Menlopark, Northwood, Waterkloof, and King Edward VII (KES) produced sharp performances to book their places in the semifinals of the Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20 Tournament in Pretoria on Saturday
Ryan van Zyl starred with the bat, while James Searle excelled with the ball as Northwood overran Paarl Boys’ High at the Gijima Sports Club, recording a dominant 98-run win.
Opening the innings, Van Zyl hammered an unbeaten 91 from only 51 balls to lead Northwood to 194/6 after they elected to bat first. Their bowlers then ran through the Boishaai batsmen, dismissing them for 96 in 18.1 overs.
Van Zyl, who was the constant in Northwood’s seven partnerships, shared two major stands. First, there was his 45-run second-wicket partnership with David de Bruyn (27), and then there was also his 74-run fifth-wicket partnership with Josh Mills (33).
When they took to the field, Northwood quickly set Paarl Boys’ High on the back foot by capturing two early wickets. The Capetonians never recovered.
Searle, who was the pick of the Northwood bowlers, was almost unplayable, sending three batsmen packing for only four runs from 3.1 overs. Oliver Anderson chipped in with a brace of wickets, while Cameron White, De Bruyn, Keegan Reeves, and Josh Mills picked up a wicket each.
Menlopark vs Affies
At Camp Discovery, Juan Lombaard‘s unbeaten 81 steered Menlopark to an emphatic eight-wicket win over their Pretoria rivals, Affies.
Affies batted first after winning the toss and powered their way to 160/6 from their 20 overs. It looked like a strong total, but Lombard took the reins and expertly led Menlopark to 161/2 in 17.1 overs.
In only 55 deliveries, Lombaard struck six fours and five sixes. He and Johan Bosch teamed up to add 59 for the second wicket. Then Lombard and Jan-Willem Pienaar (41*) produced an unbroken 84-run third-wicket partnership to see their side to a satisfying win.
Earlier in the day, the Affies’ batsmen failed to build upon good starts. AJ Morkel (29), Vihan Pretorius (38), Christian Linde (25), Daniel Murray (24), and Zain Labuschagne (22) all played themselves in but failed to kick on.
Waterkloof vs St Andrew’s School
Waterkloof enjoyed contributions from several players in their 25-run win over St Andrew’s School at the Sinoville Cricket Club.
Klofies won the toss, elected to bat first, and posted 162/4 in their 20 overs. St Andrew’s put up a fight, but lost their last five wickets for only 14 runs and were bowled out for 137 in 19.2 overs.
Rico van der Walt led the charge for Waterkloof with a solid 45 off 31 balls at the top of the order. After he exited, Wian du Plessis took over, striking an unbeaten 37 from 24 balls to lead them to a challenging total.
When Saints batted, Schalk van Rensburg (33) and Spencer Murray (31) were patient in their approach but failed to kick into fifth gear. FG Botha showed his class with a 14-ball cameo that produced 25 runs, but that wasn’t substantial enough to see the Bloemfontein boys to victory.
Rivan Booysen was Waterkloof’s most successful bowler, snapping up 3/27 in four overs. Johan Liebenberg lent good support, claiming 2/24 in four.
KES vs St David’s Marist Inanda
King Edward VII (KES) produced a sound all-round performance to record a thrilling nine-run win over St David’s Marist Inanda on the Affies Main Oval.
After winning the coin flip, KES batted and tallied 152/7. Their bowlers then restricted St David’s to 143/4 in reply.
Morne Steyn and Kyle Henenne offered strong middle-order resistance to steer KES to safety after they had stumbled early on. Steyn weighed in with 35 runs from 26 balls, while Henenne contributed an unbeaten 35 off 31 deliveries.
Sohail Seonath gave St David’s a good start with a steady 41 from 37 balls and shared a 68-run opening partnership with Jason Rowles (38). While it was a good start to their reply, St David’s needed more from their opening pair to chase down the target set by KES.
Tyler Cloete led the KES attack, knocking over 2/24, while Ryan Erasmus bagged 1/22.
Summarised Scorecards:
Northwood 194/6 (Ryan van Zyl 91, Josh Mills 33, David de Bruyn 27; Roan Heyns 2/15, AB Jacobs 2/38). Paarl Boys’ High 96/10 (Aden Batt 20, Gilmer 20; James Searle 3/4, Oliver Anderson 2/33). Northwood won by 98 runs.
Affies 160/6 (Vihan Pretorius 38, AJ Morkel 29, Christian Linde 25; Jovan Hartman 2/22; Verster Richter 2/37). Menlopark 161/2 (Juan Lombaard 81*, Jan-Willem Piennar 41*, Johan Bosch; Lucas Cronje 1/13, Vihan Pretorius 1/31). Menlopark won by eight wickets.
Waterkloof 162/4 (Rico van der Walt 45, Wian du Plessis 37; Nikhil Sukraj 2/40, FG Botha 1/24). St Andrew’s School 137/10 (Schalk van Rensburg 33, Spencer Murray 31, FG Botha 25; Rivan Booysen 3/27, Johan Liebenberg 2/24). Waterkloof won by 25 runs.
King Edward VII 152/7 (Morne Steyn 35, Kyle Henenne 35*, Tiago Dias 28; Kyle Butler 3/37, Kairav Koobair 2/7). St David’s Marist Inanda 143/4 (Sohail Seonath 41, Jason Rowles 38, Michael Smithyman 21; Tyler Cloete 2/24, Ryan Erasmus 1/22). King Edward VII won by nine runs.
