A disastrous batting performance from the Border U19 team saw them fall to a heavy innings and 24-run defeat at the hands of Northerns in the opening match of the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week at St Stithians College in Johannesburg yesterday afternoon.
The Border top order completely threw away their wickets, while there were also two calamitous run-outs, which led to a disappointing all-round effort from a side that came into the week with high aspirations.
The team will now need to shake off this performance and go into today’s match against Western Province with a clean slate if they are to recover and turn their week around.
In the Northerns match, Border batted first and were in all sorts of trouble, slipping to 16 for four wickets in no time.
A 22-run stand between Jason Niemand (19) and Siyamthanda Zini (2) then looked to stabilise the innings, but both fell with the score on 38.
Jason Raubenheimer (8) and Luke Dallas (1) followed soon after and at 52/8, Border were in massive trouble.
Akhona Mnyaka and Sebastian Denison-Brown, however, put up a stubborn fight with a superb 10th-wicket partnership that yielded 55-runs and set Border towards a semi-respectable total.
Denison-Brown scored a valiant 11 off 64 deliveries, occupying the crease and feeding Mnyaka the strike when he could.
“For me coming in, I just wanted to stick with Akhona. He is more experienced, so I was just looking to stay in as long as I could and get us to some sort of total for the team,” said Denison-Brown.
Mnyaka scored a very impressive 42 not out and with Border having reached 111, they at least had something to bowl at.
“When Sebastian came in, I just told him to bat and stay in, because if you block they’re going to get bored and make some bowling changes and that is where we were going to capitalise. So I think we did it very well and had a good partnership,” explained Mnyaka.
“I was happy with the way I batted. I hit the bad balls and defended the good ones and was satisfied with my 42 in the end.”
All seven Northerns bowlers picked up a wicket, with Gideon Peters, (2/31), and Christopher Britz, (2/2), the pick of the bowlers.
Northerns’ response was then built on the back of Britz’s 51 – with him last man out with the total on 143, while Thabo Motaung (26) and Hermann Roelfes (20) also contributed.
Border’s bowlers did very well considering the pressure they were under, with Denison-Brown taking his batting momentum into his bowling, leading the attack with 3/43, while Siphmandla Krweqe (2/18) and Niemand (2/12) backed him up well.
With a deficit of 33, Border knew they had most likely lost the match on first innings and would have been aiming to just bat out the day, but they instead crashed to a humiliating eight for five wickets in just seven overs to hand Northerns an easy outright victory.
It was Peters’s show as he claimed 4/7, while he also instigating a run-out to deservedly pick up the Man of the Match award.
Border now take on Western Province today at the University of Witwatersrand and they will be hoping for a much improved performance.
Dismal start for Border U19
The Border top order completely threw away their wickets, while there were also two calamitous run-outs, which led to a disappointing all-round effort from a side that came into the week with high aspirations.
The team will now need to shake off this performance and go into today’s match against Western Province with a clean slate if they are to recover and turn their week around.
In the Northerns match, Border batted first and were in all sorts of trouble, slipping to 16 for four wickets in no time.
A 22-run stand between Jason Niemand (19) and Siyamthanda Zini (2) then looked to stabilise the innings, but both fell with the score on 38.
Jason Raubenheimer (8) and Luke Dallas (1) followed soon after and at 52/8, Border were in massive trouble.
Akhona Mnyaka and Sebastian Denison-Brown, however, put up a stubborn fight with a superb 10th-wicket partnership that yielded 55-runs and set Border towards a semi-respectable total.
Denison-Brown scored a valiant 11 off 64 deliveries, occupying the crease and feeding Mnyaka the strike when he could.
“For me coming in, I just wanted to stick with Akhona. He is more experienced, so I was just looking to stay in as long as I could and get us to some sort of total for the team,” said Denison-Brown.
Mnyaka scored a very impressive 42 not out and with Border having reached 111, they at least had something to bowl at.
“When Sebastian came in, I just told him to bat and stay in, because if you block they’re going to get bored and make some bowling changes and that is where we were going to capitalise. So I think we did it very well and had a good partnership,” explained Mnyaka.
“I was happy with the way I batted. I hit the bad balls and defended the good ones and was satisfied with my 42 in the end.”
All seven Northerns bowlers picked up a wicket, with Gideon Peters, (2/31), and Christopher Britz, (2/2), the pick of the bowlers.
Northerns’ response was then built on the back of Britz’s 51 – with him last man out with the total on 143, while Thabo Motaung (26) and Hermann Roelfes (20) also contributed.
Border’s bowlers did very well considering the pressure they were under, with Denison-Brown taking his batting momentum into his bowling, leading the attack with 3/43, while Siphmandla Krweqe (2/18) and Niemand (2/12) backed him up well.
With a deficit of 33, Border knew they had most likely lost the match on first innings and would have been aiming to just bat out the day, but they instead crashed to a humiliating eight for five wickets in just seven overs to hand Northerns an easy outright victory.
It was Peters’s show as he claimed 4/7, while he also instigating a run-out to deservedly pick up the Man of the Match award.
Border now take on Western Province today at the University of Witwatersrand and they will be hoping for a much improved performance.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos