Dr EG Jansen is eagerly looking forward to contesting stage two of the rain Schools SA20 competition for the first time.
They’ll follow a path previously trodden by their girls’ side, which lifted the Eastern Storm‘s regional title last year.
After a decade of losing out to Marais Viljoen in finals, Jansies turned the tables when they met in the final in October, thus extending their Schools SA20 adventure.
Part of the reason for their success lies with having coach Andrew Nel in the EG Jansen dressing room. He was at the helm of Marais Viljoen for 18 years and, from 2016, was responsible for some of their victories over Jansies. The long-awaited victory over Marais Viljoen was a bittersweet moment for Nel, who has been with the EG Jansen 1st XI for two years.
Apart from the coach, their title win also had plenty to do with Gunther Hoffman and Kayden Rabe, who put their skills on show to help Jansies secure a thrilling 20-run win over Marais Viljoen on the Willowmoore Park B Field.
Hoffman’s brilliance with the bat underpinned his side’s victory. After they elected to take to the crease first, his half-century spirited them to 142/6. Rabe then led the charge with the ball as EG Jansen bowled Marais Viljoen out for 122 runs with 13 balls to spare.
EG Jansen’s challenge began poorly, losing both openers in the first eight balls of the contest. Undaunted, Nailen Carter (35) and Stain Ungerer (16) rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt the innings with a 39-run stand from 46 balls. Together, they saw EG Jansen out of the powerplay without a further loss of wickets.
Their partnership also created a platform for Hoffman to push the game forward. Batting at five, he slammed a pulsating 38-ball 64 that featured seven sixes and a single four. He was also part of two crucial partnerships that helped put the total beyond Marais Viljoen’s reach.
He and Carter added 45 runs from 38 balls. Then, Hoffman and Ernst de Beer stitched together a 47-run fifth-wicket stand, which ended in the 20th over with Hoffman’s dismissal. By then, he had done enough to lift Jansies to an unassailable total.
Marais Viljoen began their run chase on a positive note. Zaim Hashim (38) and Jacques Ferreira (18) got them underway with a 32-run opening stand that utilised 28 balls. Kayden Rabe broke that partnership when he claimed Ferreira’s wicket in the fifth over.
Zaim Hashim and Rieshaeel Hashim kept Marais Viljoen on track with a brisk 23-run third-wicket partnership from only 12 balls. However, like the first one, that partnership was also broken by Rabe. From that point on, Marais Viljoen struggled to arrest the downhill slide.
Rabe led the EG Jansen attack, capturing 4/19 in four overs. CJ Pienaar and Jayden Fortuin ensured he didn’t have to go it alone by equally sharing the other six wickets between them. Pienaar snapped up 3/9, while Fortuin finished the game with 3/16.
In phase two of the tournament, EG Jansen will face the top teams from the Titans and Limpopo regions.
Summarised Scorecard:
Dr EG Jansen 142/6 (Gunther Hoffman 64, Mailen Carter 35, Stian Ungerer 16; Zaim Hashim 1/15, Ethan Graham 1/19, Rieshaeel Hashim 1/21). Marais Viljoen 122/10 (Zaim Hashim 38, Jacques Ferreira 18, Hendré Cilliers 15; Kayden Rabe 4/19, CJ Pienaar 3/9, Jayden Fortuin 3/16). EG Jansen won by 20 runs.
