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.

Coca-Cola Schools T20 School Profile: Hilton College – Dolphins Representatives

History in the tournament

-         This is the 3^rd time that the school has taken part in the tournament. The last time that they took part in the National Finals, 2013, they were runners up to Menlo Park.

Road to the National Finals

-         In the Provincial semifinal they played Maritzburg College. College scored 96/9 the bowlers all shared the wickets, Hilton scored the runs with only two wickets down, Robert McGaw 59*.

-         In the Provincial final they played against Michaelhouse. Hilton batted first and scored 136/5 Robert McGaw 57, Gareth Schreuder 42. Hilton then bowled Michaelhouse out for 79 James Ritchie 3/11.

-         In the Franchise final they beat Clifton. Hilton scored 148/5 Michael Sclanders scored 67 and Gareth Schreuder scored 49. Then they bowled Clifton out for 86 and the bowlers all shared the wickets.

Potential Heroes

-         Michael Sclanders is a all-rounder and was influential with bat and all in making sure that they got to the Coca-Cola Schools T20 National Finals.

-         The captain James Ritchie leads from the front, he is an opening batsman that scores quickly.

-         Batsman/Keeper Gareth Schreuder is another player that can win a match for us.

Prospects for the Coca-Cola T20 Schools Challenge National Finals

-         Ranked #1 in South Africa according to some school rankings Hilton College have got what it takes to win the tournament.

-         Their team is full of match winners that can win the match from any situation.

-         Most of the team was at the school the last time they made the national finals and it has been their goal since then to do better than the 2013 side.

-         The team dynamic is very good and all of the boys play for each other.

Proteas Players since 1994

-        Derek Crookes

To engage with the tournament online, search #WhereHeroesAreMade on Twitter or visit @CocaCola_ZA and @OfficialCSA

HILTON COLLEGE SECURES FIRST SPOT IN COCA-COLA SCHOOLS T20 NATIONAL FINALS

The Franchise Finals leg of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge kicked off in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday, and saw KZN Inland champions, Hilton College, defeat Coastal representatives, Clifton College in a thrilling 62-run win.

Thrilled with his team performance, Hilton College captain, James Ritchie said, "We did well today to post a large total that made it difficult for the opposing team to chase down. This is a big win for our school as we haven’t won the Dolphins final since 2015. We’re improving game by game and we need to continue to build from that if we want to win at the national finals."

As part of the new development in the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge, tournament ambassador, Temba Bavuma, and a team of cricket experts selected Matthew Montgomery and Simon Holmes from Clifton College to play in the Coca-Cola T20 All-Star team in a curtain-raiser match against a CSA Development Hub team, during the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge National Finals.

“Today was a very enjoyable game of cricket. Hilton College played an incredible game and deserved to win the match. Today we selected Simon and Mathew from Clifton for the Coca-Cola T20 All-Star team. Simon was brilliant with the ball and took four of the five wickets for his team, stopping Hilton from scoring 180.

“The Clifton College captain, Matthew Montgomery, batted well and with all the wickets that were falling around him, was the rock of the team. If another batsman stayed with him the game could have been a lot different.”

“It’s a great privilege to be chosen by such a high-profile player to play for his team in the All-Star Team at the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge Final,” said Matthew Montgomery.

The Clifton College pair will be joined by ten players to be selected from the remaining five Coca-Cola Schools T20 Franchise Finals.

Simon Holmes concluded, “It’s amazing for a Proteas Test player to identify my talent and pick me to play in the All-Star team. I’m grateful and excited to join the other guys in Pretoria next month for the national finals.”

To engage with the tournament online, search #WhereHeroesAreMade on Twitter or visit @CocaCola_ZA and @OfficialCSA

[ENDS]

Media Contact

Shawn Belluigi

Email: shawn@intunecom.co.za

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