Richardt Ackerman leads Waterkloof Hoerskool to the Cricket South Africa Schools T20 Challenge Title for the second time

Hoërskool Waterkloof the Titans franchise representatives won the 2020 CSA Schools T20 title, beating SACS of the Cape Cobras by 15 runs in the final at the Tuks Oval on Sunday.

It was Waterkloof’s 2^nd title – they won the tournament in 2011 – and they were good value for their victory in high quality final that saw 357 runs scored – the most in the 11 finals held since the competition was first staged.

Waterkloof batted first and after a slowish start their middle order, led by Hardus Coetzer

And Richardt Ackerman, ignited the innings and they eventually got to 186/6 in their two overs. Coetzer ended up on 77 not out, off 54 balls and he struck eight fours and a six . Ackerman made 28 off 12 balls.

It was always going to be a massive task for SACS, but they gave it full go and were up with the run-rate for most of the innings. They lost a flurry of wickets in the last few overs, however, and ended up 15 runs short. When Daniel Smith (50) and Kai Curran (46) were at the wicket their chances looked good. They put on 78 for the second wicket, before Smith was run out by a brilliant throw from the boundary and SACS were chasing the game from then on.

It was Ackerman who did the damage with the ball for Waterkloof. He took 4/17 in his four overs and he was named the man of the match for that performance, along with his 28 not out.

Waterkloof’s SW Kemp made 45 in the final, taking his tally for the week to 206 runs. He was named the batman of the tournament and, as he also took wickets in all of Waterkloof’s games, he was also the player of the tournament.

Oscar Welsh of SACS took 15 wickets over the four days and was given the bowler of the tournament award.

Summarized scores

Final

Waterkloof 186/6 (SW Kemp 45, Hardus Coetzer 77 not out, Richardt Ackerman 28 not out). SACS 171/9 (Daniel Smith 50, Kai Curran 46, Kaden Solomons 32; Richardt Ackerman 4/17, Hardus Coetzer 2/26). Waterkloof won by 15 runs. Man of the match – Richardt Ackerman (28 not out and 4/17).

Morning games

St Stithians 151/5 (Jody de Sousa 38, Liam Mostert 37). Graeme College 127 (Garwin Dampies 3; Thomas Winter 2/16, Liam Mostert 2/6). St Stithians won by 24 runs.

Queens 125/7 (Nhlanhla Ntleko 39, Andlile Ngobeni 27; John Lovemore 2/14). Grey High 123/7 (Nicholas Keevy 30, James Hofmeyr 30, Lucky Ntleko 2/22). Queens won by 2 runs.

Kearsney 150/8 (Cade Carmichael 37; Hernus Marais 2/13). Waterkloof 112/9 (SW Kemp 29; Matthew McMurray 3/16). Kearsney won by 38 runs.

St Andrew’s 107/9 (Reeza Alexander 28; Matthew Klusener 2/18, Michael Levitt 2/12). SACS 109/6 (Daniel Smith 38; Richard Barnes 2/17). SACS won by 4 wickets.

Waterkloof from the Titans and SACS from the Cobras make the final of the Cricket South Africa Schools T20 Challenge

Waterkloof, representing the Titans franchise and the Cape Cobras region’s SACS will meet in the final of the CSA Schools T20 Challenge at the Tuks main oval on Sunday afternoon.

They booked their place in the competition’s prestige showdown by winning both of their games on Saturday and, with a game to go, they are joint leaders of the points table and cannot be passed, irrespective of the results of the final cross-pool games on Sunday morning.

Waterkloof beat the defending champions, St Stithians by four wickets in a thriller on Saturday morning, and followed that up with a convincing, 61-run win over Grey High in the afternoon.

SACS beat Kearsney in the morning and then eliminated St Stithians from the competition, beating them by 15 runs in the afternoon.

The victories meant that SACS and Waterkloof were the only teams to win all four preliminary games on the first two days and they are deserving finalists

SACS’ off spinner Oscar Walsh returned the best bowling figures of the day – 5/20 in his four overs against Kearsney in the morning game, he took a further two sticks against SACS in the afternoon.

