Blog

Bad weather, which led to a two-hour delay, and competition for the final were the order of the day at the ITEC Grey College Water Polo Tournament on Saturday in Bloemfontein.

As had happened on Friday, bad lightning halted play for several hours, which resulted in late starts for the semi-finals’ showdowns involving Selborne College, Northwood, Affies, and Grey High School.

The delay didn’t seem to have any negative impact on the final four teams as they brought their A-games to the contests which would decide the finalists.

Selborne College and Affies entered the semi-finals as the only teams unbeaten after breezing through the pool stages and securing victories against Jeppe and Glenwood respectively in the quarterfinals.

Northwood, on the other hand, edged Pretoria Boys High 6-5, while Grey High broke the hearts of the hosts, beating Grey College 13-10.

There was little to separate Northwood and Selborne in the first of the semi-finals. The sides were neck-and-neck and went into half-time level at 2-2, courtesy of goals by Northwood’s Morne Earle and Selborne skipper, Liam Hansen.

The defending champions however, flipped the script in the final two chukkas. They scored six goals and conceded only three, with Hansen completing his hattrick, while a brace by Armand Van Rooyen also added to their 8-5 victory.

The second semi-final saw last year’s runners-up, Affies, down Grey High in the last match of the day.

Affies began Saturday was a tough 13-10 win over Jeppe in their final pool match. They comfortably accounted for Glenwood in the quarterfinals to keep the unbeaten record intact. Thus, it was no surprise when they booked themselves a place in the final by defeating Gqeberha’s Grey High 11-6.

On Sunday, they’ll aim to reverse their 5-11 defeat to Selborne in the 2023 final. The match takes place at 13:00 on Sunday.

Northwood will face Grey High in the third/fourth play-off match, while Jeppe and Grey College will scrap it out for fifth and sixth. It’s Stirling versus Glenwood for seventh and eighth.  The action begins at 08:00 with the ninth/10^th play-off between Pretoria Boys’ High and Pearson.

All the matches will be live on SuperSport Schools.

Day 3: Results

Affies 13-10 Jeppe 
Selborne College 18-2 Pearson High School
Grey High 17-9 Glenwood High School
Stirling High School 12-9 Pearson High School
Affies 19-7 Glenwood High School
Selborne College 13-6 Jeppe
Grey High 13-10 Grey College
Northwood 6-5 Pretoria Boys high
Jeppe 9(4)-9(3) Pretoria Boys High
Grey College 16-7 Glenwood High School
Selborne College 8-5 Northwood
Affies 11-6 Grey High

Day 4, Sunday, 4 February @Grey College

08:00 – Pretoria Boys’ High vs Pearson 31; 09:00 – Glenwood vs Stirling; 10:00 – Grey College vs Jeppe; 12:00 – Northwood vs Grey High; 13:00 – Affies vs Selborne College

Westville Boys’ High visited St Charles College on Saturday, intent on adding another victory to their sparkling record in 2024. The Griffin were successful in that endeavour, winning by 41 runs.

Playing on The Oval at St Charles, they made a poor start, stumbling to 16/2 in the fifth over. Captain Nicandro Kistna battled hard and patiently, but he was the third batsman to fall, out for eight from 28, with the total on 49.

Roxton Payne made only 11 and not long after his departure, Kaeden McAllister, the visitors’ second highest scorer, was caught by Covhan Baaitjies off the bowling of Kaiyuran Naidoo for 32.

A telling seventh-wicket partnership of 40 runs between Caleb van Loenen and Sekou Shangase lifted Westville from 85/6 to 125/7. Dayalan Boyce then helped Shangase add a further 18 runs before he was dismissed for 11.

Josh Beck came to the crease next and immediately took charge, smashing 29 from only 15 balls, including four fours and a six, in a telling ninth wicket stand of 33 with Shangase.

The last man in was Heath Stott, but Shangase farmed the strike and went on to achieve the highest score of the innings.

He was the last man out, having helped Westville to 201, after scoring 43 from 67 deliveries, with three fours and a six. He and Stott, who finished on one from four balls, had put on 25 for the last wicket.

