In the Saturday afternoon session of the Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20, Westville Boys’ High posted 143/9 in their Plate semifinal against Rondebosch Boys’ High at Die Hoërskool Menlopark.
Aarin Rasmussen, after impressing with the ball on Saturday morning against the CSA Hub side, demonstrated his all-round game with a superb innings.
He arrived at the crease with the Griffins in a spot of bother, on 31/4, and decided the best form of defence was attack. Taking it to the Bosch bowlers, he cracked four fours and two sixes, racing to 57 off 45 balls.
Ewan du Toit, batting at three, scored 25 off 24, and partnered Rasmussen for a much-needed 40 runs for the fifth wicket.
Rondebosch all-rounder Eli Aufrichtig made his mark by knocking over 3/24 across four overs, and ran out the dangerous Aidan Baudach, with a direct hit sending the opener packing for 12.
Raa’id Davids was the eighth bowler brought into the attack, and he played his part by taking 2/16 in three overs.
After 20 overs, the Griffins had totalled 143/9.
‘Bosch’s reply owed plenty to all-rounder Timothy Short. He’s better known for his left-arm orthodox spin, but there’s a reason why he bats in the middle-order.
When he made his way to the middle, the Cape Town school was wobbling on 31/3 in the sixth over, but Short took charge, walloping four fours and a six in the innings’ highest score of 51 off 39 deliveries. Matthew Brooks, at six, shared a vital 45-run fifth-wicket stand with Short to keep the run chase alive.
Aarin Rasmussen followed up his outstanding innings with a tight 2/22 from four overs, while Misbah Nair also sent down four overs and nabbed 2/20.
In a nail-biting conclusion to their 20 overs, the southern suburbs’ side totalled 143/7, resulting in a Super Over being needed to determine the winner.
Bosch appeared to have wrapped up a win when they rocketed to 20/1 in their Super Over, with Short hitting two fours in two balls, and Zion van Rensburg smashing a six and a four before being caught by Liam de Villiers off the bowling of Michael Hopkins. It turned out, they needed every one of those runs.
Tristin Delvin responded by smashing 19 runs off five balls for Westville, but they ultimately fell one run short, finishing on 19/1, and Rondebosch progressed to Sunday’s Plate final.
Paul Roos Gimnasium vs Jeppe High School for Boys
In the second Plate semifinal at Hoërskool Waterkloof, Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) made a solid start with the bat against Jeppe High School for Boys.
Top-order batsmen, Aiden Titus and Janko Webb, tallied 39 runs each, with Titus hitting six fours in his 34-ball stay, while Webb needed only 25 balls, three of which he dispatched for six, and another for four.
Jeppe’s bowlers enjoyed success towards the end of PRG’s innings. Christian Naik snapped up 2/8 in a two-over spell, and Goolam Ahmed snaffled 2/28 from four overs as Paul Roos posted 174/7, setting Jeppe a challenging victory target.
The Johannesburg side’s top-order batsmen, Vegas Scott and Zizi Mkhize, both got going without truly busting free, with Scott scoring 35 off 26, while Mkhize tallied 29 off 23.
Marcus Conradie, meanwhile, continued his wicket-taking form, claiming 2/32 in four overs.
When rain forced the players from the field, Jeppe had reached 120/5 after 14.2 overs.
In a “one-in-a-million” circumstance, the match was determined to be a tie using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) Method. That led to a tie-breaker being implemented, and it favoured Paul Roos. They had scored five points in the group stage, while Jeppe scored four, which was enough to send the Western Cape outfit into the Plate final against Rondebosch.
Grey College vs CSA Hub Invitational
Grey College faced the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Hub Invitational side at the Hofmeyr Park A Oval with a place in the 13th/14th playoff up for grabs.
While matters at the Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20 hadn’t gone as Grey College would have wanted, Wilhelmus van der Schyff had enjoyed an outstanding tournament, and he delivered his best performance yet, capturing a stunning 6/14 in only 2.5 overs, averaging a wicket every 2.8 balls.
