Jeppe High School for Boys and St Stithians College marched to emphatic victories over St Benedict’s College and Pretoria Boys High (PBHS) in their respective T20 fixtures on Wednesday.
Jeppe, who hosted St Benedict’s on the Beckwith Oval, recorded an emphatic 119-run win.
Vegas Scott, the Jeppe captain, won the toss, elected to bat first, and helped his side mount a daunting total of 230/5 in 20 overs. Shreshth Kumar then spun webs around Bennies, who tallied just 111/8 in their 20 overs.
Scott opened the batting with Zizi Mkhize, and together they scored 46 runs in 4.3 overs. Their partnership was succeeded by Scott and Aiden Reyneke‘s match-defining 117-run second-wicket partnership.
Scott’s captain’s knock, a brilliant 41-ball 72, featured eight fours and three sixes. However, the star of the show was Reyneke, who struck four fours and launched eight sixes, powering his way to 74 from only 34 deliveries. The sum of their contributions was more than what St Benedict’s batsmen were able to muster.
A huge reason for that was Shreshth Kumar‘s wizardry with the ball. The spinner removed five of the visitors’ top six batsmen on his way to an impressive return of 5/23 from four overs. Lincoln Casais was miserly, claiming 2/4 from three overs, for an impressive economy rate of 1.3 runs an over.
Callum Stagman top-scored for St Benedict’s, making 30 from 34 balls. Five others – Jordan Day, Keaghan Greensmith, Treasure Dube, Matteo Erasmus, and Matthew Lewis – reached double figures, but none reached the 20-run mark.
St Stithians vs Pretoria Boys High
St Stithians proved their might on the Dlamini Oval, where they won the toss, elected to bowl first, and cantered to a comfortable nine-wicket win over PBHS.
The hosts’ bowling attack functioned superbly as a unit, restricting PBHS to 102/9 from their 20 overs. Saints then needed only 11 overs to reach 105/1 and claim victory.
Matthew Katzenstein made batting look easy on a track on which everyone else seemed to struggle. The Saints‘ opener led the way with an unbeaten 57 balls, striking five fours and three sixes in a 34-ball stay.
Katzenstein and Ombesa Matsha set St Stithians on course for victory with a 53-run opening partnership, to which Matsha contributed 19 runs. Katzenstein then added another 52 with Thomas Collins, who finished with 19 not out.
Earlier in the day, Akhil Challa accounted for three of PBHS’s top five batsmen, snapping up 3/23 in four overs. Zakir Hanslo and Tajendra Naidu provided good support, collecting a brace of wickets each.
After a poor start by their top order, Ewan Coleman put up some resistance in the middle order, weighing in with 20 from 29 deliveries. He was, however, the only batsman to make it beyond the teens. The next best was Abri Strauss, who contributed 18 runs.
Summarised Scorecards
Jeppe 230/5 (Aiden Reyneke 74, Vegas Scott 72; Matthew Lewis 1/35, Shae Pollard 1/27, Tlotliso Mhlanga 1/27). St Benedict’s 111/8 (Callum Stagman 30, Jordan Day 18; Shreshth Kumar 5/23, Lincoln Casais 2/4). Jeppe won by 119 runs.
Pretoria Boys High 102/9 (Ewan Coleman 20, Abri Strauss; Akhil Challa 3/23, Zaakir Hanslo 2/10, Tajendra Naidu 2/13). St Stithians 105/1 (Matthew Katzenstein 57*, Thomas Collins 19*; Duke Seboko 1/15, Caden Barnes 0/20). St Stithians won by nine wickets.
