Hoërskool Waterkloof and King Edward VII (KES) will do battle for the title in the final of the Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20 Tournament at Camp Discovery on Sunday morning.
In the semifinals, Waterkloof defeated Hoërskool Menlopark by 10 runs at Camp Discovery, while KES booked their spot in the title game after a hard-fought seven-run win over Northwood at the Sinoville Cricket Club.
Klofies will be chasing their fourth Noord-Suid T20 title, having previously won the competition in 2022, 2023, and 2025. KES, on the other hand, is aiming to lift the Noord-Suid T20 trophy for the first time.
At Camp Discovery, Waterkloof opted to bat first against Menlopark. After putting up 155/9, they limited Menlopark to 145/8 in reply.
Rico van der Walt led Klofies’ batting efforts with a well-played 49 from 28 balls and shared a decisive 69-run second-wicket partnership with Juan Swart off only 36 balls. Swart, who made an early entrance following AJ de Villiers‘ dismissal in the first over, contributed 20 runs from 12 deliveries.
Juan Cloete, who came in at number seven, steadied things after Waterkloof had lost a cluster of wickets for a few runs in the middle overs, striking an unbeaten 39 from 32 deliveries to help the defending champions to a winning total.
Jan-Willem Pienaar, the sixth bowler brought into the Menlo attack, captured 3/21 from four overs, while opening bowler Jovan Hartman picked up 2/17 from his four.
Menlopark’s run pursuit began superbly, with Juan Lombaard and Andre Kruyshaar combining for an 80-run opening stand. Lombaard top-scored, with his 33-ball stay producing 41 runs, while Kruyshaar’s contribution was 35 runs from 25 deliveries.
Waterkloof pulled things back with some outstanding bowling and successfully defended their total, with both AJ de Villiers and Rivan Booysen returning 2/21 from four overs.
KES vs Northwood
At Sinoville CC, KES won the toss and chose to bat first.
Coach Lazarus Mokoena’s charges fought their way to 132/6 in 20 overs. Then, their bowlers showed great discipline, restricting Northwood to 125/7 in reply.
Matthew Bromley and Tiago Dias gave the Reds‘ innings a rollicking start, taking only 32 balls to put 56 runs on the board before Dias fell after scoring a handy 24 from 16 deliveries. Bromley followed him back to the dugout two balls later, after a quickfire 31 off 17.
Later, Troy Gordon and Steele Grooteman pushed KES to a winning total with their evenly-paced 45-run fifth-wicket partnership off 49 balls. Gordon contributed a watchful 28 from 31 deliveries, while Grooteman weighed in with an unbeaten run-a-ball 32.
Keegan Reeves was the pick of the Knights‘ attack, knocking over 3/29 in four overs.
In reply, Northwood was undone by their lack of big partnerships. The Durban school’s highest stand was 28 runs for the third wicket stand between Ryan Willis (11) and David de Bruyn (34). Josh Mills (15) and Jamie Wimble (32*) had the bext best partnership, adding 27 runs for the fifth wicket.
Ryan Erasmus was the pick of the KES bowlers, bagging a brace for 25 runs from three overs, while Morné Steyn, Connor Kuijers, Steele Grooteman, and Troy Gordon claimed a wicket each.
In matches between the losing quarterfinalists, Affies needed only 12.3 overs to power to a 10-wicket win over St Andrew’s School, and St David’s Marist Inanda chased down Paarl Boys’ High’s 141/7 with 25 balls to spare, winning by seven wickets.
Summarised Scorecards
Waterkloof 155/9 (Rico van der Walt 49, Juan Cloete 39*, Juan Swart 20; Jan-Willem Pienaar 3/21, Jovan Hartman 2/17, Jordan van Eck 2/36). Menlopark 145/8 (Juan Lombaard 41, Andre Kruyshaar 35, Heinrich Claassen 17). Waterkloof won by 10 runs.
KES 132/6 (Steele Grooteman 32*, Matthew Bromley 31, Troy Gordon 28; Keegan Reeves 3/29, James Searle 1/10, David de Bruyn 1/10). Northwood 125/7 (David de Bruyn 34, Jamie Wimble 32, James Searle 17; Ryan Erasmus 2/25, Connor Kuijers 1/14, Steele Grooteman 1/16). KES won by seven runs.
Paarl Boys’ High 141/7 (Neil Louw 38, Gilmer Horn 35, Christo Muller 23; Jason Rowles 4/19, Kairav Koobair 1/20, Christopher Emslie 1/21). St David’s Marist Inanda 142/3 (Sohail Seonath 53, Jason Rowles 31, Hayden Campbell 24*; Ra’ed Fredericks 2/25, Aden Batt 1/29). St David’s Marist Inanda won by seven wickets.
St Andrew’s School 91/10 (FG Botha 24, Schalk van Rensburg 22; Paul Bester 3/14, Lucas Cronje 2/22, Christian Linde 1/9). Affies 95/0 (JP Botha 52*, AJ Morkel 39*; Bolhokwa Leketa 0/7, Schalk van Rensburg 0/7). Affies won by 10 wickets.
