Hosts Pearson had mixed fortunes on the opening day of their home & equity Cricket Festival in Port Elizabeth on Thursday – winning one and losing one of their Twenty20 matches.
After defeating Despatch in the morning, Pearson came unstuck against Grey High in the second match, going down by eight wickets after managing just 68 in their innings.
The home side were in dire straits at 18/5, but the lower-order managed to inject a flurry of runs in the latter overs.
Nonetheless, it was never enough to test the Grey outfit, for whom James Hofmeyr top-scored with 27 as they strolled to victory.
In their opening game Pearson hit back strongly in the second half of Despatch’s innings as the visiting side slumped from 59/1 to 74 all out in pursuit of a victory target of 129.
The Despatch openers started brightly, while Pearson were guilty of too many extras, conceding 26 in total.
The match looked in the balance after 10 overs with Despatch on track to chase down the total, only for Connor Nel (3/13) and Du Preez Stander (4/9) to turn the game around. As the wickets fell, the runs dried up and Pearson eventually coasted to an easy victory.
Mzukisi Gwababa struck a fine 80 not out to set up Hudson Park for a comfortable 79-run win over Marlow.
His effort saw the East London school total a formidable 149/4 and the Cradock outfit could manage only 71/9 in response.
Marlow had a much closer game in the afternoon but Despatch’s Brian Vermeulen held his team’s innings together to secure a four-wicket victory in a low-scoring encounter.
After managing only 75, the Cradock team showed great spirit to take wickets at regular intervals as the pressure mounted on Despatch. However, Vermeulen kept the score ticking over and his 26 not out made the difference as they got home with two overs to spare.
Framesby enjoyed a good day by securing two victories against Border opponents Stirling and Queen’s.
They had a close 21-run win over Stirling after making only 115/8, but were in command in their second game, defeating Queen’s by seven wickets with just 20 balls remaining.
In their other match, Stirling’s Brody Taylor hit a fine 101 not out to help them defeat VP by 40 runs.
Friday’s fixtures are: Pearson v Hudson Park (Pearson 1), Westering v Muir (Westering 1), Grey v Queen’s (Old Grey), Marlow v Union (Pearson 2), Somerset College v Despatch (NMU), Framesby v Daniel Pienaar (Framesby 1), Graeme v Stirling (Muir 1)
Summarised scores:
Pearson: 128 (B Roberts 36, R Barnes 49no, B Vermeulen 2/17, J Black 2/25); Despatch: 74 (B Vermeulen 14, C Nel 3/13, D Stander 4/9). Pearson won by 54 runs
Hudson Park: 149/4 (M Gwababa 80no, B Nokele 30); Marlow: 71/9 (N Peter 2/13, J Hansen 2/9). Hudson Park won by 79 runs.
Marlow: 75 (G de Klerk 14, Hendricks 14, S Moodley 2/7); Despatch: 80/6 (B Vermeulen 26no, Hendricks 3/9). Despatch won by four wkts
Muir: 152/6 (W Hobo 31, A Somfula 20, L Gaba 30, L Hote 20, R Baderon 23no, M Hesselink 2/30, B Amsterdam 2/32, J Brotherton 2/24); Union High: 129/2 (K du Preez 67no, B Amsterdam 33no). Muir won by 23 runs.
Daniel Pienaar: 114/4(U Timol 27no, R van As 27); Queen’s 81 (C Williams 4/14). Daniel Pienaar won by 33 runs.
Stirling: 160/2 (B Taylor 101no); VP 120/5 (L Mpambane 2/13; T King 2/20). Stirling won by 40 runs.
Somerset College: 148/2 (Rhoda 67); Westering 95/6. Somerset College won by 53 runs.
Pearson: 68 (D Stander 13, M Brass 3/16, M Melville 2/9, G van Heerden 2/11); Grey 69/2 (J Hofmeyr 27, J Smith 21) Grey won by 8 wickets.
Framesby: 115/8 (J Snyman 32no); Stirling 94 (C Gerber 2/4). Framesby won by 21 runs.
Queen’s: 78 (T Black 4/10); Framesby 79/3 (T Smith 46no). Framesby won by 7 wickets.
Alan Straton
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