FG Botha provided the fireworks when St Andrew’s School met Paul Roos Gimnasium at Die Hoerskool Menlopark in a Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20 Pool D clash on Thursday afternoon. The Saints‘ top-order batsman had his way with the PRG bowlers, powering his way to 92 not out.
Botha’s innings included seven sixes and six fours, and it took him only 52 balls to come up just shy of a century.
He enjoyed strong support from captain Reuben van Aarde, who shared an opening stand of 40 with Jonathan Hickley in less than four overs before Janko Webb ran out Hickley with a direct hit for 15.
Hickley and Botha combined for the match’s defining stand, a rampaging partnership of 116 from only 10.4 overs, with Hickley contributing 50 off 40 balls, with seven fours, before being caught by James Holm off Marcus Conradie‘s bowling.
After their 20 overs, St Andrew’s totalled a healthy 187/4, with FG Botha’s innings making up almost half of that total.
While his teammates struggled to restrain the St Andrew’s batsmen, Jason Moodie sparkled, sending down four overs and picking up a miserly 1/10. FG Botha, though, made life miserable for the Stellenbosch school’s attack.
Janko Webb led PRG’s response, cracking five sixes and three fours in a hasty 55 off 27 deliveries. Opening batsman Xander van Niekerk teamed up with Webb for an 82-run partnership for the second wicket, contributing 32 off 30 deliveries.
Later, with the pressure on, Christiaan Fouché weighed in with 28 off 17, but he was out in the 17th over, one ball after Marcus Conradie was run out for 16. Then, it became three wickets in three balls when Heindré Serfontein bowled Dion Slabber, and suddenly the odds had shifted heavily in the Bloemfontein school’s favour.
In the last over, though, after Nathan Philips smashed a six, Paul Roos needed 16 from four balls, and the maroon-clad boys had hope. Schalk van Rensburg responded well, though, conceding only one run from the next three deliveries to ensure St Andrew’s would win.
PRG added a boundary off the last ball, but it was too late, and they finished on 177/7, leaving Saints with a 10-run victory.
Heindré Serfontein was the pick of the St Andrew’s bowlers, capturing 2/22 in four overs, while FG Botha followed up his superb innings with 1/24 from three overs. Left-arm spinner, Ryle Beckmann, who opened the bowling, claimed 1/29 from his four overs, ending Janko Webb’s dangerous innings.
At Hofmeyr Park, the CSA Hub Invitational XI was unable to cut loose against King Edward VII (KES), finishing their 20 overs with 115/8.
The best partnership of their innings was for the third wicket, with Olwethu Mathabeni and Azam Saiet joining forces to add 36 runs. Then, Ryan Erasmus caught Mathabeni off Tyler Cloete for 24.
Saiet went on to achieve the innings’ highest score of 37 from 35 deliveries, with five fours, before a direct hit from Tiago Dias ran out the number four batsman.
Connor Kuijers shared the new ball and tied down the Hub XI with a tight 1/12 from four overs, while Troy Gordon, the seventh bowler brought into the KES attack, claimed 2/21 in three overs.
Chasing a modest total, all KES needed was one dominant innings, and their captain, Matthew Bromley, delivered it. After he and Tiago Dias, who made 14, posted 50 for the first wicket at almost 10 runs per over, Bromley kept the KES engine chugging, although the CSA Hub bowlers enjoyed some success.
Azam Saiet sent three batsmen packing, nabbing 3/26 in four overs to complete an outstanding all-round performance. However, Bromley wasn’t one of those wickets. He went on to finish unbeaten on 51 after facing 42 balls and striking four fours and two sixes.
After 14.5 overs, KES reached 116/5, winning by five wickets with 31 balls to spare.
They face St Andrew’s School on Friday morning, with the winner set to go top of Pool D. The CSA Hub Invitational XI takes on Paul Roos Gimnasium.
Summarised Scorecards:
St Andrew’s School 187/4 (FG Botha 92*, Reuben van Aarde 50; Jason Moodie 1/10); Paul Roos Gimnasium 177/7 (Janko Webb 55, Xander van Niekerk 32, Christiaan Fouche 28; Heindré Serfontein 2/22). St Andrew’s School won by 10 runs.
CSA Hub Invitational XI 115/8 (Azam Saiet 37, Olwethu Mathabeni 24; Troy Gordon 2/21); King Edward VII 116/5 (Matthew Bromley 51*; Azam Saiet 3/26). King Edward VII won by five wickets.
