RONDEBOSCH WIN COCA-COLA T20 SCHOOLS CHALLENGE

Rondebosch Boys' High School are the 2013 Coca-Cola T20 Schools Challenge champions.  They beat Waterkloof by 10 runs in the final at Newlands on Sunday to take home the  R110 000 in prize money and the title of top school in the country in the twenty over format.

Six schools, representing the Cricket South Africa franchises have been in action in Stellenbosch over the past three days, with Rondebosch (Cobras) and Waterkloof (Titans) topping the coastal and inland pools, respectively, to advance to the final.

All the schools involved - the others being St Stithians (Lions), Westville (Dolphins), St Andrew's (Knights) and Framesby (Warriors) - earned        R66 000 in prize money for reaching this stage of the competition.  Winnings are to be spent on cricket facilities and equipment at their schools.

The final was a low-scoring affair as the big Newlands outfield made for fewer runs than  were scored on the smaller Maties grounds in the earlier stages.

Rondebosch batted first and could only get 112/8 in their 20 overs. Zubayr Hamza was their top scorer, with 50.

It looked well short of a winning total, but the Rondebsoch bowlers rose to the occasion. Dayyan Galiem was outstanding, taking 3/15 in his four overs, and the rest of the attack assisted in keeping Waterkloof's run-rate down.

The Pretoria side lost wickets at regular intervals and as the pressure mounted they started going for big hits that were never on. This led to them losing their last four wickets for just 10 runs and they ended up all out, 10 runs short of the target with one over to go.

The man of the match in the final was Zubayr Hanza for his 50 runs off 43 balls, while the player of the series award went to Matthew Christensen, also of Rondebosch, who was the top runs-scorer at the event, making 232 runs in the five games he played.

“Words fail me.  It was a great team effort.  We have worked hard and winning this tournament was the cherry on the top,” said 16 year old Christensen, who is hoping his performance will get him into the Western Province team that will compete in the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week taking place in December 2013.

Scores

Rondebosch 112/8 (Commins 20, Hamza 20; Pretorius 2/20, Vorstman 2/20, Grobbelaaar 2/17). Waterkloof 102 all out  (Van Rensburg 26, Rossuw 13, Vorstman 24; Galiem 3/15, Sader 2/21, Skovaard-Petersen 2/19, Stevens 2/27). Rondebosch won by 10 runs.