By Scott Jackson
The St Andrew’s College Junior Colts A side went to the Western Cape for a four-match tour recently.
Their first fixture was against Paarl Gimnasium.
Captain Charlie Broster lost the toss, and the St Andrew’s College XI found themselves in the field first, in what looked like good batting conditions. Charlie Broster and Oliver Whitaker started well with a few quick wickets to settle any nerves.
The Paarl Gimnasium captain batted maturely and tried to set his team up for a defendable total. However, once the spinners came on, wickets continued to fall, and Paarl Gimnasium was bowled out for 139.
Corne van der Merwe with 2/21 and Aidan Marriott with 3/16, stood out.
St Andrew’s College lost an early couple of wickets, but an aggressive 60 not out from Callum Taggart and a mature knock of 50 not out from Connor Holder, saw the College team home by 8 wickets.
The team performed very well and had a great start to the tour.
Thank you to our hosts, Paarl Gimnasium, for their fantastic hospitality to our boys and our large parent contingent!
On Friday, the team played in Cape Town for a 40-over fixture against Bishops Diocesan College. The U14 cricket team faced Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town yesterday in a 40 over day/night game.
Whilst the St Andrew’s College bowlers, who again lost the toss, picked up wickets regularly, I Taliep kept the innings together with a very composed and mature knock of 132 not out. This allowed his team to finish their allotted overs on 223/7.
St Andrew’s College got off to a slow but steady start, but once the first wicket fell, the pressure to score increased on each new batsman coming in. Callum Taggart again hit the ball sweetly and scored a well played 77 off 61 deliveries. College was eventually bowled out for 161, going down by 62 runs.
Many thanks to Bishops Diocesan College for hosting us so well.
On Saturday, the team played against SACS on the Memorial ground. The St Andrew’s College Junior Colts A team played against SACS in Cape Town in their third game of their Western Cape tour. The game was delayed at the start and the wicket proved to be tricky.
Many of the College batsmen got starts, but only one was able to capitalise. This proved to be their downfall at the end of the day, given that they did not bat out their overs. Callum Taggart top scored with 47. The St Andrew’s College side were bowled out for 164, which needed a good bowling effort to keep them in the game.
At 71/6, the team would have felt right in the game but a well-played half century by the SACS number five, took SACS to safety and a 4-wicket win. College fought hard in the field, but a couple of missed chances meant they could not quite change the momentum of the game when it counted.
On Sunday, the Junior Colts A side finished off their whirlwind Western Cape tour with a 7-wicket victory over Wynberg Boys’ High School in a game reduced to 20 overs.
St Andrew’s College won the toss and elected to bowl first. Wickets fell consistently meaning Wynberg could never really accelerate, and they ended on 100/5 in their allotted 20 overs. There was some good fielding from the St Andrew’s College side which created the necessary pressure.
Captain Charlie Broster and Connor Holder took the College side to the brink of victory after two early wickets in the first two overs. James Vroom did well to end not out and take the St Andrew’s College side to a well-earned victory alongside his captain. Broster ended not out on 58.
Many thanks to Wynberg Boys’ High School for their wonderful hospitality and for allowing the game to happen despite the poor weather predictions!
Luvuyo Mjekula
grocotts.ru.ac.za