Rowen Rajah, who took the new ball with Tristan Montile, was the pick of the Saints’ attack, with a haul of 4/46 from 9.4 overs.

Montile slathered on the pressure, picking up 1/17 in seven, while Kaiyuran Naidoo, with 2/26, and Covhan Baaitjies, with 2/47, did well against the middle and lower order.

St Charles made a bright start to their reply, with Cian Fortmann and Thando Zama putting on 51 in only 8.4 overs before Fortmann was caught by Chad van Breda off the bowling of Nicandro Kistna for an impactful 39 from 32 balls, which featured seven fours.

Saints lost two more wickets in quick succession to fall to 59/3, but Zama and Kwanele Nqayi then added 45 before Zama was dismissed for a patient 28, which had come from 100 balls.

Another wicket went down without the addition of a run, but Nqayi and Matthew Gerber lifted the total to 139 before Gerber was the sixth man out, having weighed in with 23 from 25, with three fours.

Unfortunately for the home team, Gerber’s removal sparked the beginning of the end. Only 21 runs were accrued for the last five wickets as the St Charles’ run chase collapsed, leaving the Pietermaritzburg side all out for 160, some way off the victory target of 202.

Nqayi, the ninth batsman out, became the joint-top scorer in the innings, alongside Cian Fortmann, with 39. He had struck six fours in a 67-ball stay.

Kaeden McAllister did a fine job with the ball for Westville, claiming the crucial wicket of Saints’ skipper Marcell Wellman before cleaning up the tail later in the game. Left-arm spinner Roxton Payne continued a season in which he has been a consistent and important contributor to the Griffin’s success, by snaring 3/39.

Westville captain, Nicandro Kistna, after his opening bowlers came in for some stick, made the initial breakthrough by dismissing Fortmann, and he followed that up with the wicket of Rico Honiball to set his team on the path to victory.

Westville Boys’ High 201/10 (Sekou Shangase 43, Kaeden McAllister 32, Caleb van Loenen 31; Rowen Rajah 4/46, Kaiyuran Naidoo 2/26, Covhan Baaitjies 2/47); St Charles College 160/10 (Cian Fortmann 39, Kwanele Nqayi 39, Thando Zama 28; Kaeden McAllister 3/26, Roxton Payne 3/39, Nicandro Kistna 2/24) Westville Boys’ High won by 41 runs

Vihan Pretorius, the younger brother of SA u19 star Lhuan-dré Pretorius, led Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over their old rivals, King Edward VII School, in Pretoria on Saturday.

Just a day after his brother made 71 runs against Sri Lanka to secure South Africa a place in the semi-finals of the ICC u19 World Cup, Vihan, too, tallied a wonderful 71 runs from just 51 deliveries.

His innings, combined with an unbeaten contribution of 39 runs from Divan de Villiers, meant that the side from Pretoria comfortably chased down a target of 144 runs.

Jorich van Schalkwyk, put his all-round skills on show by leading the Affies’ bowling attack. He spun a web around the KES batsmen, claiming three wickets for only 12 runs. Wian Munnik (3/35) also got in on the act, while Armin Snyman (2/24) chipped in with two wickets of his own.

For KES, Callum Ritchie, was the pick of their batsmen. He grafted hard under tremendous pressure to top score with 39. Michael Holmes was the only other KES batsman to make a noteworthy contribution, which was worth 22 runs.

Christian Sabela gave it his all with the ball for KES and was their only successful bowler, returning figures of 1/13 from five overs.

Armaan Manack’s exceptional 177 runs from just 151 deliveries put St David’s Marist Inanda in a commanding position in their fixture against St Alban’s College on Saturday. The opening batsman’s innings included a whopping 21 fours and two sixes.

Another good contribution of 71 runs from Matthew West helped the side from Johannesburg amass a mammoth total of 318/7 from their 50 overs.

On a day that belonged to the batsman, Boago Motlhabedi, shone for St Alban’s, claiming figures of two wickets for 35 runs from nine overs.

