King Edward VII (KES) produced a solid team performance on the AH Childe Oval on Sunday afternoon to withstand a strong challenge from Jeppe High School for Boys and claim a thrilling nine-run win in the Lions region’s rain Schools SA20 final.
KES was crowned the Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20 Tournament champion the previous weekend and is riding a wave of success, which has delivered two titles in two weeks.
After Urav Mukhija, the KES captain, called correctly at the toss and elected to bat first, Cian Sullivan played a brave knock that arrested a collapse and led the Reds to 163/8 from their 20 overs.
Their bowlers then banded together to dismiss Jeppe for 154 in 19.3 overs.
The victory over Jeppe served as atonement for a disappointing 95-run loss to the Black Caps in their 50-over contest on Saturday.
KES, who steamrolled Hoërskool Monument in the quarterfinals, reached the final courtesy of an overwhelming victory over Hoërskool Linden on the Jamieson 1 Field at St Stithians in the semi-finals on Sunday morning.
Their bowlers responded well to the challenge of being asked to bowl first and restricted Linden to a light 80/9, with only Simeon Kleynhans, with 31, and Wynand van Zyl, with 17, reaching double figures.
Kyle Henenne was the destroyer-in-chief, capturing 3/20 in four overs, while Keegan Hendey and Tyler Cloete chipped in with two wickets each.
KES then powered to a 10-wicket victory in only 6.4 overs, with Urav Mukhija smashing 54 off only 22 balls and Cian Sullivan making 23 off 18.
While the Reds made a quick start in the title game, they also lost early wickets. They were on 27/2 in the third over when Sullivan walked out to the crease, where he proceeded to hit four fours and a six in a vital 43 off 32 balls.
The number four batsman had a brief 10-run third-wicket partnership with Kyle Henenne, who made eight, before he consolidated the innings with Luke Bromley, whose contribution was 20. Together, they cobbled a vital 64-run fourth-wicket stand that put KES on the path to victory.
Keegan Hendey (14), Blaine Candy (13), Tyler Cloete (13), and Matthew de Jong (15*) reached double figures, but none kicked on.
When Jeppe batted, Zizi Mkhize was their answer to KES’s Sullivan. The Jeppe number three had to face the second delivery of the innings and then lost his partner six balls later as the home side made a poor start to their run chase.
Mkhize, however, appeared unfazed and set about the Reds’ bowling, striking a brisk 52 from only 27 balls, with seven fours and a six. Unfortunately for Jeppe, no one else came close to replicating his brilliance, with their next-best contribution 23 from Christian Naik, and the Black Caps were not quite able to make it over the line.
Henenne was the leading wicket-taker for KES, with 3/19. Bernard Dorland nabbed 2/20 in two, while the opening pair of Tyler Cloete and Keegan Hendey also picked up a pair of wickets each.
Summarised Scorecard
King Edward VII 163/8 (Cian Sullivan 43, Luke Bromley 20, Urav Mukhija 18; Goolam Ahmed 3/25, Boitumelo Skunka 2/26, Zizi Mkhize 2/34). Jeppe High School for Boys 154/10 (Zizi Mkhize 52, Christian Naik 23, Phemelo Sekopane 17; Kyle Henenne 3/19, Bernard Dorland 2/20, Keegan Hendey 2/28, Tyler Cloete 2/39). KES won by nine runs.
