\/p>\n

Batting first at Merensky, the visitors produced their best performance at the crease this season, posting an imposing 253 all before bowling out Plasies<\/strong><\/em> for just 84 in reply.<\/p>\n

Britz was the backbone of Middelburg’s innings, compiling a well-crafted 79 around which others could build. Kotze, however, proved to be the decisive figure with an outstanding all-round display that dictated the outcome of the contest.<\/p>\n

Batting alongside Britz, he struck a fine 68, but he made an even bigger impact with the ball, capturing 4\/30 from 7.4 overs.<\/p>\n

Brussow de Wet<\/strong> (2\/11) and Hugo Bierman<\/strong> (2\/14), who also chipped in with 21 runs towards the HTS Middelburg total, shared a further four wickets as Merensky struggled to build any meaningful partnerships.<\/p>\n

In Heidelberg, the Black Caps<\/strong><\/em> of Ho\u00ebrskool Ben Vorster<\/strong> were unable to turn the tables on Heidelberg Volkskool<\/strong>, going down by four wickets. Quentin Dietrichsen<\/strong> starred for Volkies<\/strong><\/em>, claiming 2\/11 with the ball before scoring a crucial 47 with the bat.<\/p>\n

Batting first, Ben Vorster mustered 185 all out, led by opener Sontag Ramatsoma’s<\/strong> 42. Dietrichsen’s contribution, together with an unbeaten 38 from Vaughn Steynvaart<\/strong>, ultimately guided the hosts home despite a valiant effort from Dumisani Manyama<\/strong>, who claimed five of the six Heidelberg wickets to fall for just 34 runs.<\/p>\n

In Klerksdorp, Ho\u00ebrskool Dr Malan<\/strong> maintained their unbeaten record with a hard-fought 58-run victory over Ho\u00ebrskool Wesvalia<\/strong>, despite tallying only a modest 152 all out.<\/p>\n

After Michael Kinnear<\/strong>‘s devastating spell of 5\/38 had left the visitors reeling, Giangi Morrico<\/strong> revived the Dokkies<\/strong><\/em>‘ innings with a defiant 32.<\/p>\n

Although Dr Malan’s Heinrich Jansen van Rensburg<\/strong> failed with the bat, after scoring three centuries in succession, he made his presence felt with a decisive spell of 3\/8. Jacques Nel<\/strong>, with 2\/4, and Milan Nel<\/strong>, with 2\/9, followed suit, sharing four wickets between them for just 14 runs.<\/p>\n

A dramatic collapse during which seven wickets fell for only 22 runs proved decisive, with Wessies<\/strong><\/em> crashing to 94 all out.<\/p>\n

Summarised scorecards<\/strong><\/p>\n

HTS Middelburg 253\/10 <\/strong>(Henco Britz 79, Armand Kotze 68, Extras 34, Hugo Bierman 21; Altus Vorster 3\/41, Yogi Brahmbatt 2\/10, Schalk Rossouw 2\/42);\u00a0Merensky 84\/10 <\/strong>(JP Botha 20, Xander Botha 20; Armand Kotze 4\/30, Brussouw De Wet 2\/11, Hugo Bierman 2\/14).\u00a0HTS Middelburg won by 169 runs.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ben Vorster 185\/10 <\/strong>(Sontag Ramatsoma 42, Extras 34, Cristiaan Duvenhage 29, Kulani Mnisi 29*, Dirk Nortman 21; Marlo Schoeman 2\/2, <\/span>Quentin Dietrechesen 2\/11, <\/span>Kehan Baird 2\/48);\u00a0Heidelberg Volkskool 186\/6\u00a0<\/strong>(Quentin Dietrechesen 47, Vaughn Steynvaart 38*, Extras 33, Marlo Schoeman 26; <\/span>Dumisani Manyama 5\/34).\u00a0Heidelberg Volkskool won by four wickets.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Malan 152\/10 <\/strong>(Giangi Morrico 32, Damian du Plessis 23; Michael Kinnear 5\/38, Ethan Walker 2\/34);\u00a0Wesvalia 94\/10 <\/strong>(Johanco Nel 29; Heinrich Jansen van Rensburg 3\/8, Jacques Nel 2\/4, Milan Nel 2\/9). Dr Malan won by 58 runs.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stellar performances from Henco Britz and Armand Kotze gave Ho\u00ebr Tegniese Skool (HT) Middelburg some much-needed breathing space following a commanding bonus-point victory over Merensky Landbou Akademie in Tzaneen on Saturday. The win means that HTS is now well-placed to avoid the promotion\/relegation fixture scheduled for 21 February. If they avoid that game, they’ll also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90112","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\/90112","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=90112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}