Hoërskool Monument held on for a thrilling three-run win over Northcliff High on Thursday at Monument, while Waterstone College stormed to a convincing seven-wicket win over Trinityhouse Little Falls.
Monnas, who won the toss, elected to bat first and reached 155/9 from their 20 overs. Northcliff put up an outstanding fight but, agonisingly, fell three runs short, with their innings ending on 152/8.
Riley Ragni top-scored for Monument with a steady 36 from 34 balls. He also shared a 33-run opening stand with Juanrey Zaayman and followed that with a 59-run second-wicket partnership with Zain van der Vyver, who weighed in with 30.
Monnas lost their next six batsmen for only 35 runs and looked set for a below-par score until Ettiene Joubert (11*) and Lejean Banks (13*) tacked on 14 for the 10th wicket, which proved to be pivotal in the end.
Northcliff’s run chase ran into the weeds from the start, and a win looked unlikely until Divan Pretorius walked out to bat in the ninth over. He quickly got on top of the bowling, striking an unbeaten 53 from 31 balls. He also shared an industrious 47-run seventh-wicket partnership with Jamie McHugh, whose contribution was a useful 39.
Their efforts took Northcliff to the brink of victory, but they couldn’t make it over the edge.
Waterstone College vs Trinityhouse Little Falls
Harsh Patel claimed a five-wicket haul to set Waterstone up for a seven-wicket win over Trinityhouse Little Falls when they crossed swords on the FIFA Field at Waterstone College.
In a low-scoring game, the hosts won the toss, chose to bowl first, and ran through the Trinityhouse batting lineup, dismissing the visitors out for only 49 runs from 15.3 overs. Waterstone replied with 50/3, taking only 8.5 overs to secure victory.
Patel was on fire and claimed three wickets in the space of four balls in the 12th over to send Trinityhouse reeling. The visitors had few answers for his wiles, and he finished the match with an astonishing 5/4 in 2.3 overs. Bhargav Kumar chipped in with 2/9 from four overs, while Ushman Ahmed and Jared Damons claimed a wicket each.
Damons then got the chase underway with a solid 18 runs at just better than a run a ball. After his dismissal, Zahid Bishmila stepped up and led the hosts over the finishing line with an unbeaten 20-ball 15.
Summarised Scorecards
Hoërskool Monument 155/9 (Riley Ragni 36, Ziane van der Vyver 30, Lejean Banks 13*; Divan Pretorius 2/18, Aidan Spies 2/38). Northcliff High 153/8 (Divan Pretorius 53*, Jamie McHugh 39, Ntokozo Tshabalala 17; Kairen van der Bank 2/18, Andrew Moseki 2/19, Juanrey Zaayman 2/28). Monument won by three runs.
Trinityhouse Little Falls 49/10 (Bryce Maritz 12, Baiden Paul 8; Harsh 5/4, Bhargav Kumar 2/9, Ushman Ahmed 1/6). Waterstone College 50/3 (Jared Damons 18, Zahid Bishmila 15*; Tristan Jones 2/21, Jesse Anderson 1/8). Waterstone won by seven wickets.
