Twelve of Union High School’s athletes competed at the Camdeboo Athletics meeting, held on Saturday, 2 February, at the Collie Koeberg Athletics Stadium. Our athletes all gave their best, despite the long day with heat , rain and high humidity. We received some podium places, but are still awaiting final results.
1st Senior Team vs Moms / Old Girls
The 1st half of the match was entertaining with the 1st team girls scoring 4 goals. However, the old girls managed to keep a clean sheet in the second half as the Union girls failed to capitalise on their chances. The match was played in good spirit and credit must go to the Old Girls for giving the Union girls a tough time.
Best goal: Micela Loock
Best defender: Chelsea Theron
Player of the match: J…enna McNaughton
Thanks to the Old Girls for the donation of cash prizes and for the organisation of the day.
1st Junior Team vs Moms / Old Girls
A young and very nervous squad of girls took to the field on Saturday to face the determined band of mothers and old girls. While these girls may be small in stature, they are certainly big in heart. The first half saw them trailing by 4 goals to nil, but they refused to admit defeat. They came out of their corner fighting in the second half and gave the spectator…s an epic showdown. A ding-dong battle ensued in which each goal scored by the opposition was beautifully answered with one of our own and the match ended with our girls losing by 7 goals to 3.
The girls must be commended on a fine, early start to the season. There were some lovely moments of cohesion and good communication with each other throughout the game and this can only bode well for an exciting season ahead.
1st XI vs Old Boys
On Saturday the 1st Xi took on the Old Boys during the annual Founders day clash of youth versus experience. The Old Boys won the toss and elected to bat.
The school boys struggled to find a consistent line and length and allowed the Old Boys to score freely. With the Old Boys being 193 for 4 at drinks things were looking ominous for the youngsters who were looking at chasing a mammoth total. However as this team has shown throughout the season they are a team of great fight and character and bounced back after drinks with fantastic bowling from Luke Mc Naughton, Trevor Moss and Lunga Zantsi who between the three of them took the next 6 wickets for only 70 runs restricting the Old Boys to a total of 265 all out.
Bowling figures: Luke Mc Naughton 3 for 40 in 8 overs; Trevor Moss 3 for 38 in 8 overs; Lung Zantsi 2 for 24 in 6 overs’ James Pienaar and Jayden Brotherton each took one wicket.
The 1st XI came in to bat and were immediately put under pressure and soon found themselves at 40 for 4. Once again this team dug deep and a magnificent batting display from Brett Amsterdam and Luke Mc Naughton put us back in the game with a 69 run partnership. This was followed by another flourishing 50 run partnership between Luke and Caerwyn Spence. Zusakhe Ngwane then joined Luke at the crease and played a wonderful cameo in support of Luke and resulted in another 40 run partnership which was looking to set the team up perfectly to get over the line. Unfortunately we lost our way at the end and came up short in what would have been an emphatic victory chasing such a demanding total.
Batting performances: Luke Mc Naughton 60; Brett Amstedam 54; Zusakhe Ngwane 30;
Union lost the match by 33 runs.
Special mention was made of the manner and spirit in which the boys played the game and were complimented for their behaviour on and off the field and impeccable sportsmanship.
Thank you to the Old Boys that made the effort to come and celebrate this very special occasion with us and the spirit in which they played the game. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the match and learnt valuable lessons from you. This is always a fantastic experience for the young men and something they will always remember.
2nd Team
As is tradition, the Old Boys batted first managing 200/9 in their allotted 40 overs. Best with the bat was Richard Collett 98*, Rhett Newton 50 and Basil Jacobs 15. As the saying goes, catches win matches, and this proved very true as there were some missed opportunities that cost us dearly. Mihlali Tyanase achieved 4/34 with the ball. This won him the schoolboy, man-of-the-match award.
In reply the 2nd XI struggled to put good partnerships together and were bowled out in the 23rd over for 102 runs. Rogan Odendaal 25, Gregon Jenneke 21*, Jarrod Naude 13 and William Kayster 13 did best with bat. Flippie Loock achieved 4/8, Graham Palframan 2/24 and Tyron van der Struys 2/32 with the ball for the Old Boys.
U/15A
The Old boys batted first and scored 167 for 7 in 30 overs.