Despite facing a daunting run chase, St Alban’s stayed in the fight with the bat and caused St David’s some discomfort as Head Boy and opening batsman Zack Richardson (88*, 75b*) and Patrick Weir (41*, 47b) got on top of the St David’s attack before lightning put an unfortunate end to the match.

Summarised scorecards:

King Edward VII School 143 (Callum Ritchie 39, Michael Holmes 22; Jorich van Schalkwyk 3/12, Wian Munnik 3/35, Armin Snyman 2/24); Affies 147/3 (Vihan Pretorius 71, Divan de Villiers 35*; Christiaan Sebela 1/13). Affies won by seven wickets.

St David’s Marist 318/7 (Armaan Manack 177, Matthew West 71, Morteza Manack 23; Boago Motlhabedi 2/35, Patrick Weir 2/45); St Alban’s College 160/2 (Zack Richardson 88*, Patrick Weir 41*; Jason Rowles 2/49). Match abandoned due to lightning.

Hoërskool Noordheuwel shocked St John’s College, winning by four wickets on Saturday, to bring down the curtain on a difficult week for the Johannesburg school, who have been without the services of their injured influential all-rounder, Luke Francis.

After winning the toss, Norries opted to bowl first and that decision paid quick dividends. The Krugersdorp school’s opening bowlers, Damien Hopkins (2/29) and JJ Basson (2/42), struck early to have St John’s struggling on 3/2 after just two overs.

Darshik Lutchman kept his composure, however, to lead a fightback for the visitors. Batting at three, he accumulated a well-played 61 from 103 deliveries.

He found good support from Oliver Tait (50, 49b), who also notched a half-century and captain Joe MacRobert (32).

Ruan Strauss swung the momentum back in Norries’ favour, capturing 3/38, while Marius Penning made a telling contribution with his return of 2/33 as St John’s were limited to 226 all out.

Duan van Aswegen (68, 74b) and Pieter Bezuidenhout (53, 86b) gave the Noordheuwel innings an impressive start, combining well for a 94-run opening stand, before a brilliant run out by Lutchman provided a much-needed breakthrough.

Alec Loveland snapped up 2/38, but Dylan Potgieter (31) and Ethan Smit (28), saw Norries across the line in the 46th over to claim a big scalp for the team from Krugersdorp.

St John’s had begun their weekend with a five-wicket loss to the touring SACS 1st XI in a T20 clash on Friday.

The hosts batted first but were unable to get on top of a good bowling performance by the Cape Town school. Reece Theunis did the most damage for the Capetonians, claiming three wickets for just 13 runs. Nicholas Nejthardt (2/14) and Ulrich Roth (2/18) provided good support, sharing four wickets between them.

Oliver Tait (31) and Darshick Lutchman (24) led a St John’s recovery, which helped their side to 109/9 from their 20 overs.

Knowing SACS was chasing a very average total, Reza Salie (54, 49b) played aggressively, scoring at more than a run a ball, to record a well-played and decisive half-century. His contribution set SACS up for the win, which was duly delivered by Rowan Taplin (22) and Litha Kraai (20).

David Ireland (2/18) and Malan du Plessis (2/28) performed well with the balls for St John’s, but they didn’t have enough runs on the board.

Summarised scorecards

St John’s College 226 (Darshik Lutchman 61, Oliver Tait 50, Joe MacRobert 32, Alec Loveland 29; Ruan Strauss 3/38, Damien Hopkins 2/29, Marius Penning 2/33, JJ Basson 2/42); Noordheuwel 229/6 (Duan van Aswegen 68, Pieter Bezuidenhout 53, Dylan Potgieter 31, Ethan Smit 28; Alec Loveland 2/38). Noordheuwel won by four wickets.

St John’s College 109/9 (Oliver Tait 31, Darshik Lutchman 24; Reece Theunis 3/13, Nicholas Nejthardt 2/14, Ulrich Roth 2/18); SACS 111/5 (Reza Salie 54, Rowan Taplin 22, Litha Kraai 20; David Ireland 2/18, Malan du Plessis 2/28). SACS won by five wickets.

Rondebosch Boys’ High looked to James Kirsten and their bowling attack to secure a victory over Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch on Saturday. The home side bowled and fielded well, but their batsmen were unable to capitalise on the good work done by their bowlers.

