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Milnerton stumbled against Hoërskool Durbanville on Saturday as the Capetonians made the most of a beautiful day for 50-over cricket.

Tobias Roelofse starred for the Durbies, dismissing four Milnerton batsmen and bowling two maidens in his ten overs.

However, Daniel Bloemetjie (19), Tristen Logie (45), and Amr Williams (29) did well to build a platform for Milnerton as they absorbed the initial Durbanville onslaught.

Divan Bosman had made the breakthrough, claiming the first two wickets for his side by dismissing Bloemetjie and Williams.

Williams, though, made good use of his short time at the crease, smashing seven boundaries to race to 29 runs off of only 25 deliveries.

After Logie was run out, five runs short of a half-century, Roelofse made light work of the rest of the Milnerton lineup to restrict them to 165 all out.

The Durbie batsmen also struggled to find a rhythm, however, when they took to the crease in reply.

Williams spearheaded Milnerton’s efforts again and combined with Josh Reynolds to take eight wickets.

Henry Venter managed a stay of 58 deliveries and 29 runs for Hoërskool Durbanville as they slowly chipped away at the difference until, finally, it was left to the tailenders De Wet Viljoen (23*) and Hugo Bredell (16*) to score the winning runs in the 41st over.

Despite Joshua Martin taking four wickets for Fairmont in their game against DF Malan, Fairmont’s batsmen failed to find a winning formula and were dismissed 22 runs shy of the visitors’ 158.

Johan Janse van Rensburg played a mature innings, scoring 67 from 135 deliveries, but DF Malan’s lower order crumbled.

In reply, Fairmont’s Byron Garton weighed in with a confident 35 not out, but he could only watch on helplessly as the rest of his teammates fell victim to Eddie Fick (3/17) and co.

Summarised Scorecards

Milnerton 165 (Tristen Logie 45, Amr Williams 29, Extras 23; Tobias Roelofse 4/15); Hoërskool Durbanville 166/8 (Henry Venter 29, De Wet Viljoen 23*; Amr Williams 4/38, Josh Reynolds 4/39). Hoërskool Durbanville won by two wickets.

Bergvliet 212 (Ameen Jabaar 63, Fayaaz Isaacs 36, Jadon van Rensburg 28, Extras 27; Farhaan Jan 3/21, Raaziq Johaadien 3/52, Suhail Kathrada 2/51); Westerford 213/6 (R Johaadien 54*, Ethan Gilham 50, F Jan 38*, Extras 36, Suhail Kathrada 21; Jude Paulse 3/53, Fayaaz Isaacs 2/56). Westerford won by four wickets.

DF Malan 158 (Johan Janse van Rensburg 67, Extras 35, D’Neill du Toit 34; Joshua Martin 4/38, Caleb le Roux 3/16); Fairmont 136 (Byron Garton 35*, Razeen Parker 27, Extras 25, Colby Meade 20; Eddie Fick 3/17, Charl Botha 2/17, Johan Janse van Rensburg 2/31). DF Malan won by 22 runs.

 

Despite Diaan van der Westhuizen‘s excellent 71-run stay for Paarl Boys’ High, they were unable to upset the mighty Rondebosch Boys’ High in their own backyard on Saturday.

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Rondebosch were without the services of their stalwart Raeeq Daniels, who has recently been called up to replace the injured Martin Khumalo in the South African u19 squad at the ICC u19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Even without his services, though, David Simon and James Kirsten laid down the challenge early on, dismissing the first three batsmen while conceding few runs, which slowed Boishaai’s attempts to build an innings to a crawl.

Van der Westhuizen’s innings stood in stark contrast with the rest of his team, besides JJ van der Sandt, who stuck it out for 80 deliveries in a supporting role.

Nathan Ball led the charge for the ‘Bosch bowlers, picking up three wickets, as the home team patiently maintained pressure on the visitors until the final Paarl Boys’ wicket fell in the 57th over.

Replying, Dan Cooke (23) and Noah Heath (34) provided the hosts with a steady start, but it was Declan Gillespie who played the pivotal innings, contributing an unbeaten 57 as Rondebosch claimed another victory.

SACS’ captain Reza Salie struck a powerful 72 run not out to drive his side over the line against Paarl Gimnasium.

Gim decided to bat first on their home pitch and were led by a solid knock from Jandré Botha (42), but Litha Kraai made light work of the top order. Ulrich Roth then stole the spotlight, taking four more wickets for the Cape Town school.

Chasing 135, Salie delivered a captain’s knock to steer SACS to victory, with Kieran Bowers‘ 44 also playing a big part in their comfortable seven-wicket win.

In the northern suburbs, Stellenberg was involved in a second low-scoring thriller in succession after they had managed to chase down Boland Landbou’s 72 with only a wicket to spare on Thursday.

Batting first against Tygerberg, the Stellenberg batsmen were skittled for a measly 58. Aarin Barends (4/17) and Mondre Julies (3/15) spearheaded the Tigers’ attack on their home field and left their batsmen a seemingly easy run chase.

