Zuko Pontshi laid the foundation with a patient half-century before James Muir led the Graeme College bowling attack to help them secure a 21-run win over the Maritzburg College and thus claim the winner’s trophy at the CABS Smashing T20 Tournament at Harare’s St George’s College on Sunday.
Graeme College was one of the five South African schools that participated in the tournament, which ran from 27 August. Apart from Maritzburg College,Woodridge College,Kingswood College, and theSt Andrew’s College1st XI and 2nd XI were also in action.
The South African contingent enjoyed a successful tour, and their dominance showed on the batting and bowling leaderboards.
Graeme College’s Corbin Tidbury was imperious
Graeme College’s Corbin Tidbury was imperious with the bat. The top order batsman made 358 runs in seven outings, averaging 71.6 at a strike rate of 175.5.
He scored an unbeaten 112 against Hellenic Academy in the semifinals to go along with three half-centuries.
Rhys Wiblin, from St Andrew’s College, tallied the second most runs. Kyle de Bruyn(Maritzburg College), Kits McConnachie(Graeme College), and Jeandré Strydom (Woodridge College) were also among the top 10 run scorers.
McConnachie topped the wicket-taking charts, removing 15 batsmen
McConnachie topped the wicket-taking charts, removing 15 batsmen in seven matches. His best performance was a five-wicket haul, 5/19, against Falcon College.
Wiblin added to his batting heroics by also making it into the top 10 with the ball, along with Kingswood’s Rogan GoliathandDaniel Jakins,and Woodridge’s Joshua Bailes.
Graeme College was in Group C, where they faced and defeated Kingswood College, Falcon College, and Churchill Boys’ High. Then, in the cross-pool playoffs, they lost against Falcon College and beat St John’s College (Harare) to secure a semi-final spot against Hellenic Academy.
With a win over the Harare school, they
With a win over the Harare school, they progressed to meet Maritzburg College in the final, where College won the toss and elected to bowl first. Reece Willson made that decision count by capturing two early wickets, dismissing Siba Deliwe and Enrique Strydom for single-digit scores.
Corbin Tidbury got Graeme College on track with a belligerent 17-ball 32. However, the star of the innings was Zukho Pontshi, who patiently worked his way to an unbeaten 56 from 51 balls, which allowed the rest of the Graeme College batters to express themselves while he kept one end intact.
Later in the innings, Caleb Jattiem compiled an important and impressive 38 not out from 36 deliveries to see them to 181/5 after 20 overs.
Opener Kyle de Bruyn stood tall in Maritzburg
Opener Kyle de Bruyn stood tall in Maritzburg College’s chase, scoring an outstanding 89 runs off 54 balls. Unfortunately for him, his effort received little support from the rest of the batsmen, with Riley Palmer, the only other to better 20 runs, scoring 24 from 25 balls.
James Muir led the Graeme College bowling effort with 2/18 in four overs. Besides removing two batsmen, his strong economy rate was one of the reasons why Graeme was able to bowl out Maritzburg College for 160 runs in 20 overs.
Kits McConnachie and Caleb Jattiem also claimed two wickets each, while Tidbury had a single wicket to his name.
Graeme College 181/5 (Zuko Pontshi 56*, Caleb Jattiem
Graeme College 181/5 (Zuko Pontshi 56*, Caleb Jattiem 38*, Corbin Tidbury 32; Reece Wilson 2/27, Kyle de Bruyn 1/30). Maritzburg College160/10 (Kyle de Bruyn 89, Riley Palmer 24, Luka Puddu; James Muir 2/18, Kits McConnachie 2/33, Caleb Jattiem 2/28). Graeme College won by 21 runs.
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CS Chiwanza
CS Chiwanza is a former poet and now a full-time storyteller of Southern African sports. He jokes that those who can’t do a thing well enough either teach or write. He knows the right way to hold a cricket bat and the right grip for the wobbleball, but can’t do either well enough to be picked for a good team. So he writes. However, he mastered the best dart grip and spends hours stat-padding against his wife and kids.
Latest posts by CS Chiwanza (see all)
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Source: superschoolsnews.co.za