Dian Winkel was in fine form for Paul Roos. He frustrated the visitors and claimed 6/30 after Niel Barnard had removed the openers, which helped the hosts to restrict Rondebosch to 188 all out.

Declan Gillespie (33) and Josh Neill (23) combined for a vital fourth-wicket partnership to give the ‘Bosch innings some direction before Winkel got rid of both of them.

Hlumelo Mgweba contributed a well-struck 29 runs at the tail-end of the innings, smashing five boundaries, including a six, to boost his side’s total.

In reply, the Paul Roos batsmen found run scoring difficult in the face of a relentless Rondebosch onslaught.

They were swiftly reduced to 29/3 as the visitors made it clear that they were in no mood to allow their total to be passed. Kornel Swart did well to bring some stability to the Paul Roos middle order but, despite his resistance, Rondebosch kept taking wickets regularly while also smothering the hosts’ run rate.

Swart showed character to score 50 runs on a day that clearly favoured the bowlers, but it was Kirsten, the ‘Bosch bowling spearhead, who removed PRG’s top scorer, as the visitors asserted their dominance to win by a comfortable 74 runs.

Next weekend they take on their southern suburbs’ rivals, Wynberg Boys’ High, who are on a tour to Gqeberha this weekend.

On Thursday, Boland Landbou beat Charlie Hofmeyr in a tightly contested T20 battle.

Charlies owed plenty to Luan Giliomee after he carried their innings by scoring an unbeaten 54 out of their total of 88/7. His heroics proved in vain, however, as Boland reached the victory target in the 19th over to come away with a three-wicket win.

Stefan Conradie opened their innings with a solid 31, but the rest of the Landbou lineup crumbled in the face of persistent and consistent bowling by the visitors until Francois Prins stood his ground and drove Boland to victory with an unbeaten 30 runs.

Summarised Scorecards

3 February

Rondebosch Boys’ High 188 (Extras 44, Declan Gillespie 33, Hlumelo Mgweba 29, Josh Neill 23, Daniel Bosman 21; Dian Winkel 6/30, Niel Barnard 2/38); Paul Roos Gimnasium 114 (Kornel Swart 50, Extras 23; James Kirsten 4/17, Declan Gillespie 2/16). Rondebosch Boys’ High won by 74 runs.

Hoërskool Bellville 120 (Extras 35, Pieter du Toit 20; Izaiah Beukes 4/17, Domerick Owies 2/31); Piketberg 78 (Domerick Owies 31, Extras 21; André Bernhardt 3/15, Chris Roets 2/12). Hoërskool Bellville won by 42 runs.

2 February

Milnerton 180/3 (Tristan Logie 99*, Keegan van Blerk 40; Delaray 2/22); Curro Hermanus 86/5 (Nick 51; Ryan Gretschel 1/8). Milnerton won by 94 runs.

1 February

Charlie Hofmeyr 88/7 (Luan Giliomee 54*; Gunther Schmidt 1/9); Boland Landbou 92/7 (Stefan Conradie 31, Francois Prins 30*; Rossouw Matthee 2/5, Philip du Plessis 2/17, Daniel Bakkes 2/23). Boland Landbou won by three wickets.

On a day filled with stoppages, matches delayed due to lightning, and bad weather, Selborne College and Affies continued their impressive performances to remain unbeaten at the ITEC Grey College Water Polo Tournament in Bloemfontein after two days of action.

The two sides, who are in different pools, got their campaigns off to convincing wins on the opening day against Stirling High School and Pretoria Boys High respectively.

After scoring 21 goals on Thursday, Affies were aiming for another offensive onslaught against Durban’s Northwood. The side from Pretoria found the going much harder the second time out, though, with the Knights putting up stubborn resistance, which produced an entertaining show for the spectators.

Eventually, after half-time, Affies opened up a narrow two-goal advantage and stayed in front to grab a nervy 10-8 victory.

Meanwhile, the defending champions, Selborne College, were once again on song. In their first outing on Thursday, coach Storm Siebert’s side was made to work hard before they accounted for a determined Pretoria Boys High team by an 8-5 margin.