There were four half centuries scored in the day. The top score came from Reuben du Toit of St Stithians, who made 81 against Waterkloof. Nicholas Keevy was 61 not for Grey High against Graeme College, Kearney’s Cade Carmichael was 75 not out against Queens and Nhlanhla Ntleko got 59 for Queens in the same game.

Day 2 Scores

Morning Games

St Stithians 160/7 (Reuben du Toit 81, Mohammed Manack 31; Richardt Ackerman 2/28). Waterkloof 164/6 (SW Kemp 34, Richardt Ackerman 40 not out). Waterkloof won by four wickets. Man of the match Richard Ackermann Waterkloof (40 not out and 28/2)

St Andrew’s 113/5 (Gerrit Badenhorst 43 not out, JD Bruwer 20; Lucky Ntleko 2/25). Queens 81/8 (Lethabo Gulwa 21; Liam Doherty 2/6, Matthew Davids 2/24). St Andrew’s won by 32 runs. Man of the match Gerrit Badenhorst St Andrw’s (43).

Kearsney 100 (Cade Carmichael 47; Oscar Welsh 5/20). SACS 106/6 (Michael Levitt 26; Joshua Stocks 2/18, Matthew McMurray 2/23). SACS won by 4 wickets. Man of the match Oscar Welsh SACS (5/20).

Graeme College 84/8 (Garwin Dampies 29; Nicholas Keevy 2/10, Eli Thorne 2/26). Grey High 85/2 (Nicholas Keevy 61 not out). Grey High won by 8 wickets. Man of the match Nicholas Keevey Grey High (61 and 2/10).

Afternoon Games

SACS 137/6 (Matthew Klusener 39, Kai Curran 31). St Stithians 122/9 (Billy Van Zyl 38, Mohammed Manack 23; Oscar Welsh 2/15, Nathan Ansell 2/15). SACS won by 15 runs. Man of the match Matthew Klusener SACS (39).

Waterkloof 172/7 (SW Kemp 46, Christiaan du Toit 40, Harus Coetzer 34; George van Heerden 3/33). Grey High 111 (Nichols Keevy 33, George Van Heerden 28; Hernus Marais 2/10, Simeon de Bruyn 2/17). Waterkloof won by 61 runs. Man of the match George va Heerden Waterkloof (28 and 3/33).

Queens 127/7 (Nhlalhla Ntleko 59, Lethabo Gulwa 26; Asande Ngawase  2/27). Kearsney 131/3 (Cade Carmichael 75 not out). Kearsney won by 7 wickets. Man of the match Cade Carmichael Kearsney (75 not out).

St Andew’s 140/7 Liam Dohery 42, Tristan Wylie 31 not out, Sello Sesing 26; Aphiwe Mnyanda 4/13). Graeme College 128/9 (Garwin Dampies 45; Tristan Wylie 3/25). St Andrew’s won by 12 runs. Man of the match Liam Dohery St Andrew’s (42).

Three Sides Remain Unbeaten on Day 1 of the Cricket South Africa Schools T20 Challenge

The 11^th CSA Schools T20 Challenge national finals tournament got under way at the LC De Villers complex at the University of Pretoria on Friday.

Eight schools, representing the six CSA franchises, along with the winners of a parallel process involving the CSA Focus Schools programmes in the inland and coastal regions, have been divided into two pools. They play three pool games, followed by two cross-pool games, after which the two teams with the most points will meet in the final on Sunday afternoon.

At the end of the first day three sides, the defending champions St Stithians, Waterkloof and SACS had won two games out of two. St Stithians beat Queens and St Andrew’s; Waterkloof defeated St Andrew’s and Queens; and SACS beat Grey High and Graeme College.

There is a lot of cricket still to be played, but those three did look like the form sides on day one. Saturday morning’s clash between St Stithians and Waterkloof is going to be decisive in pool A, while SACS take on Kearsney in what could be the Pool B decider.

As far as individual performances are concerned, there were two half centuries scored. SW Kemp of Waterkloof made 59 against Queens and Jody de Sousa got 58 for St Stithians against St Andrew’s. Joshua Voight was 45 not out for Grey High against Kearsney

Kemp was also one of those who shone with the ball. He took 3/14 against St Andrew’s in the morning. Two other bowlers took three wickets each. Liam McCarthy took 3/5 for St Stithians against Queens and Kyle Welman took 3/17 for Waterkloof against St Andrew’s.

