Sunday’s Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20 Plate final was an all-Western Cape affair between Rondebosch Boys’ High and Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG).
Playing at Hoërskool Waterkloof, Bosch batted first and posted 137 all out, losing their last wicket three balls before their 20 overs were up.
Timothy Short showed the value of experience by again stepping up when it was most needed. He top-scored, striking four fours and a six in his contribution of 30 off 31 balls.
Ethan Strydom and Short shared a 49-run fifth-wicket stand, with Strydom adding 25 off 19, with two fours and a six, which was precisely the same contribution as top-order batsman Tyler Heyns.
Paul Roos’s Marcus Conradie was a mainstay of their attack, enjoying ever greater success as the tournament progressed, and he continued on that track, capturing 4/20 in 3.3 overs. Dion Slabber also excelled, returning a sharp 3/33 from four overs.
The Stellenbosch school’s run chase didn’t go smoothly. Opener Aiden Titus blasted three fours and two sixes in a quickfire 38 from 30 deliveries, but PRG found themselves on 53/4 in the eighth over.
Christiaan Fouché, batting at five, then matched Titus’s boundaries but top-scored with 45 off 33 balls, while Xander van Niekerk, the number seven batsman, chipped in with 19 runs in a 51-run sixth-wicket stand with Fouché.
Short demonstrated his all-round excellence by getting rid of the dangerous Fouché with a direct hit as the Paul Roos batsman tried to scamper a run.
Bosch all-rounder Eli Aufrichtig ran through the Paul Roos lower-order, snaring 3/17 from four overs, while Reuven dos Santos knocked over 2/18 in three.
Their contributions were enough to slow down PRG’s run chase and left them hanging on at the end, on 132/9, resulting in a hard-fought six-run win, the Plate, and ninth-place overall for Rondebosch.
Jeppe High School for Boys vs Westville Boys’ High
In the playoff for 11th place at the Gijima Sports Ground, Westville Boys’ High fielded first against Jeppe High School for Boys.
Left-arm spinner, Ewan du Toit, proved the most difficult of the Griffins‘ bowlers to get away, and he claimed 2/24 from his four overs, while Elijah Stoop picked up 2/31 in three overs.
The key partnership in Jeppe’s innings was a 52-run second-wicket stand between Zizi Mkhize, who was Jeppe’s leading scorer, with 30 off 21 deliveries, and Chad Willemse, who was more conservative, tallying 26 off 38 balls.
Batting at eight, Phemelo Sekopane provided the innings with late momentum, hitting a four and a six, while also running plenty of twos and threes to finish with an unbeaten 29 off 13 balls as Jeppe put up 148/7.
Zizi Mkhize, whose bowling has come to the fore in recent outings, followed up being the highest scorer for Jeppe with the Johannesburg school’s best bowling figures, too, nabbing 3/19 from four overs. Phemelo Sekopane and Goolam Ahmed both claimed 2/29.
Aarin Rasmussen, one of Westville’s standouts in Pretoria, led the way for the Griffins, with a 22-ball stay that produced 30 runs, while Tristin Delvin weighed in with 20.
Westville, however, came up 20 runs shy of Jeppe’s total, ending on 128/9.
CSA Hub Invitational XI vs Durban High School (DHS)
In the 13th-place playoff at the Hofmeyr Park Oval, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Hub Invitational XI posted a useful 152/5 against Durban High School (DHS), thanks to some solid batting contributions.
Tshepang Laka, at three, collected 44 off 37 balls, and opener Bulumko Magatya mustered 26 off 21. Together, the pair combined for 50 runs for the second wicket.
Further down the order, at six, Deverick Peterson launched two sixes in his 31 not out of 24 deliveries.
While wickets were hard to come by, the Horseflies‘ bowlers produced some economical spells, with Bonga Maphanga picking up 1/6 and Sharav Reddy taking 1/9, both in two overs.
DHS responded with 143/8. They were done in by Lastio Williams and Ripfumelo Mabunda, who both captured 3/13 from four overs, with Mabunda recording a double-wicket maiden in the fourth over.
The KZN side made a terrible start, with none of their first five batsmen reaching double figures. By the fourth over, they were in serious trouble on 8/4.
Jeremiah Joseph showed plenty of fight, however. Batting eighth in the order, he went on the offensive, whacking five fours and three sixes in an electric 52 off only 29 balls.
Bonga Maphanga, who consistently chipped in with useful runs lower down the order throughout the Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20, contributed 26 at better than a run a ball, and the duo built a brilliant 79-run partnership off only 46 balls for the sixth wicket.
In the end, DHS couldn’t overcome a poor start, and the CSA Hub team won by nine runs.
Grey High School vs Grey College
Pride was on the line in the 15th-place playoff at Prestige College, where traditional rivals, Grey High and Grey College, duked it out.
Batting first, Grey High posted a challenging 156/7 from their 20 overs.
Number four batsman, Nathan Trytsman, struck two fours and a six in an innings of 42 off 40 balls, while Marcus Potgieter, batting two spots below Trytsman, hammered two fours and two sixes in his 36 off 28.
Frederick Jansen, the next man in, delivered an explosive conclusion to Grey High’s innings, smashing five sixes and two fours in his undefeated 42, which took just 16 balls. That proved to be a pivotal contribution.
Juan Maree led the Grey College attack with 2/25 in four overs, while Wilhelmus van der Schyff, who was named the Bowler of the Tournament, picked up 2/35.
Only two Grey College batsmen made it beyond single figures in their reply, but Daniel Hattingh appeared intent on winning the game on his own. He clobbered six sixes and five fours in a fiery 82 off only 48 balls. Aiden Dodd weighed in with 28 off 31 deliveries, and the two combined for a 73-run stand for the sixth wicket.
They needed better support, however, and Grey College was all out for 152 off the last ball of their 20 overs, leaving Grey High with a heart-pounding four-run victory.
Summarised Scorecards:
Rondebosch Boys’ High 138/10 (Timothy Short 30, Tyler Heyns 25, Ethan Strydom 25, Ethan de Heer Kloots 23; Marcus Conradie 4/20, Dion Slabber 3/33). Paul Roos Gimnasium 132/9 (Christiaan Fouché 45, Aiden Titus 38; Eli Aufrichtig 3/17, Reuven dos Santos 2/18). Rondebosch won by six runs.
Jeppe High School for Boys 148/7 (Zizi Mkhize 30, Phemelo Sekopane 29*, Chad Willemse 26; Ewan du Toit 2/24, Elijah Stoop 2/31). Westville Boys’ High 128/9 (Aarin Rasmussen 30, Tristin Delvin 20; Zizi Mkhize 3/19, Phemelo Sekopane 2/29, Chad Willemse 2/29). Jeppe won by 20 runs.
CSA Hub Invitational XI 152/5 (Tshepang Laka 44, Deverick Peterson 31*, Bulumko Magatya 26, Moeketsi Beya 20; Bonga Maphanga 1/6). Durban High School (DHS) 143/8 (Jeremiah Joseph 52, Bonga Maphanga 26; Lastio Williams 3/13, Ripfumelo Mabunda 3/13). CSA Hub won by nine runs.
Grey High 156/7 (Frederick Jansen 42, Nathan Trytsman 42, Marcus Potgieter 36; Juan Maree 2/25, Wilhelmus van der Schyff 2/35). Grey College 152/10 (Daniel Hattingh 82, Aiden Dodd 28; Connor Parry 3/27, Trent Barnardo 2/7, Marcus Potgieter 2/22). Grey High won by four runs.