Their first encounter of day two was against their provincial rivals, Grey High, and the team from East London eased to a 9-4 win over their Gqeberha opposition.

They next took on KwaZulu-Natal’s Glenwood High, who had beaten Pearson 19-11 in their Thursday opener, and powered their way to a big 18-4 victory.

The Durban boys ran out of luck on day two, conceding a whopping 32 goals in their meetings with Selborne and Pretoria Boys High.

Meanwhile, the hosts, Grey College bounced back impressively from their 7-13 loss to Grey High in an exhibition match on the opening day. They won two of their three matches, defeating Stirling High 17-5, and Jeppe 12-11 in a thrilling clash that went down to the wire.

Stirling’s woes in the pool continued as the East London team was dominated in all three of their matches, scoring 15 times while conceding 43 goals.

Day three sees the start of the playoffs after the completion of the remaining three pool games.

The action begins with a Gauteng derby between Jeppe and Affies, followed by an Eastern Cape clash between Selborne and Pearson. In the last pool match, Glenwood will hope to turn their fortunes around when they tackle Grey High at 09:00.

All the action will be live on SuperSport Schools.

Day 2: Results

Jeppe Boys High 17-7 Stirling High
Pretoria Boys High 14-8 Glenwood
Northwood 11-6 Grey College
Selborne College 9-4 Grey High
Pretoria Boys High 17-2 Pearson High
Grey College 17-5 Stirling High
Affies 10-8 Northwood
Grey College 12-11 Jeppe Boys
Grey High 18-3 Pearson High
Selborne College 18-4 Glenwood
Northwood 9-4 Stirling High
Grey College 5-11 Affies
Grey High 11-7 Pretoria Boys High

Day 3, Saturday, 3 February @Grey College

 07:00 – Jeppe Boys High vs Affies; 08:00 – Selborne College vs Pearson High School; 09:00 – Glenwood High vs Grey High; 10:00 – 5th Pool A vs 5th Pool B; 11:00 – 1st Pool A vs 4th Pool B; 12:00 – 1st Pool B vs 4th Pool A; 13:00 – 21d Pool A vs 3rd Pool B; 14:00 – 2nd Pool B vs 3rd Pool A; 15:00 – Loser 23 vs Loser 24; 16:00 – Loser 22 vs Loser 25; 17:00 – Winner 23 vs Winner 24; 18:00 – Winner 22 vs Winner 25; 19:00 – Loser 26 vs 5th Pool A; 20:00 – Loser 27 vs 5th Pool B.

The middle-distance running during the inaugural TUT Curro Hazeldean Top 14 meeting at the Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria was something to behold.

In the 3000m race for boys u19, there were no less than six athletes that dipped under nine minutes. Xavier van der Leek (Midstream College) won the race in eight minutes and 37.59 seconds. The time would not have been enough to give Van der Leek a medal during last year’s South African Junior Championship (u20) which was won in a time of 8:19.99 by Johannes Morepe (Vorentoe).

It is however still early in the season and Van der Leek would have gained some valuable experience in this closely contested race on Wednesday. Behind Van der Leek – Kevin Hickley (Hans Moore, 8:39.07), Zane Strydom (Helpmekaar, 8:47.81), Koketso Gaborone (Tuks Sports School, 8:51.78), Divan de Vries (Affies, 8:52.78) and Lutho Timati (Curro Hazeldean, 8:59.61) all managed to dip in under nine minutes.

In the u17 race for boys, it was also a closely contested affair. Tuks Sports Schools’ Tshepang Tshivulu took the honours in eight minutes and 45.69 seconds. On his heels, Regardt Hattingh (Affies, 8:47.51) and Siya Mbeleki (8:50.04) pushed him till the end.

Kwena Maphaka has been on a tear, and another sensational performance from the left-arm speedster powered South Africa into the semi-finals of the ICC u19 Cricket World Cup on Friday.

Playing in Potchefstroom, Maphaka captured 6/21 in 8.2 overs, cutting through the Sri Lankan lineup in no time at all to hamstring their run chase from the start, which led to the islanders being dismissed in the 24th over of their innings.