Man of the Match

Morning Games

St Stithians (Lions) - Liam McCarthy (3/5), Waterkloof (Titans) - Simeon de Bruyn (39 off 27 and 1/25), Kearsney (Dolphins) - Matthew McMurray (2/19), SACS (Cobras) - Nathan Ansell (3/18)

Afternoon Games

St Stithians (Lions) - Jodi de Sousa (58), Waterkloof (Titans) SW - Kemp (44 and 3/27), Graeme College (Coastal Focus School) - Aphiwe Mnyanda (3/25), Grey High (Warriors) - Joshua Voight (45 off 22 balls).

Summarised Scores

Morning Games

St Stithians (Lions) 85/4 (Reuben du Toit 22, Nhlanhla Ntleko 2/26) Queens High School (Inland Focus School) 84 (Nhlanhla Ntleko 33; Liam McCarthy 3/6, Reuben van Tonder 2/4) St Stithians won by 6 wickets.

Waterkloof (Titans) 124/7 (Simeon de Bruyn 37 not out; Jayden Davids 2/22, Matthew Davids 2/36, Tristan Wylie 2/34) St Andrew’s (Knights) 98/8 (JD Bruwer 40, SW Kemp 3/14, Kyle Welman 3/17) Waterkloof won by 26 runs.

Kearsney (Dolphins) 112/3 (Louis Nel 30, Jean-Luc Talbot 29 (not out). Graeme College (Coastal Focus School) 111/7 (Ryan Bush 45; Matthew McMurray 2/19, Dean Gibbs 2/20) Kearsney won by 7 wickets.

SACS (Cobras) 136/7 (Kai Curran 47, La'eeq Cooper 24; Elish Thorne 2/31) Grey High (Warriors) 79 (Jade Smith 24; Nathan Ansell 3/8, Oscar Welsh 2/13) SACS won by 57 runs.

Afternoon Games

St Stithians 143/3 (Ruben du Toit 38, Jody de Sousa 58). St Andrew’s 87 (Tristan Wylie 22; Tandua Chanaikra 3/16). St Stithians won by 56 runs.

SACS 138/9 (Michael Levitt 37, Nathan Ansell 29). Graeme College 63 (Judah Banwell 2/8, Matthew Klusener 2/14). SACS won by 75 runs.

Grey High 137/8 (Joshua Voight 45 not out, Daniel Ristow 29). Kearsney College 94/7 (Rubin Rheeder 19; Nicholas Keevy 2/3). Grey High won by 43 runs.

Waterkloof 162/6 (SW Kemp 59, Zander Maree 39; Lucky Ntleko 2/26). Queens High 86/7 (Simo Potlewa 23; Simeon de Bruyn 2/9). Waterkloof won by 76 runs.

Hilton College and Grey High School set the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge alight on day 1

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Hilton the Dolphins representatives in the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge took on two of the top teams in today’s opening day at Tuks in Pretoria.

In the morning match, Rondebosch were no match for Hilton College.

Hilton bowled tight lines and fielded extremely well to reduce Rondebosch to 60 all out. Never a good enough score especially against a team like Hilton.

The Hilton bowlers all took wickets, John turner 3/13, James Ritchie 2/7, Michael Scalanders 2/14 and Michael Booth 2/9.

Hilton knocked off the score in 7.4 overs with the loss of 2 wickets.

In the Afternoon Hilton played against St Andrews School from Bloemfontein. Coming into the tournament St Andrews, along with Hilton College, were the favourites to take the title.

Hilton started a little slowly and after 10 overs were on 58/1. Soon afterwards Michael Sclanders went out after securing a good base for the team to play off and they then duly opened up as 92 runs came off the last 10.

Gareth Screuder scored 28 off 14 and Michael Booth 21 off 15 to push the total to 150/5 in their 20 overs.

Hilton then put pressure on St Andrews from the first ball with frequent wickets and St Andrews never looked like they were going to chase down the tricky target.

St Andrews were eventually bowled out for 103, 47 runs short despite the efforts of SA U19 and World U19 player Gerald Coetzee who tried hard to chase down the score, finally falling for 33.