Tygerberg, however, lost one of their openers to a run out, and after that Jan Jak Alberts and Lohann Pretorius produced a bowling masterclass to capture nine wickets and leave the home team nine runs shy of victory.

Summarised Scorecards

Paarl Boys High 135 (Diaan van der Westhuizen 71, JJ van der Sandt 30; Nathan Ball 3/31, David Simon 2/13); Rondebosch Boys’ High 140/4 (Declan Gillespie 57*, Noah Heath 34, Dan Cooke 23; Christian Wege 2/23). Rondebosch Boys’ High won by six wickets.

Paarl Gimnasium 150 (Adriaan Louw 62, Jandré Botha 42; Ulrich Roth 4/41, Litha Kraai 2/32); SACS 151/3 (Reza Salie 72*, Kieran Bowers 44; De Waal Vivier 2/28). SACS won by seven wickets.

Stellenberg 58 (Extras 27; Aarin Barends 4/17, Mondre Julies 3/15); Tygerberg 50 (Extras 20; Jan Jak Alberts 5/16, Lohann Pretorius 4/19). Stellenberg won by eight runs.

Boland Landbou returned to winning ways with a dominant performance against HTS Drostdy after a nail-biting midweek loss to Stellenberg.

Marius du Plessis put the squeeze on the Drostdy batting lineup, knocking over 4/14 to help the farmers defend their modest total of 179.

The hosts elected to bat first, but matters did not go according to plan as their top-order departed early on. But Francois Prins helped settle the Boland innings with a composed and mature knock of 64 off of 124 deliveries.

Kobus Conradie, who features more regularly in the bowling stats, assisted with an additional 46 runs, confidently striking six boundaries, before a delivery by Helgardt Nortje knocked back his stumps, four runs shy of a half-century.

The HTS Drostdy bowlers were in good form. Sias du Toit enjoyed the best figures of 2/7, but Nortje, Reghardt du Plessis and Bryan Cochrane also dismissed two Boland batsmen each.

Unfortunately for the visitors, though, they had no answers to Marius du Plessis, who tore through their lineup before Tiaan Ryke rounded off an excellent defensive display with the last two wickets.

Meanwhile, in Somerset West, Parel Vallei outplayed Hermanus for a decisive victory, putting on display teasing glimpses of what their opponents can expect this year.

After their opening duo fell without scoring any runs, Christopher Hughes and Joshua Pretorius unleashed on the visiting bowlers.

Hughes was unfortunate to lose his wicket on 47, after patiently absorbing 85 deliveries, but there was nothing patient about Pretorius’ innings as he went for everything, blasting 20 boundaries in his devastating 144.

With Josua Smith delivering further punishment later in the innings, Hermanus were left with a mountain to climb, requiring 309 for to win.

Their innings went awry earlier on, with Sibulele Makaleni starting the Hermanus slide. After that, Hughes and Henry Jones wreaked havoc, dismissing the rest of the batsmen within 25 overs to see Parel Vallei to a 224-run win.

Their neighbours, Somerset College, were in action against Strand.

After Tyrone Rieth‘s 62 helped his side to 225, Somerset’s bowlers restricted the visitors to 172/8. Despite offering stubborn resistance, the visitors couldn’t turn their time at the crease into enough runs.

Alexia Kontopirakis had the most success for Somerset College, sending four batsmen from Strand back to the sheds.

Summarised Scorecards

Boland Landbou 179/10 (Francois Prins 64, Kobus Conradie 46, Extras 20; Sias du Toit 2/7, Helgardt Nortje 2/29, Reghardt du Plessis 2/36, Bryan Cochrane 2/43); HTS Drostdy 75/10 (Stephan Steyn 28; Marius du Plessis 4/14, Tiaan Ryke 2/5). Boland Landbou won by 104 runs.

Parel Vallei 308/9 (Joshua Pretorius 144, Christopher Hughes 47, Extras 37, Josua Smit 35; Julian du Toit 2/32, Trevor Titus 2/49); Hermanus 84/10 (Rohann Swart 20; Christopher Hughes 6/20, Henry Jones 3/31). Parel Vallei won by 224 runs. 

Somerset College 225/10 (Tyrone Rieth 62, Extras 42, Chad Ayford 35, Luke Rimmer 30; Janu Fouche 3/39, Nathan Stoffberg 2/33, Morné Meyer 2/50); Strand 172/8 (Nicholis Martin 43, LW Coetzee 38, Extras 21; Alexia Kontopirakis 4/38, Troy Varie 2/48). Somerset College won by 53 runs.

Clarendon High School for Girls defied the odds, on Saturday at the Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament, by beating the defending champions, St Stithians College, and in the process booked themselves a spot in the semi-finals of the spectacle being hosted by Kingswood College in Makhanda.

The team from East London went into the tournament carrying the label of “dark horses” and lived up to that billing by prevailing against some of South Africa’s best sides on day three to seal themselves a place in the final four.