It was a Youth ODI record fourth five-for for the St Stithians’ star, breaking a tie he shared with three others. It was also a record third five-wicket haul in the 2024 u19 World Cup, and his fourth five-forof the year, after he knocked over 5/25 against Afghanistan in a warm-up match in January.

Victory was of utmost importance for the hosts as they went in pursuit of a final four spot, and they turned on the style to thump the Sri Lankans by 119 runs.

Maphaka, who made his World Cup debut in the West Indies in 2022, had stolen the spotlight with his two five-wicket hauls earlier in the tournament. On Friday, he induced three catches, which were pocketed by wicketkeeper Lhuan-dré Pretorius in his first three overs to reduce the opposition to 13/3 in the fifth over.

Two more catches secured Maphaka’s five-for in his sixth over at a cost of only 18 runs.

Later, he returned to the attack and promptly ended the innings with a sixth wicket, which brought the contest to a fitting close as the home team recorded an emphatic victory. There was little doubt who the Player of the Match was.

Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to field first, but Pretorius and Steve Stolk got South Africa off to a comfortable start.

Pretorius was in top form, racing to 71 before losing his wicket in unfortunate circumstances. He was run out backing up when the ball ricocheted onto his stumps at the non-striker’s end after hitting the hand of bowler, Supun Waduge.

The Sri Lankan spinners wreaked havoc on the hosts’ middle order, snaring four wickets for 30 runs at one point, led by Waduge (2/28), while Vishwa Lahiru and Malsha Tharupathi also picked up two wickets each.

However, Riley Norton and Romashan Pillay did well to steady the ship for the young Proteas.

Pillay delivered his best knock of the tournament so far, weathering 53 deliveries and contributing 27 runs at a crucial stage of the game.

Norton’s undefeated 41 helped South Africa set Sri Lanka a target of 233 and that total soon looked sound after Maphaka muscled control of the game into the hosts’ favour with his spectacular bowling.

Following Maphaka’s onslaught, Norton ensured South Africa kept up the pressure, snapping up 4/28 as Sri Lanka buckled.

The exciting young talent, who is in his matric year at Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch, is one of only 15 players to represent South African Schools in both rugby and cricket, and only the third forward to achieve that rare feat.

Despite the dominant performance by South Africa, there were some fielding errors that they will want to address before Tuesday’s semi-final, where they are likely to come up against India, who are favoured to finish top of their group.

It was, regardless, a fantastic performance by the South African side and a special moment for Maphaka as he etched his name into the history books.

In a playoff between Namibia and Scotland, a thrilling game was decided by only three runs, with the Scots sneaking a nail-biting win.

Bahadar Esakhiel (76*) and Jamie Dunk (76) shone for Scotland as they posted 251/6.

Zacheo van Vuuren (86) and Johannes Visagie (69) drove Namibia to their highest total of the tournament in reply, but it wasn’t quite enough as they fell agonisingly short of their target.

Namibia will take on the USA to determine 16th place after the Americans lost their playoff match against Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Summarised Scorecards

Super Sixes

South Africa u19 232/8 (Lhuan-dré Pretorius 71, Riley Norton 41, Romashan Pillay 27, Steve Stolk 22; Supun Waduge 2/28, Vishwa Lahiru 2/44, Malsha Tharupathi 2/46); Sri Lanka u19 113/10 (Sharujan Shanmuganathan 29, Malsha Tharupathi 21; Kwena Maphaka 6/21, Riley Norton 4/28). South Africa u19 won by 119 runs.

Nepal u19 169/10 (Bishal Bikram KC 48, Dev Khanal 35, Extras 31; Rohanat Doullah Borson 4/19, Sheikh Paevez Jibon 3/34); Bangladesh u19 170/5 (Ariful Islam 59*, Jishan Alam 55; Subash Bhandari 5/44). Bangladesh won by five wickets.

