Selborne College all-rounder Aiden van Wyk and Hudson Park High school all-rounder Jason Niemand shone on a day of mixed fortunes for their teams on the first day of the Coca Cola Schools T20 Challenge tournament in Stellenbosch on Friday.
15-year old Van Wyk claimed the coveted Coca Cola Schools Player of the day award after a superb performance in Warriors representatives Selborne's first match, claiming brilliant figures of 6/13 in four overs to help his team to a bonus point win over Inland Focus Schools reps Prestige College in their opening game.
“I don't think it has really kicked in yet, I am just all nerves right now, its quite a big stage, quite a big everything actually so I'm just happy to have performed for the team,” said van Wyk.
“I was not expecting that performance, I am actually a batting all-rounder so I woke up this morning and all I thought about was runs, but getting wickets is second nature, so happily I did it and its really just about helping the team in the end.”
“It is my best bowling figures, so far in my career.
Selborne however could not build on the performance as they crashed to a 50-run defeat against Cobras reps Wynberg boys in their second match and they now know that they need a good win over Lions representatives St Stithians on Saturday to stand any chance of making the tournament semifinals.
“I think nothing has changed, we go to bed with the same mindset we had before the first day and we just have to believe, I think that's the main thing, we have come this far so I don't think we should stop here,” claimed van Wyk.
For Hudson Park star Niemand he produced a top all-round performance, picking up 1/16 with the ball off four overs and then scoring 64 off 57 balls with the bat in a losing effort for his team as Coastal Focus School reps Hudson lost to Dolphins representatives Glenwood by 20 runs.
Niemand's efforts earned him a well deserved man-of-the-match award despite his team not getting the result that they wanted.
“I was happy with my performance, I was a bit rusty having not played cricket in a couple of weeks and the wicket was slow, so I tried to adapt as well as I could with both bat and ball,” explained Niemand.
“The wind didn't make it easy bowling, so I struggled a bit in my first spell, but my second spell was a lot better.”
“Batting I just tried to be the base of the innings as usual, unfortunately today a couple of okes around me didn't bat as well, I think we could have been in with a better chance if I could have got a bit more support.”
Hudson now need to win their final two pool stage games on Saturday against Titans representatives HS Centurion and Knghts reps St Andrews Bloemfontein if they want to be in a position to reach the semis.
“Hopefully tomorrow as a team we can step up,” said Niemand.
“It is going to be an uphill battle but the guys are up for it and if we execute our plans I think we can get a a couple of wins and hopefully get ourselves into the semis.”
Selborne play St Stithians on Saturday morning, while Hudson play Centurion at the same time, before taking on St Andrews in the afternoon.
School Stars Shine on mixed day
15-year old Van Wyk claimed the coveted Coca Cola Schools Player of the day award after a superb performance in Warriors representatives Selborne's first match, claiming brilliant figures of 6/13 in four overs to help his team to a bonus point win over Inland Focus Schools reps Prestige College in their opening game.
“I don't think it has really kicked in yet, I am just all nerves right now, its quite a big stage, quite a big everything actually so I'm just happy to have performed for the team,” said van Wyk.
“I was not expecting that performance, I am actually a batting all-rounder so I woke up this morning and all I thought about was runs, but getting wickets is second nature, so happily I did it and its really just about helping the team in the end.”
“It is my best bowling figures, so far in my career.
Selborne however could not build on the performance as they crashed to a 50-run defeat against Cobras reps Wynberg boys in their second match and they now know that they need a good win over Lions representatives St Stithians on Saturday to stand any chance of making the tournament semifinals.
“I think nothing has changed, we go to bed with the same mindset we had before the first day and we just have to believe, I think that's the main thing, we have come this far so I don't think we should stop here,” claimed van Wyk.
For Hudson Park star Niemand he produced a top all-round performance, picking up 1/16 with the ball off four overs and then scoring 64 off 57 balls with the bat in a losing effort for his team as Coastal Focus School reps Hudson lost to Dolphins representatives Glenwood by 20 runs.
Niemand's efforts earned him a well deserved man-of-the-match award despite his team not getting the result that they wanted.
“I was happy with my performance, I was a bit rusty having not played cricket in a couple of weeks and the wicket was slow, so I tried to adapt as well as I could with both bat and ball,” explained Niemand.
“The wind didn't make it easy bowling, so I struggled a bit in my first spell, but my second spell was a lot better.”
“Batting I just tried to be the base of the innings as usual, unfortunately today a couple of okes around me didn't bat as well, I think we could have been in with a better chance if I could have got a bit more support.”
Hudson now need to win their final two pool stage games on Saturday against Titans representatives HS Centurion and Knghts reps St Andrews Bloemfontein if they want to be in a position to reach the semis.
“Hopefully tomorrow as a team we can step up,” said Niemand.
“It is going to be an uphill battle but the guys are up for it and if we execute our plans I think we can get a a couple of wins and hopefully get ourselves into the semis.”
Selborne play St Stithians on Saturday morning, while Hudson play Centurion at the same time, before taking on St Andrews in the afternoon.
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