It was a busy weekend of cricket for Union High School, Graaff-Reinet‘s senior teams, with our 1st XI taking on York High School, our 2nd XI facing Hoërskool Outeniqua and our U15A boys enjoying a particularly good weekend against York.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗫𝗜
Our 1st XI had two competitive encounters against York, with honours eventually shared between the sides.
In the opening T20, York posted 139/7 in their 20 overs, with 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀 and 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 picking up two wickets apiece.
Union’s reply saw 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 lead the batting with 36 off 38 balls, while 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 added 26 off 29 and 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 contributed 13. Unfortunately, the boys couldn’t quite get over the line, finishing on 120/8 and going down by 19 runs.
The second encounter, a rain-affected 30-over match, provided a much closer finish.
York batted first and reached 161/9, with 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗺 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯𝘀, 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 and 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 each claiming two wickets.
With rain interrupting proceedings, Union’s innings was cut short at 42/2 after seven overs. Leander Kraai was unbeaten on 14, with Josh Kingwill contributing 10.
This time, the calculations worked in Union’s favour, with the boys securing a 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵-𝗟𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀-𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱.
𝘈 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵.
𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗫𝗜
It was a difficult weekend for our 2nd XI, who came up against a strong Hoërskool Outeniqua side.
In their first encounter, Union struggled to settle with the bat and were dismissed for just 30 runs in 15 overs. Outeniqua chased down the target without losing a wicket, reaching 31/0 in 9.2 overs to claim a ten-wicket victory.
Saturday’s T20 proved equally challenging.
Outeniqua posted an imposing 180/6, despite some good work from 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗷𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗿 (2/33) and 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 (2/37), who each picked up two wickets.
Union found runs difficult to come by in reply, finishing on 57/8 and losing by 123 runs.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦. There will be plenty for the boys to take away from these two matches as they prepare for their next fixtures.
𝗨𝟭𝟱𝗔
Our U15A boys, meanwhile, had a weekend to remember, returning home with 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 against York High School.
Friday’s T20 was a proper nail-biter!
Batting first, Union posted 135 all out in 19.4 overs, with 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁 scoring 30 off 32 balls, 𝗞𝗵𝘄𝗲𝘇𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼 adding a lively 25 off 16 and 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘇𝗼 contributing 23 off 21.
York kept themselves in the contest throughout the chase, but Union’s bowlers did well to keep the pressure on.
Khwezi Malongo returned figures of 2/23, while 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗯 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗱 (1/20) and 𝗖𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗻 (1/28) also made valuable contributions.
The match came down to the final over, with York needing 10 runs to win.
Up stepped 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗯 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗱, who produced a wonderfully composed final over, conceding just three runs to secure a 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻-𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 for Union!
Saturday’s 30-over encounter brought another win, although this time it was the bowling that really stole the show.
On a tricky wicket, Union were dismissed for 96 in 21.1 overs. 𝗞𝗵𝘄𝗲𝘇𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼 top-scored with 19 off 16 balls, while 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 (15 off 18) and 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗮 (12 off 30) helped the boys put together a total they could defend.
And defend it they did!
𝗟𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝗶 produced an absolutely outstanding spell, taking 𝟲 𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟵 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 to dismantle York’s batting line-up.
He was well supported by Khwezi Malongo (2/26) and Aidan Ferreira (1/0), as York were bowled out for just 46 in 13.2 overs.
𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝟱𝟬 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀!
𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘜15𝘈 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴. They continue to punch above their weight, and it’s been lovely to see their hard work paying off.
𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀. There were wins to enjoy and disappointments to work through, but that’s all part of the game. On to the next one!