Australia u19 266/6 (Hugh Weibgen 120, Harry Dixon 53, Oliver Peake 25*; Theo Wylie 4/42); England u19 104 (Charlie Allison 26, Ben McKinney 22; Callum Vidler 4/29, Raf MacMillan 3/16, Tom Straker 2/16). Austalia won by 110 runs (DLS Method).

16th Place Playoffs

Scotland u19 251/6 (Bahadar Esakhiel 76*, Jamie Dunk 76, Uzair Ahmad 36, Owen Gould 35; Peter-Daniel Blignaut 2/42, Zacheo van Vuuren 2/72); Namibia u19 248/6 (Zacheo van Vuuren 86, Johannes Visagie 69, Alexander Busing-Volschenk 32, Extras 26, Peter-Daniel Blignaut 20*; Ibrahim Faisal 3/58, Qasim Khan 2/49). Scotland u19 won by three runs.

United States of America u19 148 (Prannav Chettipalayam 33, Utkarsh Srivastava 30, Extras 22; Allah Mohammad Ghanzanfar 3/30, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil 2/19, Faridoon Dawoodzai 2/30); Afghanistan u19 151/7 (Naseer Khan Maroofkhil 39, Rahimullah Zurmati 37*, Arab Gul 23*, Jamshid Zadran 23; Ateendra Subramanian 3/20, Arya Garg 2/33). Afghanistan u19 won by three wickets.

Hoërskool Pietersburg sal Saterdag met groot ywer en selfvertroue na Pretoria opruk vir hul kragmeting met Hoërskool Zwartkop. Die Pieties is nog wenloos in vanjaar se reeks.

Hulle het bitter naby aan ‘n sege gekom teen ‘n kookwater Midstream College in verlede naweek se tweederonde-kragmeting.

Die Pieties se aanvangsbouler, Hanno Coetzee, sal opnuut wind in sy seile hê na ‘n puik vertoning teen die Pretorianers. Hy sal egter hierdie naweek poog om die kolf ook die praatwerk te laat doen.

Sy kollega en voorslagkolwer, AJ Galloway, sal ook uitsien daarna om homself weer tuis te maak voor die penne, na sy belowende beurt in die vorige ronde en behoort uiters gevaarlik te wees met die wilgerlat.

Philip Weterman sal sy posisie as aanvangskolwer inneem en is tot dusver lekker op dreef. Hy sal op sy vorige vertonings wil voortbou om ‘n marathonbeurt te probeer bydra.

Wynand Frylinck sal die Pietie-kolwers op hul tone hou. Frylinck is tot dusver die Zwarries se gevaarman met die bal, en sal noukeurig dopgehou moet word, vernaam op sy tuisveld.

Die Zwarries se voorste kolwer, Nicholas Conradie, spog tans met 139 lopies in die Finsbury-reeks, wat hy in slegs twee beurte teen ‘n kolfgemiddeld van 69,5 behaal het. Hy en Frylinck sal die Zwarries terug op die wenpad wil kry nadat ‘n teleurstellende vertoning met die kolf gelei het tot hul nederlaag teen Marais Viljoen in ronde twee.

Die sukkelende Ben Vorster sal ook die tog na die Jakarandastad aandurf, waar hulle teen die onoorwonne Midstream College te staan kom.

Die Tzaneeners het nie ‘n maklike taak wat voorlê na hewige nederlae in die eerste twee rondes nie.

Midstream College se Janco van Heerden sal sy lippe aflek vir nog ‘n kans om te beïndruk met die bal en die kolf. Die alsydige speler se bydraes in die oorwinning teen die Pieties sou hom hope selfvertroue gegee het.

Saam met Van Heerden sal die voorslagkolwer, Dian de Villiers, ook ‘n vername rol speel in sy span se toporde, na sy spogbeurt van 64 wat grotendeels verantwoordelik was vir Midstream se naelskraapse oorwinning in Pietersburg.

Marais Viljoen durf die vlaktes van Noordwes aan wanneer hulle Saterdag met Hoërskool Lichtenburg kragte meet. Albei spanne betree die week met goeie oorwinnings onder die belt.