Aiden Dodd offered good support, claiming 2/12 in his two-over spell.
The Hub side, however, started well, with opening batsman Joshua Thomas, stroking four fours in his 43 off 45 before he became one of Van der Schyff’s victims. His fellow opener, Bulumko Magatya, made their next highest score with an entertaining 24 off 23, which featured three fours and a six.
Unfortunately for the CSA side, after their openers were dismissed, they collapsed, tumbling from 87/2 to 107 all out in just four overs.
Grey College struggled in their run chase, limping to 50/6 just before the halfway mark of their reply. None of their batsmen moved beyond the teens, with Daniel Hattingh, at five, and Stefan Jansen van Vuuren, at nine, sharing the joint-top score of 17 runs each.
With 13 balls remaining of their 20 overs, Grey College was bowled out for 98, leaving the composite crew with a nine-run win and a date with Durban High School (DHS) for 13th place on Sunday.
A trio of Hub bowlers snaffled a couple of wickets each, with Bokamoso Bantjie picking up 2/27, Lastio Williams 2/17, and Ripfumelo Mabunda 2/18.
Durban High School (DHS) vs Grey High School
When DHS met Grey High at the Harlequins Cricket Club, Bonga Maphanga, who has been in good form, turned up the heat, snapping up 4/18 in four overs to rock the Gqeberha side. Shaun Stumke further dialled up the pressure by conceding a miserly 11 runs while picking up two wickets from three overs.
Seven Grey High batsmen made it into double figures, but only one, Marcus Potgieter, made it past 20. He top-scored with 24 at a run-a-ball, and extras added 15 to Grey’s total as they finished their 20 overs on 140/9.
In response, DHS captain Josh van Biljon continued to deliver with the bat, smashing six fours and a six in his 58 off 43, which was the highest score of the match by 34 runs.
Jeremiah Joseph, batting at four, was the next best batsman for the Horseflies, tallying 20 off 18. He and Van Biljon combined for 53 runs for the third wicket.
Frederick Jansen, who accounted for the DHS skipper, was the best of the Grey High bowlers, collecting 2/14 in 2.5 overs.
DHS had reached 131/6 after 17.5 overs when rain stopped play. That handed the result to the DLS Method, and the KZN side triumphed by nine runs.
With the loss, it will be Grey vs Grey – High School vs College – in the 15th-place playoff.
Summarised Scorecards:
Westville Boys’ High 143/9 (Aarin Rasmussen 57*, Ewan du Toit 25; Eli Aufrichtig 3/24, Raa’id Davids 2/16). Rondebosch Boys’ High 143/7 (Timothy Short 51, Schalk Fourie 20; Misbah Nair 2/20, Aarin Rasmussen 2/22). Rondebosch won by one run in a Super Over.
Paul Roos Gimnasium 174/7 (Janko Webb 39, Aiden Titus 39, Christiaan Fouché 26, Nathan Phillips 23; Christian Naik 2/8, Goolam Ahmed 2/28). Jeppe High School for Boys 120/5 (Vegas Scott 35, Zizi Mkhize 29, Phemelo Sekopane 24; Marcus Conradie 2/32). Tied on the DLS Method, but Paul Roos wins for scoring five points to Jeppe’s four in the group stage.
CSA Hub Invitational XI 107/10 (Joshua Thomas 43, Bulumko Magatya 24; Wilhemus van der Schyff 6/14, Aiden Dodd 2/12). Grey College 98/10 (Stefan Jansen van Vuuren 17; Lastio Williams 2/17, Ripfumelo Williams Mabunda 2/18, Bokamosa Bantjie 2/27). CSA Hub won by nine runs.
Grey High 140/9 (Marcus Potgieter 24; Bonga Maphanga 4/18, Shaun Stumke 2/11). Durban High School 131/6 (Joshua van Biljon 58, Jeremiah Joseph 20; Frederick Jansen 2/14). DHS won by nine runs via the DLS Method.