They were drawn in Pool C, alongside St Dominic’s, Durban Girls’ College, Reddam House Bedfordview and Alex Road and, after a rather unconvincing showing in the pool stages, Hannah Muller‘s charges found their form to make waves in the playoffs.

In the pool stages, they lost two of their four matches, but they turned their fortunes around when the chips were down, beginning with that 12-11 upset win over Saints.

They went on outplay the hosts, Kingswood College, 13-7 in the quarterfinals. Those impressive performances procured them a semi-final showdown with Reddam House Constantia on Sunday at 08:00.

Meanwhile, the other semi-finalists are the impressive and unbeaten Roedean School and Stellenbosch’s Herschel Girls.

St Stithians College will be massively disappointed by their showing at the tournament and will contest the 9^th/10^th playoff against Durban Girls’ College at 10:00 in the DSG Pool.

The bottom four positions were also confirmed, with Alex Road finishing last and Stirling High in 19^th, while Hudson Park’s 7-2 win over Woodridge College earned them 17^th place.

Sunday’s action in the main pool commences at 10:00, with the final scheduled for 12:00. All the action will be live on SuperSport Schools.

Results: Day 3

Pool 1

Diocesan School for Girls 3-1 St Anne’s
Reddam House Constantia 14-0 Rhenish
Clarendon 12-11 St Stithians College
St Mary’s Waverley 12-6 Durban Girls’ College
St Stithians 4-3 St Anne’s
Durban Girls’ College 11-6 Rhenish
Reddam House Bedfordview 7-6 St Mary’s Waverley
Kingswood College 11-9 Diocesan School for Girls

Quarterfinals

Roedean 11-1 St Mary’s Waverley
Clarendon 13-7 Kingswood College
Reddam House Constantia 10-5 Reddam House Bedfordview
Herschel 15-5 Diocesan School for Girls

Pool 2

Pearson High School 14-3 Woodridge
Crawford Lonehill 9-8 Hudson Park
St Dominic’s 7-4 Stirling High
Collegiate 22-0 Alex Road
Woodridge 15-4 Alex Road
Hudson 7-5 Stirling High
Collegiate 7-5 Pearson
St Dominic’s 13-2 Crawford Lonehill
Stirling High 11-2 Alex Road
Hudson Park 7-2 Woodridge 

Day 4, Sunday, 28 January @Kingswood College

07:00- Roedean vs Hershel; 08:00- Clarendon vs Reddam House Constantia; 09:00- St Mary’s Waverley vs Diocesan School for Girls; 10:00- Reddam House Bedfordview vs Kingswood College; 11:00- Loser 63 vs Loser 64 (3^rd/4^th play-off); 12:00- Winner 63 vs Winner 64 (Final).

Day 4, Sunday, 28 January @DSG

07:00– Pearson vs Crawford Lonehill; 08:00– Collegiate vs St Dominic’s; 09:00-St Anne’s vs Rhenish; 10:00-St Stithians vs Durban Girls College.

A new SAC Shield champion will be crowned in Makhanda on Sunday as two of Cape Town’s best, Bishops Diocesan College and South African College High School (SACS), battle it out for the tournament’s top honours in the St Andrew’s College pool.

They booked their spots in the showpiece after Bishops defeated Rondebosch 10-4 and SACS held off St John’s College 10-9 in their respective semi-finals on Saturday.

Bishops go into the final with the upper hand after a superb unbeaten run at the tournament. Coach Jabulani Sibiya’s side will take confidence from their impressive performances and their fight on day two especially, which saw them come from behind to win their pool matches against Selborne College and St Stithians College.

As for SACS, they began the showpiece on the back foot with a defeat against Bishops, but their comeback since then has been superb.

On day two, they were dominant, and they capped it off by beating Clifton College in the first match of day three, their last Pool A game, before overwhelming last year’s champions Paul Roos in the quarterfinals.

Coach Devon Card’s side then showed character in the semi-finals against an in-form St John’s team, as they, once again, came from behind to book themselves a spot in the title-decider.

The final will be the third meeting between SACS and Bishops within the span of a week. On Tuesday, Bishops convincingly thumped SACS in round one of the SACS Night series, beating them 11-5 after trailing them 1-4 at halftime. In Makhanda, they edged their Pool A clash 11-10.

The battle for silverware is set for 12:20 as both teams seek their first title of the season.

Meanwhile, the hosts, St Andrews College have had a tournament to forget and will contest the 11^th/12^th spot with Michaelhouse.

Paul Roos will be aiming to finish on a high in their 5^th/6^th play-off match against Selborne College, while an unlucky St John’s side will have third spot on their collective mind when they face Rondebosch Boys High at 11:20.

All the action will be live on SuperSport Schools.