Dit sal nietemin interessant wees om te sien hoe die Liggies die gevaarlike draai-aanval van Marais Viljoen hanteer. Nathan Coleske, Marais Viljoen se keurkolwer tot dusver, sal op sy spelpeil wil voortbou om sy boulers by te staan.

Coleske sal egter eers verby die Liggies se talentvolle naatbouler, Ona Senokwane, moet kom. Senokwane is ‘n vername pyl in die Liggies se koker en beskik oor die vermoë om in ‘n oogwink momentum in die guns van die Lichtenburgers te swaai.

 

Die Hoërskool Dinamika kom hierdie naweek voor hul grootste uitdaging te staan met Hoërskool Middelburg se besoek aan Alberton .

Albei spanne is nog onoorwonne in vanjaar se Finsbury-reeks. Dit behoort derhalwe ‘n titaniese stryd, met die bal en kolf, tussen hierdie twee goed-gebalanseerde spanne af te gee.

Dinamika se Nathan Visagie en Mark van der Berg sal die boulaanval lei. Albei het hulself goed van hul taak gekwyt in die span se gemaklike oorwinning in die tweede ronde van die kompetisie.

Die Middies se gevaarlike Reuben Brandmuller sal die twee se aanslag aan die ander kant van die kolfblad inwag. Brandmuller het sopas ‘n reuse honderdtal in die sy span se eerste verskyning verlede naweek, teen Uplands College, behaal.

Dean van Onselen, Dinamika se kaptein en vooraanstaande kolwer, is goed op dreef. Hy sal gretig wees om sy belowende spelpeil voort te sit en ‘n derde vyftigtal op sy kerfstok te plaas.

Shaun Taljaard sal die Middies se gevaarman met die bal wees. Hy en sy mede-boulers sal vroeg wil korte mette maak met die Dinamika-kolflys om te verseker dat die span van Middelburg hul onoorwonne status behou.

HTS Middelburg se selfvertroue sou ‘n hupstoot ontvang het na verlede naweek se hardverdiende oorwinning oor Hoër Volkskool Heidelberg. Hulle kom Saterdag teen Uplands College te staan, en die Middelburgers sal hoop dat hul kolwers die goeie spanpoging teen die Volkies kan herhaal.

Die keurbouler van ronde twee, Hanro Terblanche, behoort weer ‘n sleutelrol te speel. Terblanche se uitstekende boulskof van vier paaltjies vir slegs vyf lopies het ‘n ommeswaai vir sy span bewerkstellig, en hy is groot wapen in die span se arsenaal.

Uplands College se uitblinker, Leam van Zyl, behoort vir sy span die toon aan te gee na ‘n sprankelvertoning in sy eerste verskyning van die reeks, terwyl Marley Waspe puik ondersteuning met die kolf sal bied. Waspe se vermoë om lang beurte aanmekaar te slaan sal krities wees om ‘n goeie grondslag vir die span van Mpumalanga te lê.

Merensky Landbou Akademie reis na Heidelberg, waar Hoër Volkskool Heidelberg op hulle wag. Die Tzaneeners lek nog hul wonde, na ‘n strawwe dag op kantoor teen die Afdeling se top span tot dusver, Dinamika

Volkies is egter ook nog gewond na hul nederlaag van 34 lopies teen HTS Middelburg. Dit maak Saterdag se kragmeting des te meer belangriker, met kritieke ligapunte op die spel.

Volkies se Vaughn Steynvaart sal mik om nog ‘n dinamiese vertoning met die bal op te dis. Sy spanmaat, Matt Wentzel, sal van voor wil lei en kapitaliseer op sy belowende begin met die kolf teen die Middelburgers.

Merensky se Luka Heinlein het ‘n reuse taak op hande wanneer hy weer sy plek as aanvangsbouler inneem. Die naatbouler het in sy eerste verskyning beïndruk, maar het waarskynlik nog heelwat meer in die tenk.

Die Tzaneeners se voorste kolwer teen Dinamika, Rinaldo Bornman, sal sy heldedade van die vorige week wil naboots. Sy kalmte in die middelorde behoort goud werd te wees vir die Plasies en hopelik die span aanvuur wanneer dit hul beurt is om die kolf op te neem.