Best Bowlers: Sisipho Arnols 3 for 15 in 4 overs; Rhuze Hendricks 2 for 18 in 3 overs; Laythan Carelse 1 for 28 in 5 overs.
Union High replied with 90 all out.
Best Batsmen: Finn Cilliers 25; Rhuze Hendricks 16; JJ Liebenberg 15
Old Boys won by 77 runs.
U/14 Invitational
The Old Boys batted first and scored 223 for 5 in 28 overs. Best Bowlers: Matthew Basson 2 for 40 in 6 overs; Josh Basson 2 for 53 in 6 overs; Dylan Kriel 1 for 25 in 4 overs. Union High replied with 124 all out.
Best Batsmen: Thando Matotie 50; Matthew Basson 17; Kamva Bottamani 6; Dylan Kriel 15
Old Boys won by 99 runs.
U/13
On Saturday our U13 cricket boys played a good-hearted social match against their parents and Old Boys. The U13’s went in to bat first with each pair batting 4 overs; our boys treasured the opportunity of facing their dads’ bowling, with some fun banter taking place between the two sides. Unfortunately rain halted proceedings on more than one occasion before the game was finally called off just after lunch. The day was enjoyed by all with many special memories created. A special thanks to all the fathers and old boys who took part in this lovely occasion and to Mr Dean Marais for all his arrangements.
1st XI vs Graeme College
On the Wednesday 30 January Union travelled to Grahamstown to play against Graeme College in a declaration match played over two days. Graeme won the toss and elected to bat first. After 56 overs Graeme declared on 214 for 7 with still 30 min of play left in the day.
Bowling figures: Brett Amsterdam 3 for 63 in 15 overs; Lihle, Jayden, Matthew and James Pienaar each took one wicket
This declaration meant that Union had to come in and survive at least 6 overs before the end of play and was wonderful for the boys to experience this type of mini test cricket and get put under a different type of pressure. The Union batsmen were up to the task and looked forward to the challenge. Unfortunately we lost a wicket in the second over, however for the remainder of the overs James Pringle and Jayden Brotherton saw the onslaught off with ease leaving a sense of confidence going into day two.
Day two dawned with a very gloomy looking day with rain in the air. Despite the weather looking threatening we were able to start on time. James Pringle and Jayden Brotherton carried on where they left off and batted with fantastic patience and application during a very trying time with conditions well suited for bowling. After a well-played 24 run partnership Brett Amsterdam joined James Pringle and on a day with many disruptions being on and off the field due to rain. These two did not let that get the better of them and batted with excellent maturity and kept the scoreboard ticking at a respectable rate.
In the end the weather got the final say and Union finished the day on 60 for 2.
With a match well poised it would have been wonderful to have seen what the outcome would have been had we got the full time of cricket in. This really was an amazing experience for the boys who were exposed to a very different brand of cricket and have taken many positive lessons from the experience.
Batting performance: James Pringle 29 N/O; Brett Amsterdam 19 N/O; Jayden Brotherton 8
The match ended in a draw.
U/15A vs Graeme College
Union High won the toss and elected to bowl first. Union bowled Graeme out for 89 in their first innings.
Best Bowlers: Matthew Basson 4 for 11 in 6 overs; Laythan Carelse 3 for 38 in 9.1 overs; Daniel Nell 2 for 11 in 6 overs; Hlaki Skepe 1 for 11 in 7 overs.
Union High replied with 95 all out in their First Innings.
Best Batsman: Sispho Arnols 62; Brent Hesselink 12
Union lead by 6 runs. Graeme College then went in to bat for their second innings.Graeme were 47 for 4 when rain stopped play.
Best Bowlers: Hlaki Skepe 2 for 12 in 6 overs; Matthew Basson and Daniel Nell each picked up a wicket.
Union High achieved a winning draw based on their 1st Innings win.
On Tuesday evening the top 6 chess players from all the schools in Graaff-Reinet attended the first of many Top Level Chess coaching sessions facilitated by Ian Kirsten. We are very proud to have initiated this venture and hope to see many more Graaff-Reinet learners attending the South African Junior Chess Championships in the future.
Accompanied by Mrs Hanli Rose-Innes, the Art Club went on an outing on Thursday 31 January to the Hester Rupert Art Gallery. The Hester Rupert museum is one of Graaff-Reinet’s hidden treasures and is well worth a visit.