Results: Day 3

SACS 10-6 Clifton College
Bishops 9-7 Grey High School
Selborne College 7 (5)-7(4) St Stithians College
Michaelhouse 8-5 Grey High School
St Stithians College 9-7 Michaelhouse
Hilton College 9-6 St Andrew’s College
Selborne College 8-6 Westville Boys’ High
Paul Roos 6-3 Clifton College

Quarterfinals

Bishops 8-2 Westville
SACS 13-7 Paul Roos
Rondebosch 8-3 Selborne College
St John’s College 9-7 Clifton College

Semi-finals

Bishops 10-4 Rondebosch Boys High
SACS 10-9 St John’s College

Day 4, Sunday, 28 January, @ St Andrew’s College

08:00 – (48) Michaelhouse vs St Andrew’s (11th/12th); 08:50 – (49) St Stithians vs Hilton 43 (9th/10th); 09:40 – (50) Westville vs Clifton College (7th/8th); 10:30 – (51) Selborne College vs Paul Roos (5th/6th); 11:20 – (52) Rondebosch Boys vs St John’s College (3rd/4th); 12:10 – Finalists line up; 12:20 – (53) SACS vs Bishops.

It has been a topsy-turvy start to the KZN cricket season, with some traditional powers finding themselves on the wrong end of results. Some other teams had started their season confidently, including Kearsney College, who overpowered Durban High School (DHS) in a W100 match on Wednesday, romping to a 60-run. On Saturday, though, DHS avenged that defeat.

The teams did battle in Durban on the Theobald Oval in a 50-over match, with DHS batting first, up against an experienced Kearsney bowling attack. Unfortunately for the visitors, they lost one of their opening bowlers, Sandiswa Yeni, to an injury right at the start of the game. He managed only five balls before having to turn to Murray Weyer to complete his over.

The home side’s batsmen applied themselves well against some challenging bowling, but lost Sbusiso Msibi with the total on 27 and nine overs bowled.

Ethan Cooper and Ismaeel Omar combined for 43 runs for the second wicket before Cooper was caught by Jack O’Donovan off the bowling of Asavela Khambule, who generated significant turn, for 17.

Josh van Biljon didn’t last long, but Omar saw the total to 98 before he was dismissed for 55 from 83 balls, which included two fours and a six.

Kearsney continued to make good inroads into the DHS batting, reducing the Horseflies to 126/7. But Bayanda Majola and Jared Havermann then joined forces for a crucial partnership of 48 runs for the eighth wicket.

Weyer, then, got rid of Majola for 20, which brought Aiden Braun to the wicket. He didn’t last long, but Havermann had the bit between his teeth, and when he and Zaid Motala saw out the 50 overs, Havermann had finished with an unbeaten 51 from only 57 deliveries, with five fours and a six. DHS posted 216/9.

Jack O’Donovan inflicted most of the damage, accounting for four batsmen at a cost of 45 runs from his 10 overs.

Kearsney, usually very strong up front, limped to 31/3 in the 10^th over of their reply as the speedster, Bayanda Majola, sent Matthew Lamplough, Murray Weyer and Cameron Veenstra packing. Captain Ross Coetzee was a different story, however.

He has been in rare form this season and it continued on Saturday. Coetzee anchored the Kearsney innings, but he also scored freely, and was eventually the ninth man out, with the total on 188, having made 107 from 120 balls. Nine of those were fours and four went for six.

Unfortunately for Coetzee, only Keegan Kruger, with 22, gave him decent support and Kearsney slid to 194 all out in the 48^th over. The skipper had played a masterful knock, but in the absence of any substantial support it wasn’t enough.

Majola, with 3/38 from 10, set the DHS drive towards victory in motion, while Bhavesh Naicker excelled with a superb 10-over spell that yielded 2/25, including the wickets of Coetzee and the dangerous Jack O’ Donovan.

Zaid Motala sent down six overs and made a telling contribution, picking up 2/12 to help his side to a stunning but well-deserved upset win.

On the Roy Gathorne Oval in Balgowan, St Charles will feel they let slip a good opportunity for a win over Michaelhouse after going down by two wickets.

Saints batted first and Cian Fortmann continued his fine form with 80 at the top of the order. He faced 102 deliveries and struck eight fours and a six, ultimately departing as the second man out with the total on 126.

Captain Marcell Wellmann, who came in at the fall of the first wicket, offered solid support and batted maturely for 36 from 75 balls.

Number six batsman Stefan Veldsman weighed in with 33 from 42, with three fours and a six, and was the second last wicket to fall.

St Charles had laid a good foundation, but they let it slip late in their innings. They were 166 for 4 and then lost their last six wickets for the addition of only 20 runs, which included the last four for just five runs.

Saints totalled 186 all out from 49.2 overs, but it could have been so much better.

Harry Vickery was the most successful Michaelhouse bowler, snaring 3/43 from 8.2 overs, while Ross Moller was his usual economical self, sending down 10 overs and picking up 2/29. His new ball partner Luke Mitchell claimed 2/35 from his 10.

Left-arm spinner Cameron Strudwick put the squeeze on the Saints’ innings, returning 1/17 from 10 overs.

