Author: L. Crankshaw

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

Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s hockey girls had an amazing day at Hoër Volkskool Graaff-Reinet‘s 8-a-side tournament on Saturday, 9 September.

The team, consisting of talented players from Grades 7 to 11, made us exceptionally proud, securing victories in all their matches.

𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝗸𝘀𝗸𝗼𝗼𝗹 for including us in this tournament – it was a wonderful opportunity for our players.

𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘴𝘬𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘧. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵.

𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲!

Over the past weekend, Union High Scohool, Graaff-Reinet’s junior cricket teams faced off against Queen’s College Boys’ Primary School in a series of matches.

In the 𝘂/𝟭𝟭𝗔 𝘃𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝟮𝟬 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 on Friday, Queen’s won the toss and chose to bat first. Right from the start, their opening batsmen played aggressively, putting pressure on Union’s bowlers. Queen’s managed to score a total of 148-2 in their allotted 20 overs, with Ryonn Naude and Josh Kingwill taking one wicket each for Union. Union’s innings didn’t start well, losing their openers early on. However, 𝙅𝙤𝙨𝙝 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥. Kingwill remained not out with 37 runs, while Phillips scored 34. Unfortunately, the partnership was broken by the Queen’s bowlers, and ultimately, Queen’s won the match by 54 runs.

The 𝘂/𝟭𝟭𝗔 𝘃𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝟰𝟬-𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 on Saturday, saw Queen’s winning the toss and opting to bowl first. Union’s openers were dismissed in the first over, but 𝙅𝙤𝙨𝙝 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨. 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙛-𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙮, 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 53 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙛 111 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨. Ryonn Naude provided valuable support. Union ended their innings at 148 all out, after playing for 37 overs. However, Queen’s proved to be too strong for Union’s bowlers, reaching the target in just 25 overs. Queen’s College emerged victorious in the match.

In the 𝘂/𝟭𝟯𝗔 𝘃𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝟮𝟬 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 on Friday, Queen’s won the toss and elected to bat first. Union got off to a great start as Murray Hope took 2 wickets in the first over. However, Queen’s middle order resisted and Union’s bowlers managed to limit them to 151/8 after 20 overs. Murray Hope and Aiden Ferreira each picked up 3 wickets for Union. In their chase, Union faced an early setback, losing 2 wickets in the first over. 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨, 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣-𝙃𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙮 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙬𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙭𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙤𝙛 55 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙨. King scored 32 runs, while Paxton remained unbeaten with 48 runs. Union’s innings concluded at 115/4 after their 20 overs. Queen’s College won the match by 36 runs.

In the 𝘂/𝟭𝟯𝗔 𝘃𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝟰𝟬-𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 match on Saturday, Queen’s won the toss and chose to bat first. Union’s bowlers put in a tireless effort over 40 overs, but Queen’s batted exceptionally well. Queen’s ended with a formidable total of 275/8. 𝘼𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙁𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧-𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 6/53 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 8 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨. Union did start well with Brett Kenmuir scoring 28, but unfortunately, a collapse ensued after his dismissal. Owen Paxton provided support with 21 runs. Union concluded their innings with a score of 132, losing the match by 143 runs.