Thomas Dixon 3/25, James Ritchie 3/18 and John Turner 2/12 were the chief destroyers.

The wins leave Hilton in a very promising position and they look nearly certain to make the finals.

Grey High School were the only other school to finish the day unbeaten.

In their first game they played against St Albans. Grey batted first and managed 144/9 with LJ du Preez scoring 45, while Jordan Landsberg claimed 4/18 and Harshil Jeeva 3/9 for St Albans.

St Albans tried hard to chase down the total but fell 24 runs short, scoring 120 all out. Nicholas Fowler 3/27 and Eliah Thorne 3/18 took most of the wickets.

Their second game ended up being the game of the day against King Edward VII school from Johannesburg.

KES scored 198 runs in an earlier game against Graeme College and once again scored a large total getting 174/7 in 20 overs. Callum Broodryk top scored with 53 while Grey’s top bowler was Arend Visser who took 3/23.

Grey High then took the attack to KES and initially rattled the Johannesburg side. KES however would not give up and carried on fighting through a brilliant bowling spell from Obakeng Maila who took 3/25 in his 4 overs. Tristan Stubbs played a great captains innings scoring 51 runs off 42 balls, allowing other batsmen to play the big shots. The turning point in the game was in the 16^th over. Grey high needed 52 runs to win in 5 overs going into the over. Cody Postumus, known by his team as a big hitter, hit three sixes in the last 3 balls and the team hit 22 runs in the over.

That put Grey on the path to win the match by 6 wickets.

Grey also have a foot in the final, but there is an outside chance that both KES and St Andrews School can still qualify.

Summarised Scorecards:

Morning Matches

King Edward VII School 198/7 (Ambrin Snyders 62, Heinrich Pieterse 54, Bryce Parson 29; Sihle Mginywa 2/47); Graeme College 86 (Jeremy Beyleveld 21, Romario Fritz 16; Reece Botha 3/6, Dylan Fiebiger 2/5, Ian Crawshaw 2/14). King Edward VII won by 112 runs.

Grey High School 144/9 (LJ du Preez 45, Tristan Stubbs 29; Jordan Landsberg 4/18, Harshil Jeeva 3/9); St Alban’s College 120 (Jordan Landsberg 27, Ross Whitelaw 22; Eliah Thorne 3/18, Nicholas Fowler 3/27). Grey High School won by 24 runs.

Rondebosch Boys’ High 60 (Jordan Collier 17; John Turner 3/7, James Rithie 2/7, Michael Booth 2/9); Hilton College 61/2 (James Rithie 29, Michael Schlanders 16*; Michael Moore 2/26). Hilton College won by eight wickets.

Prestige College 67 (Sithembiso Mothise 14; Pheko Moletsane 3/13, JD Bruwer 2/1, Ruan Cronjé 2/7); St Andrews 70/2 (Gerald Coetzee 30*, Henré Koekemoer 25; Kamogelo Mphahlele 1/5). St Andrews won by eight wickets.

Afternoon Matches

Hilton College 150/5 (Robert McGaw 39, Michael Schlanders 33, Gareth Schreuder 28; Gerald Coetzee 2/28); St Andrew's School 103/9 (Gerald Coetzee 33, Calvn Flanegan 22; James Ritchie 3/18, Thomas Dixon 3/25). Hilton College won by 47 runs. 

King Edward VII School 174/7 (Callum Broodryk 53, Bryce Parsons 29; Arend Visser 3/23, Tristan van Breda 2/24); Grey High School 177/4 (Tristan Stubbs 51*, Cody Posthumus 29, Luke Beaufort 29, Tiaan van Vuuren 28, LJ du Preez 27; Obakeng Maila 3/25). Grey High School won by six wickets.

Graeme College 118/5 (Mark Amm 59; Tristan Farrel 2/12); St Alban's College 120/2 (Christopher Williamson 44*, Rein Hulme 39*). St Alban's College won by eight wickets.

Prestige College 105/7 (Koos Motubatsi 28; Aneeq Gamieldien 2/23); Rondebosch Boys' High 106/0 (Lehan Botha 59*, Gabriel Gad 43*). Rondebosch Boys' High won by ten wickets.