In reply, ‘House were in big trouble early on, losing their openers, Ethan Muir and Michael Spencer, who are both usually regular run contributors, with only four runs on the board.

However, West Mitchell-Innes and Seb Hofmeyr cleaned up the Michaelhouse innings, sharing a 74-run stand for the third wicket before Mitchell-Innes was caught by Wellmann off the bowling of Kaiyuran Naidoo for 32 from 61 balls.

Three other batsmen reached double figures, but none made more than 13, as Hofmeyr’s partners came and went. Hofmeyr, though, had the Saints’ bowlers’ numbers. He was the difference between victory and defeat.

When Michaelhouse reached 190/8, with nine balls remaining, to claim the win, he was undefeated on 90, having faced 128 balls. His knock relied on good running between the wickets as he hit only two fours and a six.

Naidoo shone for Saints, finishing with 2/26 from his 10, while Rowen Rajah repeated those figures, but from eight overs. Cian Fortmann contributed two wickets, too, but was a little on the expensive side, going for 53 runs from his 10 overs.

Summarised scores

Durban High School 216/9 (Ismaeel Omar 55, Jared Havermann 51*, Bayanda Majola 20, Jack O’Donovan 4/45); Kearsney College 194/10 (Ross Coetzee 107, Keegan de Jager 22, Bayanda Majola 3/38, Zaid Motala 2/12, Bhavesh Naicker 2/25) DHS won by 22 runs.

St Charles College 186/10 (Cian Fortmann 80, Marcell Wellmann 36, Stefan Veldsman 33, Harry Vickery 3/43, Ross Moller 2/29, Luke Mitchell 2/35); Michaelhouse 190/8 (Seb Hofmeyr 90*, West Mitchell-Innes 32, Rowen Rajah 2/26, Kaiyuran Naidoo 2/26, Cian Fortmann 2/53) Michaelhouse won by two wickets.

Sulaymaan Gangat and Cayden Wilson undermined Graeme College’s run-chase on Saturday to see their side to a 39-run victory in Makhanda.

The Pearson bowlers have been on fire lately, with Gangat picking up eight wickets against Grey High a week ago.

Playing at home, Graeme won the toss and elected to make the visitors bat first.

Divan Els, Luke Hector and Cayden Wilson stuck it out to make solid contributions, but Pearson mustered only a modest 169 before they were bowled out.

The hosts had time on their side and began their innings with a calm counterattack devoid of any unnecessary risks.

After 15 overs had been bowled, Graeme College was on 53 without loss, but Gangat then struck to provide the spark his side desperately needed.

Gangat added four more wickets to his rapidly growing tally, and conceded only 35 runs, to finish with a decisive return of 5/35.

Wilson kept the pressure on the hosts by snaring three more for Pearson as they dismissed Graeme for only 130, well shy of their victory target.

Meanwhile, Framesby flexed their muscles with a huge 261-run victory over Muir College.

Dewan Wessels bludgeoned 126 off of 109 deliveries and his teammate, Juan Grigor, scalped 5/34 to spearhead the Framesby assault.

For the third time in a week, St Andrew’s College got the better of Kingswood College, romping to an easy win in a T20 on this occasion.

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Scott Miles and Roman van Zyl took five wickets and went for only 19 runs between them as Kingswood was restricted to 68/9.

Despite Jack Collett knocking over 3/12, in the 13th over of their reply, Mitch Coventry and Alex Price scored the winning runs for SAC. With a match against the Futura Academy on Sunday, the College boys surely appreciated the truncated T20 contest.

The aforementioned Futura Academy was in action on Friday and scraped by against Selborne College for a victory by a very small margin.

Tré Gilbert‘s 60 helped the Selbornians to within three runs of the win, but the touring side held on for a thrilling T20 victory.

Summarised Scorecards

Pearson 169 (Divan Els 37, Luke Hector 36, Cayden Wilson 26, Extras 24; Jordan Damons 3/15, Andrew Muir 2/16, Murray Tyson 2/24); Graeme College 130 (Jordan Damons 32*, Enrique Strydom 31, Murray Tyson 25; Sulaymaan Gangat 5/35, Cayden Wilson 3/24). Pearson won by 39 runs.

Hudson Park 169/9 (Likho Gidi 65, Extras 41, Kugqamile Nomtshongwana 28; Chad Clark-Evans 3/23, Blake Nell 3/25); Stirling High School 170/6 (Chad Clark-Evans 55, Extras 37, Darren Masfen 27, Josh Pickering 20; Likho Gidi 2/23, Lithemba Nomoyi 2/35). Stirling High School won by four wickets.

Kingswood College 68/9 (Extras 18; Scott Miles 3/11, Roman van Zyl 2/8, Samuel Scheckter 2/11); St Andrew’s College 69/3 (Mitch Coventry 25*; Jack Collett 3/12). St Andrew’s College won by seven wickets.

