29 February 2024
You can’t spell Westville without starting with a W. And there were three of them and only one loss – WWWestviLe – as the Griffin went three from four in the finals of the W100 competition on Wednesday, with their only defeat, in the u14 final, coming down to the second last ball of the game.
“My goodness. What a day!” exclaimed Westville’s Director of Sport, Pam Hayward. Wayne Scott, the Director of Cricket, grinned broadly after watching the Westville 1st XI chase down Kearsney College‘s challenging 148/6 to secure victory with three balls remaining at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead.
“When you’re chasing a big total in the 140s, you know you have to go for it,” he said, explaining that Kearsney’s strong batting effort made it easy for Westville to decide how they needed to approach their run chase.
Kearsney, batting first, got away to a blistering start, with Jack O’Donovan, especially, striking the ball cleanly and with brutal efficiency. He and Cameron Veenstra, who had to play second fiddle for once, put on 68 for the first wicket in 41 balls to set their side on course for a big total.
However, the introduction of the spinners, Roxton Payne and Chad van Breda, helped slow the Kearsney onslaught, and it was Van Breda who bowled Veenstra for 19 from 18 balls, with one six.
O’Donovan and Kearsney captain Ross Coetzee added 27 in 21 balls before Coetzee fell for 17 from 15, caught by Max Robertson off the bowling of Payne.
A decision by Westville skipper Nicandro Kistna to bring himself into the attack bore fruit as he accounted for the dangerous Matthew De Oliveira and Keegan de Jager. Meanwhile, O’Donovan continued his assault on the Westville bowlers.
When their 100 balls were up, Kearsney had totalled 148/6, with O’Donovan not out for a brilliant 92 from only 49 deliveries, which included six fours and five sixes.
Westville’s new ball bowlers found the going tough against his aggression up front, but their spinners slowed the run rate well. Payne picked up 1/18 in 20 balls, Kistna snared 2/20 in 20, and Chad van Breda captured 2/11 in 15.
A tough chase awaited the Griffin, but they made a decent start, although Joe Clarkson, taking the new ball, did a good job of restricting their scoring in his opening spell.
Kearsney’s regular opening pair, Ryan Browning and Sandiswa Yeni, found limiting the run rate a bit tougher, although Yeni struck twice, sending Max Robertson and Sean McGough packing, with McGough’s dismissal leaving Westville on 41/2 off 40 balls.
Seth Simpson and Kaeden McAllister advanced the score to 63 before Simpson was LBW to Asavela Khambule, one ball after having smashed him for a towering six over mid-wicket. He struck two maximums and one four in his 25 from 21 deliveries.
When Simpson departed, McAllister took over as the primary driver of the run chase. Kearsney seemed to have a slight edge, but McAllister kept cutting into it.
With 25 balls remaining, Westville needed 37 runs to win. Then Yeni returned to the attack and conceded only one run from the next five balls, bowling a superb line with good bounce to crowd the batsmen.
McAllister stood firm, however. Michael Groom, who had bowled tidily in his first spell, returned to the attack and McAllister immediately smashed an extraordinary six over extra cover to get the Westville supporters up on their feet. In the same over, he added a four.
Suddenly, the Griffin needed only three from the remaining five balls. Josh Beck laid a dead bat on Jack O’Donovan’s first delivery and he and McAllister scampered through for a single. The very next ball McAllister sent to the leg side for two and it was over.
He finished with an unbeaten 66 from just 32 balls, having launched five sixes and three fours. It was a beautifully judged innings and a big-match performance out of the top drawer.
O’Donovan received the Batsman of the Final Award, deservedly, while McAllister received the Most Valuable Player, deservedly, too. Payne, for putting the brakes on Kearsney’s strong run rate, was named the Bowler of the Final.
The u14 final, which preceded the 1st XI clash, was also between Westville and Kearsney. The boys from Botha’s Hill had posted 106/6 in their 100 balls, but Kagiso Mokoena stubbornly drove Westville to within sight of victory.
However, they came up just short, all out for 101 from 99 balls, with Mokoena, who had struck a six and a four from the previous two deliveries, watching on helplessly as his partner Mthumbo Jama was run out. Mokoena was unbeaten on 33 from 23 balls.
The u15 final featured Westville against Northwood in a showdown of two impressive teams. Northwood posted 119/4, batting first, with opener Samuel Giai-Minietti making 34 and Max Nicholson 33*. Joshua Engelbrecht led the Westville bowlers with 3/8.
Playing at home, the Griffin then chased down the Northwood total, winning by four wickets, with five balls in hand. Kai Cotton, opening for Westville, played a pivotal knock, with his 32-ball stay producing 46 runs, including five fours and a six, while Elijah Stoop weighed in with 23 from 22.
Opening bowler, R van Zyl, who also opened the Northwood batting, claimed 2/10.
Westville, after finishing top of the table, also enjoyed home ground advantage in the u16A final, also against Northwood. In that game, they were comfortable 43-run winners.
The Griffin tallied 124/6 in their 100 balls, led by Kyle McGough, who struck 53 from 40 deliveries, sending four of those to the boundary, while Aiden Baudach added a useful 20 from 12 deliveries, with three fours, and Misbah Nair also made 20.
Jamie Wimble shone with the ball, snagging 3/20 from 20 deliveries.
Tristan Delvin then ensured that Northwood’s response was undermined from the start, removing both opening batsmen with only four runs on the board. He would go on to finish with a superb 3/7 from 20 balls. A couple of run outs also aided Westville’s efforts.
Jamie Wimble, Northwood’s star with the ball, was also their best performer with the bat, making 22 from 24 deliveries, which included two fours. However, only two other batsmen made it into double figures and Northwood were limited to just 81/9 from their 100 balls.
SCORES
Kearsney 1st XI 148/6 (Jack O’Donovan 92*, Cameron Veenstra 19; Chad van Breda 2/11, Nicandro Kistna 2/20, Roxton Payne 1/18); Westville Boys’ High 149/5 (Kaeden McAllister 66*, Seth Simpson 25; Sandiswa Yeni 2/18, Jack O’Donovan 1/10) Westville Boys’ High won by 5 wickets.
Westville Boys’ High u16A 124/6 (Kyle McGough 53, Aiden Baudach 20*, Misbah Nair 20; Jamie Wimble 3/20, Daniel Whelan 1/3, Yashin Naidoo 1/5); Northwood School u16A 81/9 (Jamie Wimble 22; Tristan Delvin 3/7, Ashton Kidgell 1/9, Misbah Nair 1/10) Westville Boys’ High won by 43 runs.
Northwood School u15A 119/4 (Samuel Giai-Minietti 34, Max Nicholson 33*; Joshua Engelbrecht 3/8); Westville Boys’ High u15A 120/6 (Kai Cotton 46, Elijah Stoop 23; R van Zyl 2/10) Westville Boys’ High won by four wickets.
Kearsney College u14A 106/6 (Hayden Lotter 15, Oliver Rey 14*; Yunus Lamalia 3/13, Treval Chetty 1/11); Westville Boys’ High u14A 101/10 (Kagiso Mokoena 33*, Gaurav Sewlal 24; Matthew Rice 2/18, Noah Haskell 2/20, Sebastien De Broglio 1/12) Kearsney College won by 5 runs.
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