Author: L. Crankshaw

Congratulations to Union High School, Graaff-Reinet learner 𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗺𝗸𝗲 and his teammate, his dad Grant, for their incredible performance at the 2023 Fish River Canoe Marathon contested in Cradock this past weekend!

Participating in this exciting 2-day race, covering 82km of fast-flowing, technical river, is no easy feat and requires not only speed and fitness but also excellent river skills.

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁! 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

This past weekend’s cricket matches between Union High School, Graaff-Reinet and Kingswood College, South Africa, contested in Makhanda, saw Union’s u/11A and u/13A teams achieve mixed success in a series of entertaining and closely contested games.

• On Friday, 22 September, Union’s u/11 team displayed their impressive bowling skills as they bowled Kingswood out for a score of 63 runs. Union’s bowlers all delivered excellent performances, with each managing to chip in with wickets. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲, 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝟲𝟳/𝟳.

The following day, the u/11 team won the toss and chose to bat first. However, the team struggled to get going and were eventually bowled out for 80 runs in just 17.5 overs. 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀 and 𝗟𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝗶 were Union’s best performers, batting steadily with 14 and 8 runs respectively. Kingswood passed the target with just one wicket down.

• The Union u/13 team found themselves in a similar position on Friday, losing the toss and being asked to bowl first. Kingswood scored an impressive 127 runs, with 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 and 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 each taking three or more wickets. Union struggled in the initial stages of their innings, finding themselves 49 for 5 down in the 10th over. However, a strong performance from 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝘂𝗱𝘀𝗼𝗻 almost turned the game in Union’s favour, scoring 40 runs from just 25 balls. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 6 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴.

Saturday was a different story for the u/13 team, as they bowled first and their bowlers demonstrated outstanding skill. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗮 emerged as a brilliant performer, taking four wickets, while the team bowled Kingswood out for a score of 115. In reply, Union chased down the target with 7 wickets down. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 anchored the innings with a well-played 33 that ensured 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀.

On Wednesday afternoon, 20 September, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet was excited to welcome Marlow Agricultural High School’s 1st XI to our campus for a cricket match.

Union’s decision to bowl first proved to be a wise choice as they successfully bowled their opponents out for 50 runs. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗿 𝗞𝗮𝘇𝗶 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝟰 𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀.

When it was Union’s turn to bat, the boys wasted no time in achieving their target of 51 runs. Yaseen Kazi and Makukhanye de Beer, the team’s openers, surpassed the required score in the 8th over.

𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘺 10 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴!

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀, 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵 𝗡𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗹 and 𝗫𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘄 on being awarded their 1st XI cricket caps on Wednesday afternoon, 20 September, prior to their match against Marlow Agricultural High School.

𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 1𝘴𝘵 𝘟𝘐 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