Framesby 345/8 (Dewan Wessels 127, Extras 69, JJ de Lange 46, Evan Claassen, Taine Douw 28; D Murray 2/24, Simnikiwe Soyaya 2/56); Muir College 84 (Extras 21, Juan Grigor 5/34, Juanré de Vos 3/11, Logan Fleetwood 2/16). Framesby won by 261 runs.

Futura Academy 140/9 (Tyler Stagg 40, Ethan Currin 25, A Nico 23*; Liso Ndzamela 3/19, Matt Hendry 2/21); Selborne College 138/6 (Tré Gilbert 60, Jacques van der Merwe 28; A Nico 2/11, J Fourie 2/19). Futura Academy won by two runs.

South Africa stormed to the top of Group B with a spectacular victory over Scotland on Saturday at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom.

To finish the group stage on top of the table, and to secure a more comfortable path to the playoffs, the hosts needed a win and a positive run rate. England and the West Indies, who had met on Friday, were assured of their place in the next stage already, with the English leading the standings before the final match.

After missing the second game against England, Riley Norton returned to the SA lineup, alongside Sipho Potsane, who was also a new addition to the team.

The Scottish openers did well to weather the new ball, but Norton, the first change bowler, drew blood for the hosts by dismissing Adi Hedge.

By that time, however, Jamie Dunk had settled in and had started raising the tempo.

Potsane then made his mark, trapping Alec Price in front in the 22nd over, which brought the Scottish captain, Owen Gould, to the crease. Together, he and Dunk compiled a 115-run partnership for the visitors.

Dunk had scored 90 of Scotland’s 200 runs when Norton struck again to break the partnership.

Gould then raced to 97 off of 89 deliveries, but he was denied a century by the safe hands of Romashan Pillay after Gould misjudged a Kwena Maphaka bullet.

Chasing 270 and a positive run rate, which would get them to the top of the group standings, ahead of the Super Six stage, opening batsmen Steve Stolk produced a memorable knock to give the hosts a flying start.

In only the third over of the South African innings, he smashed 34 runs, clubbing five sixes over the fence.

His half-century came up after only 13 deliveries, which obliterated the previous u19 World Cup record, set by India’s Rishabh Pant in 2016 against Nepal, when he got to 50 after 18 deliveries.

With 86 runs off of only 37 deliveries, Stolk powered South Africa into the driver’s seat and, importantly, gave South Africa’s scoring rate a massive boost.

After allowing Scotland to post a solid total, SA needed to overhaul the Scots’ score in less than 30 overs to move above England in the standings.

Dewan Marais and David Teeger continued to build upon the foundation Stolk’s innings had provided by maintaining that energy and punishing the Scottish bowling attack.

Marais scored a brisk unbeaten 80 from only 50 deliveries, while Teeger weighed in with a fine supporting knock of 43 not out from 38 balls. Their partnership produced 122 runs from just 13.1 overs, and a boundary, South Africa’s 37th of the innings, secured a seven-wicket victory off the final ball of the 27th over.

The thrilling victory not only gives the young South Africans a much-needed lift, after the weather curtailed their hopes of a fightback against England in their second match, but it also means that they will face a struggling Zimbabwe in the first match of the Super Sixes on Wednesday, 31 January.

Zimbabwe book their spot in the Super Sixes after beating Namibia in their last game. St Charles College matriculant, Newman Nyamhuri took 4/21 as the Zimbabweans cut their neighbours’ campaign short. At the crease, it was also the Saints’ connection that shone, with Panashe Taruvinga top scoring with an unbeaten 59 and Brandon Sunguro contributing 29.

Shahzaib Khan (80*) and Shamyl Hussain (54*) drove Pakistan to an emphatic 10-wicket victory over New Zealand, which ensured they finished top of Group D.

Also in Group D, Nepal qualified ahead of Afghanistan after a thrilling run chase took them to a one-wicket victory on Friday.

The final rankings will be decided on Sunday after the last group-stage fixtures are completed.

It’s top versus bottom in Group A as India takes on the USA, while Australia and Sri Lanka will battle it out for the number one spot in Group C.

Summarised Scorecards

27 January

Scotland u19 269/9 (Owen Gould 97, Jamie Dunk 90, Extras 30, Uzair Ahmad 23; Riley Norton 3/48, Kwena Maphaka 2/53); South Africa u19 273/3 (Steve Stolk 86, Dewan Marais 80*, David Teeger 43*, Lhuan-dré Pretorius 22, Nikhil Koteeswaran 2/53) South Africa won by 7 wickets.

Namibia u19 146/8 (Hanro Badenhorst 39*, Gerhard Janse van Rensburg 23, Alexander Busing-Volschenk 22, Extras 20; Newman Nyamhuri 4/21, Ryan Simbi 3/20; Zimbabwe u19 147/2 (Panashe Taruvinga 59*, Brandon Sunguro 29, Jack Brassell 1/24) Zimbabwe won by 8 wickets.

