Selborne College reigned supreme on the Selborne No. 1 field, nicknamed The Desert, making light work of Queen’s College and the Middledrift Hub in the semi-final and final of the Border region’s rain Schools SA20 tournament on Tuesday.
In the title game, after Selborne won the toss and chose to bowl first, they skittled Middledrift for only 51 runs in 14.4 overs, then took just 5.5 overs to reach 52/0 and claim victory.
Matters looked ominous for Middledrift when Afika Xuba captured the hosts’ first wicket with the fourth ball of the contest.
The Hub responded with a patient 22-run second-wicket partnership that chewed up 35 deliveries. Only seven of those runs came off the bat. The other 15 were extras.
In the end, Selborne conceded 28 extras, more than half of Middledrift’s total.
Muhammed Lulat ended the visitors’ second-wicket stand in the seventh over, then picked up another wicket two balls later, to trigger a collapse. From that point on, Middledrift lost a wicket in every over besides the 11th and 12th.
Lulat posed questions the Hub couldn’t answer, capturing 3/2 in two overs. Jayden van Tonder was as effective as Lalat, picking up three scalps for five runs from three overs. John Calver dislodged two batsmen, while Avethandwa Manyonga and Afika Xuba chipped in with a wicket each.
Van Tonder, who was crowned the player of the match, subsequently cruised to an unbeaten 23 off only 15 balls in Selborne’s run chase.
He shared an unbroken 52-run opening stand with the match’s top-scorer, Rosh Els, who finished with 24 not out.
Selborne will meet the winners of the Focus Schools and Eastern Cape regions in the next phase.
Selborne College vs Queen’s College
Selborne qualified for the final with a resounding 153-run win over Queen’s College earlier in the day.
Their trio of Josh Wilkie, Thomas Lyon, and Daniel Tarr put on a show with the bat after the toss favoured the home side. Wilkie and Lyon laid a firm foundation with an enterprising opening partnership before Tarr smashed a lightning-quick 40 runs to propel Selborne to 196/7.
With plenty of runs to defend, Selborne’s bowlers ensured Queen’s never mounted a challenge, bundling the Komani boys out for only 43 runs in 11 overs.
Wilkie and Lyon cobbled a brisk 66-run opening stand in 38 balls to get Selborne off to a swift start. Wilkie, whose innings lasted 13 overs, top-scored with 45 off only 36 balls, and Lyon contributed 36 from 22 deliveries.
The visitors might have fancied their chances when they dismissed Lyon and Jesse van Bronckhorst in three balls. However, their exit opened the door for Tarr to enter. The number five batsman blitzed an explosive 40 runs from just 17 balls in a 63-run third-wicket partnership with Wilkie.
When the pair fell within seven balls of one another, their replacements didn’t let up, adding 64 from 42 deliveries to take them close to 200 runs.
Faced with a formidable total, Queen’s saw it transform into an insurmountable target when they lost five wickets in the powerplay. They were unable to recover from that awful start and lost another five wickets in the next six overs.
Rosh Els was the leading wicket-taker for Selborne, returning 3/16 from three overs. Liam Chettiar and Reid Drake captured two wickets apiece, while Aventhandwa Manyonga and Josh Calver bagged one each.
Summarised Scorecards:
Middledrift Hub 51/10 (Likhanye Tunyiswa 8, Onakho Mandita 7; Muhammed Lulat 3/2, Jayden van Tonder 3/5, Josh Claver 2/2). Selborne College 52/0 (Rosh Els 24*, Jayden van Tonder 23*; Amyoli Oliphant 0/19, Likhanye Tunyiswa 0/33). Selborne won by 10 wickets.
Selborne College 196/7 (Josh Wilkie 45, Daniel Tarr 40, Thomas Lyon 36; Kungawo Zukiso 2/39, Kyle Scharneck 2/39, Amila Maselane). Queen’s College 43/10 (Phumelela Mavi 17, Kungawo Zukiso 6; Rosh Els 3/16, Liam Chettiar 2/1, Reid Drake 2/16). Selborne won by 153 runs.
