Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) withstood the challenge of Cornwall Hill College, beating the home side by 20 runs at the Van der Byl Oval on Friday in the semifinals of the Titans rain Schools SA20 competition.
In a match in which only three batsmen made it beyond the teens, Tristan Blunden‘s 63 off 45 balls, which included six fours, was a match-winning knock. Batting at three, he partnered Jacques Swardt, who made 18, for 35 runs for the third wicket.
Blunden and Zian Labuschagne also added 23 runs, with Labuschagne smashing a six and a four in his useful 21 from 16 deliveries.
The best partnership of the innings was Blunden’s sixth-wicket stand with Dawie Barnard, worth 39 runs, which ended when Barnard became Hari Konduru‘s third victim, as the Cornwall College opening bowler captured a tidy 3/23 from four overs.
Two balls and one run later, Blunden’s innings came to an end. He had been at the crease while Affies added 121 runs. Three balls on, their 20 overs were over, and Affies had posted 133/8.
Rourke de Lange bowled well, returning 2/28 from four, and Orapeleng Thipe took 1/27 from his four.
In reply, Cornwall Hill mustered 113/7.
Problematically, they had four batsmen get in but get out before reaching 20, with Zander Davel the lone man to move beyond that mark, top-scoring with 35 from 30 deliveries, with three fours and a six.
Between them, Zian Labuschagne and Dawie Barnard removed six batsmen for only 38 runs, with Labuschagne returning 3/18 from four overs, and Barnard picking up 3/20 from his four. Paul Bester added solid support with his 1/22 from four.
Rourke de Lange, with 19 from 20, Tyler Neil, with 18 from 16, Connor Alexander, with 15 from 16, and Tumisho Lekaote, with 10 from 10, threatened, but fell before they could turn the tide.
Hoërskool Garsfontein vs Pretoria Boys’ High
In the other semifinal, also played at Cornwall Hill, Hoërskool Garsfontein and Pretoria Boys’ High shared a thriller, which was decided only off the last ball of the contest.
Boys High headed into the last over on 104/7, needing six runs to win, but they managed only four, ending on 108/8 in reply to Garsies‘ 109/9.
JJ Thom, who took the ball for the last over, was the man for the moment. His first delivery was a dot ball. His second went for two runs, and his third for one. That took Boys High up to 107, three runs from victory with three deliveries remaining.
Thom then bowled a critical dot ball, and his fifth ball went for only one. Pretoria Boys High needed two to win. No matter what, they had to run.
Thom, though, delivered another accurate delivery, and Wian Smit was run out for eight. At the other end, Duke Seboko was unbeaten on the match’s highest score of 39 from 37 balls, with three fours and a six.
Batting after winning the toss, Garsfontein made a shaky start. Early in the sixth over, they were on 38/4 following the dismissal of their number five batsman, Alex Potgieter, for 13. The three batsmen above him in the order mustered two ducks and five between them. However, opening batsman Ruan Cuyler put his head down and stubbornly resisted.
He was eventually out in the 17th over for 26 from 32 balls, having hit two fours and a six. That was Garsfontein’s highest score.
Katelgo Lebelo contributed an important 21 from only 16 deliveries, while Rowan Plaaitjies made only 14 not out from 35 balls, but he helped to extend Garsfontein’s innings to the end of their 20 overs.
A four off the last ball, hit by Jean de Villiers, would prove to be very significant.
Pretoria Boys High’s opening pair, Wian Smit and Duke Seboko, caused Garsies big problems. Smit, who took the first over, knocked over 2/18 from four overs, while Seboko, who would go on to be his side’s best batsman, was also their best bowler, capturing 3/15 from four.
Mbuyelo Ngomana claimed 2/21 from three, and Caden Barnes took 1/11 from three.
Crucially, Garsfontein’s total included 14 extras. Boys High’s total included only six, and that made a telling difference, although it should be pointed out that both sides bowled five wides.
Boys High’s reply was a stuttering affair from the start. Garsfontein had found themselves on 38/4 after 5.2 overs. Pretoria Boys High lost their fourth wicket at the same point of their innings, leaving them on 32/4.
The problem was that 3.2 overs later, they were scrambling for traction on 40/6, with Ruan Cuyler making another important contribution by removing the dangerous pair of Louis Kruyshaar for seven and Justin Basdeo for six, and returning a tight 2/15 from four overs.
Abraham Strauss and Duke Seboko stopped the slide, adding 34 for the seventh wicket before Strauss was run out for 20. He had faced 21 balls and hit a six. His exit left Pretoria Boys High on 74/7 with four overs and five balls remaining.
Seboko stepped things up and advanced the total by another 34 runs with Wian Smit before Smit was run out off the last ball in a dramatic and nail-biting finish.
Arrie Verster, who opened the bowling, removed two batsmen in his second over and finished with 2/22 from his four overs, while Rowan Plaaitjies shut down Boys High’s scoring with a stingy 1/6 from three overs.
Summarised Scorecards:
Affies 133/8 (Tristan Blunden 63, Zian Labuschagne 21; Hari Konduru 3/23, Rourke de Lange 2/28); Cornwall Hill College 113/7 (Zander Davel 35; Rourke de Lange 19; Zian Labuschagne 3/18, Dawie Barnard 3/20). Affies won by 20 runs.
Hoërskool Garsfontein 109/9 (Ruan Cuyler 26, Katlego Lebelo 21; Duke Sebeko 3/15, Wian Smit 2/18); Pretoria Boys High 108/8 (Duke Sebeko 39*, Abraham Strauss 20; Ruan Cuyler 2/15, Arrie Verster 2/22). Hoërskool Garsfontein won by one run.