New Zealand 140/10 (Lachlan Stackpole 42, Oliver Tewatiya 29; Arafat Minhas 3/6, Ubaid Shah 3/30, Naveed Ahmed Khan 2/26); Pakistan u19 144/0 (Shahzaib Khan 80*, Shamyl Hussain 54*). Pakistan won by 10 wickets.

26 January

Afghanistan 145/10 (Allah Mohammad Ghanzanfar 37, Nazeer Khan Maroofkhil 31, Faridoon Dawoodzai 29, Extras 21, Hassan Eisakhil 20; Aakash Chand 5/34, Dipesh Kandel 2/17); Nepal u19 149/9 (Dev Khanal 58, Dipak Bohara 27; Faridoon Dawoodzai 3/21, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil 2/28). Nepal u19 won by one wicket.

England u19 192 (Hamza Shaikh 54, Noah Thain 40, Ben McKinney 26; Nathan Edward 3/28, Raneico Smith 2/28, Tarrique Edward 2/40, Isai Thorne 2/40); West Indies 196/8 (Stephan Pascal 58, Nathan Edward 49, Jordan Johnson 31, Extras 28; Tazeem Chaudry Ali 3/34, Fahran Ahmed 2/33). West Indies u19 won by two wickets.

Bangladesh u19 291/7 (Ariful Islam 103, Ahrar Amin 44, Mohammad Shihab James 31, Ashiqur Rahman Shibli 27; Arya Garg 3/68, Aarin Nadkarni 2/61); United States of America u19 170/10 (Prannav Chettipalayam 57, Utkarsh Srivastava 37; Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby 4/31). Bangladesh u19 won by 121 runs.

25 January

Australia u19 296/7 (Harry Dixon 89, Hugh Weibgen 68, Tom Campbell 47; Brandon Sunguro 2/48, Ryan Simbi 2/53, Matthew Schonken 2/65); Zimbabwe u19 71 (Ronak Patel 36; Harkirat Bajwa 4/15, Mahli Beardman 2/7, Aidan O’Connor 2/17). Australian u19 won by 255 runs.

India u19 301/7 (Musheer Khan 118, Uday Saharan 75, Arshin Kulkarni 32, Aravelly Avanish 22, Sachin Dhas 21*; Oliver Riley 3/55, John McNally 2/45); Ireland u19 100/10 (Daniel Forkin 27*; Naman Tiwari 4/53, Saumy Pandey 3/21). India u19 won by 201 runs.

24 January

Nepal u19 197/10 (Bipin Rawal 39, Deepak Dumre 26, Exras 26, Dev Khanal 23, Subash Bhandari 20; Arafat Minhas 3/23, Ahmad Hassan 2/12, Ubaid Shah 2/48); Pakistan u19 201/5 (Azan Awais 63, Shamyl Hussain 37, Shahzaib Khan 37, Ahmad Hassan 29; Aakash Chand 3/34). Pakistan u19 won by five wickets.

Scotland u19 205/9 (Jamie Dunk 57, Adi Hegde 32, Alec Price 31, Extras 26; Isai Thorne 4/46, Nathan Sealy 2/38); West Indies 206/5 (Jewel Andrew 64*, Mavendra Dindyal 29, Nathan Edward 27*, Stephan Pascal 26, Jordan Johnson 24; Adi Hegde 1/21, Ruaridh McIntyre 1/21). West Indies u19 won by five wickets.

Sri Lanka u19 133 (Supun Waduge 56, Extras 25; Zacheo van Vuuren 4/23, Johannes de Villiers 3/19); Namibia u19 56/10 (Pieter-Daniel Blignaut 18*; Ruvishan Perera 3/3, Vishwa Lahiru 3/19, Dinura Kalupahana 2/8). Sri Lanka u19 won by 77 runs.

Die Hoërskool Menlopark se Alicia Khunou (o.19) het vir die beste vertoning tydens die Hoërskool Noordheuwel se jaarlikse massabyeenkoms in Krugersdorp gesorg.

Sy en Chirsté Loedolff ook van Menlopark is die enigste twee atlete wat ‘n voltal punte (1000 punte) tydens die byeenkoms kon aanteken. Albei het dit in die diskus-nommer vermag.

Khunou het haar voltal in dis diskus vir meisies o.19 met ‘n gooi van 52.29 meter behaal. Dit is ook ‘n nuwe byeenkomsrekord.

Dit is ook verder as die Suid-Afrikaanse Skole-rekord van 49.80m wat in 2012 deur Ischke Senekal opgestel is. Dié SA Skole-rekord kan egter net op die Suid-Afrikaanse Skole-kampioenskap verbeter word.

Meeste atlete van Gauteng-Noord verkies egter nie om aan die byeenkoms deel te neem nie. Die grootste rede is waarskynlik omdat Gauteng as een provinsie vir die byeenkoms gesien word en slegs 250 atlete na daarna kan stuur.

Kyla Nienaber van Noordheuwel was tweede met ‘n heel skaflike poging van 40.37m. Khunou se tweelingbroer, Ronald Khunou, het ook in die o.19-afdeling vir seuns goud met ‘n gooi van 48 meter gewen.

