The Khaya Majola Week kicked off with a bang as both KZN, Western Province and Central Gauteng teams secured confidence-boosting victories on Day One, showcasing impressive performances in the premier U19 cricket event.
Ross Boast from KZN Inland was in sparkling form scoring a fast 83 runs off 74 balls against Free State to help set up a good win. The Hilton College captain was well supported by Ivan Lockem who snatched 3/20 in a devasting spell of bowling which ripped the heart out of the Free State middle order. Free State’s Juan Viljoen was the only batsman to put up strong resistance as he scored a swashbuckling 70 runs which included 8 sixes.
Western Province enjoyed a comfortable win against Eastern Province who would have backed their chances with the home ground advantage. However, the WP top order piled up the runs with the top six all contributing to the score. Benjamin Hansen scored a patient 58 runs and struck up good partnerships with Siyabonga Venge (46) and Oliver Whitehead (30) to post a match winning 264 all out. The Eastern Province top order however struggled to put together any meaningful partnerships and it was left to their middle order to attempt a rescue act. Goqoza Olwake (66) and Matthew Poole (36) provided some respectability to the scoreline but at the end fell 76 runs short of the WP total. Fayyaad Davids and Sibulele Sibunzana were in top form with the ball both taking 3 wickets in their spell.
KZN Coastals had a difficult task first up when they faced a strong Titans side but made a statement as they pulled off a memorable 25 runs win. Kearsney’s Hayden Bishop, who has been in brilliant form with the bat struck a fine 88 runs and put on a solid partnership with Evan Fouche (68) to help set up a challenging target of 254 runs for Titans to chase. Jorich Van Schalkwyk was in sublime form for Titans and fell just short of scoring the first century on the week when he was caught by Yeni Sandiswa off paceman Ntando Soni for 96 runs. Glenwood’s Soni was in great form taking 4/39 in a destructive spell that never allowed Titans to threaten the Coastal’s target.
In a rain affected match Mpumalanga pulled off a 4 wicket win over Border which saw Jayden Meyer notching up a half century in their run chase. However, it was Sebopela Kamogelo from Lydenburg who destroyed the Border batters with a brilliant 5/22 which hamstrung them throughout their innings.
Perhaps one of the most powerful teams on display is the Central Gauteng side who brushed aside the challenge by Boland with disdain. Bundling Boland out for a mere 122 runs thanks to St. Stithians paceman Kwena Maphaka who took 4/45 and Cole Francis from St John’s College (3/13), Boland were never in the match and quickly succumbed to Lhuan-Dre Pretorius (38), Teeger David (31) and Thebe Gazide (20) who reached the total in double quick time. Boland were poor in the field conceding 26 extras in a low scoring match.
Two centuries were scored in the biggest mis-match of the day when North West pummelled Kei who were bowled out for a mere 25 runs. Not to miss out on the opportunity to get three figures were Fields College opener, Muhammed Bulbulia (115) and Potch Volkskool run machine Ludwich Schuld who scored 117 runs.
Results:
Central Gauteng 123/2 beat Boland 122 AO (Kwena Maphaka 4/45, Francis Cole 3/13) by 8 wickets
Easterns 157 AO (Mabanga Sabelo 59 & Michael Nel 5/24) beat Limpopo 128 AO by 29 runs
Northern Cape 120/9 (Simon Liversage 48, Malan Lubbe 47) beat SWD 119 AO (Lubbe Malan 3/6) by 1 wicket
KZN Coastal 254/9 (Hayden Bishop 88, Evan Fouche 68) beat Titans 229 AO (Jorich Van Schalkwyk 96 & Ntando Soni 4/39) by 25 runs
Western Province 264 AO (Benjamin Hansen 58 & Hamza Khan 4/39) beat Eastern Province 188 AO (Olwake Goqoza 66) by 76 runs
North West 317/4 (Muhammed Bulbulia 115, Ludwich Schulds 117) beat Kei 25 AO by 292 runs
Mpumalanga 140/6 (Jayden Meyer 51) beat Border 137 AO (Kamogelo Sebopela 5/22) by 4 wickets
KZN Inland 222/8 (Caleb Thomas 61, Ross Boast 83) beat Free State 169 AO (Juan Viljoen 70 & Thabiso Ndlela 4/31) by 53 runs