Khunou het ook in die gewigstoot goud met ‘n poging van 14.46m gewen. Nienaber (11.85m) moes hier met die derde plek tevrede wees. Cellonika van der Berg (Menlopark) het haar in dié nommer met ‘n poging van 12.56m uitgestof.

Loedolff het haar 1000 punte danksy ‘n gooi van 48.46m in die diskus vir meisies o.17 vermag. Jamoré Olivier (Noordheuwel) en Ashlynn Nel (Menlopark) moes met pogings van 43.21m en 40.66m onderskeidelik met die tweede en derde plekke tevrede wees.

Olivier het egter die septer in die gewigstoot geswaai toe sy die bal op 15.61 meter laat grondvat het. Nel was die keer tweede met ‘n poging van 14.29m, terwyl Loedolff (12.66m) met die bronsmedalje tevrede moes wees.

Die Parkies se Merlé Janse van Rensburg (o.16) het goud in die diskus (42.20m) asook die gewigstoot (12.38m) ingeoes. Iza-Marie Odendaal (Noordheuwel) het in dis diskus vir Janse van Rensburg goeie teenstand met ‘n beste gooi van 40.17m gebied

Nories se Jessica van Aswegen (o.15) sal ook tevrede met haar vertoning in die spiesgooi wees. Sy het die blikassegaai tot op 42.37 meter laat trek.

Dit is nog vroeg in die seisoen, maar dit is duidelik dat Noordheuwel en Menlopark weer vanjaar onder die voorste atletiekskole in Suid-Afrika sal tel.

Die twee skole asook die Hoërskool Driehoek van Vereeniging se atlete het behoorlik Vrydag teen mekaar litte tydens Nories se jaarlikse massabyeenkoms losgemaak.

Die Nories se Hannah Vermaak (o.17) het twee eerste plekke in onderskeidelik die 100m en 100m-hekkies verower. Sy het in die 100m-naelloop in 11.97 sekondes vir haar spanmaat Kaylie van Oudtshoorn (12.06) hakskene gewys.

Van Oudtshoorn het wel in die 200m die bordjies verhang toe sy goud in 25.16 sekondes ingepalm het. Vermaak was kort op haar hakke in 25.88 sekondes oor die eindstreep.

Vermaak het die 100m-hekkies gemaklik in ‘n tyd van 14.76 sekondes gewen.

Menlopark se naelloper Colene Scheepers (o.19) het haar veelsydigheid tydens dié byeenkoms ten toon gestel. Sy het waarskynlik slegs om haar stamina op te bou aan die 800m deelgeneem. Sy het dié nommer in ‘n heel skaflike tyd van twee minute en 21 sekondes gewen. Die vertoning het aan haar ‘n 843 punte op die puntestelsel beteken.

Sy het natuurlik in die 200m ook in ‘n tyd van 25.94 sekondes koning gekraai.

Driehoek se beste atleet op die byeenkoms was ongetwyfeld Juhané Jordaan (o.14) wat in die 100m ‘n wentyd van 12.25 sekondes aangeteken het. Nories se Chané Fourie (12.41) moes met die silwermedalje tevrede wees.

Fourie het wel laaste gelag toe sy nie net die bordjies in die 200m verhang het nie, maar ook ‘n nuwe byeenkomsrekord van 24.78 sekondes opgestel het. Jordaan was net na haar in 25.35 sekondes oor die eindstreep.

Fourie en Jordaan het mekaar ook in die 400m opgekeil met Fourie wat in 58.15 sekondes baas was. Jordaan het die nommer in 59.86 sekondes afgeblits.

Nories se Taya Pelser is nog ‘n atleet vir die toekoms. Sy het in die 800m (2:19.28) asook die 1500m (4:55.89) koning gekraai.

Die Parkies se Rachel Schwulst (o.16) het ook gewys dat sy gereed is om goeie tye in die middelafstande vanjaar op te stel. Haar beste vertoning was in die 800m waar sy na slegs 2:15.78 oor die eindstreep is. Dit was ‘n skitterende 915 punte volgens die puntelys.

Haar spanmaat Kaitlyn van Rooyen moes met die tweede plek in 2:20.71 tevrede wees. Dit is self ‘n meer as skaflike tyd oor die afstand. Schwulst het die 1500m in 4:51.26 gewen.

Die gasheer se Hanri Pretorius (o.17) was ook op haar stukke en het die 800m in haar ouderdomsgroep in ‘n uitmuntende 2:14.36 gewen.

Die Parkies se hekkiesloper, Jannelle Kirkpatrick (o.14) het drie goue medaljes tydens die byeenkoms ingeoes. Sy het goud in die 90m-hekkies (13.40), 300m-hekkies (47.65) asook die verspring (5.22m) ingeoes.

Megan Nieman (Menlopark) het ook met haar wentyd in die 300m-hekkies vir meisies o.15 gewys dat sy vanjaar dopgehou moet word.