On Saturday our u13A cricket team played a limited overs match against Frans Conradie. After losing the toss we were asked to bowl first by our guests. Alutha Wesi and Shaakir Kazi opened the bowling and put together a brutal opening spell dismissing our visitors for 36 runs in 12 overs. After shuffling our batting order Union chased down their total in 11 overs securing a 6 wicket win.
Alutha Wesi 5/18 in 6 overs
On Thursday, 21 February, our u13A Cricket team played a T20 match against Frans Conradie from Despatch. We lost the toss and were asked to bat. Our batsmen got off to a great start through a 57-run partnership between Alutha Wesi and Peter Michaels paving the way for the middle order to score freely ending our 20 overs on 145/5. Frans Conradie then replied with some positive batting keeping our bowlers honest. Good fielding kept our opponents under pressure a…nd they ended their 20 overs on 79/5 with Union winning by 66 runs.
Jayden Swart 49*
Alutha Wesi 27
Peter Michaels 27
Our u11A team played Frans Conradie on Thursday, 21 February. Union won the toss and elected to bowl first. The bowlers worked well together to restrict the opponents to 61 in their twenty overs. Union came in to bat and got off to a good start, but a quick few wickets put us under pressure. Jade Lottering and Peter-Daniel Clegg built a solid partnership and in the end we passed their score with 6 wickets down, winning by 4 wickets.
On Wednesday, 20 February, our u11 boys played a T20 match against Niko Brummer of Beaufort West. Our guest were asked to bat first and started with a conservative approach. Our bowlers kept the run rate down and restricted Niko Brummer to 45 runs in their 20 overs. Our batsmen replied aggressively and chased down the score in the 6th over to win by 8 wickets. Richard Murray took 4 for 7 in 4 overs and Daniel Short scored 25 not out.
Mr Kingwill supervising the groundstaff who are planting one hundred pallets of grass on the Puttick and Murray Field cricket pitches. We are grateful to the Old Unionite Association for financing this project and to Montego Pet Nutrition who transported the grass to Graaff-Reinet from the South-Western Cape. The persistent drought and the quality of available water has had a devastating effect on our cricket pitches.
On Saturday our U13A boys played a limited over match against Laerskool Albertyn from Uitenhage. The match was played in Great Spirit with Union winning the toss and electing to bowl first, our bowlers immediately hit the right areas and put Albertyn under pressure, we managed to take wickets at regular intervals and bowled Albertyn out for 34 in 15 overs. Shaakir Kazi was the pick of the bowlers with 7 for 4 in 6 overs. Our batsmen managed to reach the target in 4th overs with one wicket down securing a 9 wicket win.
The U11A cricket team played a limited over match against Albertyn on the weekend. They won the toss and elected to bowl first. Good bowling and two excellent run outs from the team led to our opposition being dismissed for 38 in 12 overs. Union came into to bat and passed their score in the 5th over, winning the game by 9 wickets
On 13 February, we hosted Gill primary in a 20-over contest. Union won the toss and elected to take the field first. Our bowlers struggled to hit good lines, and missed run out opportunities made it easy for the Gill batsmen to score freely. Gill managed a respectable 137 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs. Our best bowlers were Warren Barlow with figures of 1-23 in 4 overs and Christopher John Moos picking up 1-17 in his 3 overs.
Union then went in to bat, with a slow start to the first 6 overs and losing 2 early wickets led to us falling behind. The middle overs provided much excitement and brought the run rate down, but losing wickets at crucial stages led to Union being 20 runs short of their target. Best batsmen were Yonela Wana – 13 and Josh Arends – 17. Union managed 118 for 9 in their 20 overs, losing by 19 runs.
Union won the toss and elected to bat. After losing two quick wickets a partnership was formed by Matthew Paxton and Josh Neil. Josh continued to bat well, later securing a 48 run partnership with Alastair Imrie. They ended on 142/6, with Josh on 37 not out.
Gill struggled to form partnerships due to consistent bowling from Matthew and the captain Jayden and were all bowled out in the 16th over for 61.
Union won the match by 81 runs.
On Friday our 1st XI played their last game for the season in a 50 over day night game against Muir College.
This was also a very special occasion as two of our boys received their 50th cap, Trevor Moos and Luke Mc Naughton.
Muir won the toss and elected to bat. Union put on a wonderful display of bowling and fielding with Luke Mc Naughton taking the lead with the ball backed up by some wonderful sharp fielding that lead to a game changing run out. Unio…n managed to keep the runs to a minimum and kept taking wickets at regular intervals and managed to bowl Muir out for 127.
Bowling performances: Luke Mc Naughton 5 for 42 in 10 overs; Brett Amsterdam 2 for 17 in 8 overs; Caerwyn Spence 1 for 10 in 6 overs; Lunga Zantsi 1 for 25 in 3 overs.
Union went in to bat and what ended up being a stop start beginning to the innings made things a bit tough at the start, however Trevor Moos and James Pringle put together the perfect 47 run opening partnership through very trying conditions to put us in a commanding position for the run chase. This allowed Brett Amsterdam, Luke Mc Naughton and Zusakhe Ngwane to bat with freedom and get us over the line with only 3 wickets down.
This was really a clinical performance from Union who were always in control and was wonderful that Luke and Trevor rose to the occasion and put together two wonderful performances in their 50th game.
Batting performances: Brett Amsterdam 37 not out; Trevor Moos 24; Luke Mc Naughton 19; James Pringle 17; Zusakhe Ngwane 9 not out.
Union won the match by 7 wickets
Congratulations to Luke McNaughton and Trevor Moos who both received their 50th cap from Mr Pringle before the day/night game against Muir College today.
On Saturday Union 1st XI played against Nico Malan in the CSA National T20 competition at Grey High School.
Nico Malan won the toss and sent Union in to bat. Union got off to a reasonable start but struggled to put together a meaningful partnership and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. This unfortunately lead to us only scoring 103.
Batting performances: Zusakhe Ngwane 16; Brett Amsterdam 14; Jayden Brotherton 13; Bowen Langmead 12; Caerwyn Spence 12.
Nico Malan went in to bat and Union fought hard with the ball and in the field and had Nico Malan 48 for 5. However 103 proved a tough target to defend even though the game ended up going right down to the wire. In the end it was a great game of cricket and very exciting to watch. If Union could have capitalized on one or two chances the result could easily have been different.
Bowling performances: Jayden Brotherton 2 for 14 in 4; Lihle Mxhunyelwa 2 for 19 in 3; Brett Amsterdam 1 for 17 in 3; Trevor Moss 1 for 28 in 3
Even though he did not take a wicket, Caerwyn Spence bowl two excellent overs in the heat of the game which only went for 7 runs.
Union lost he match by 3 wickets
UHS won the toss and elected to bat first in this 40 over match. James Pienaar 32, William Kayster 22, Khwezi Simon 16*, Matthew Hesselink 13 and Josh Calitz 10 contributed to a score of 131 all out in the 25th over.
Muir replied with a score of 138/6 in the 28th over. Best bowling figures were Jarrod Naude 2/28 and Matthew Hesselink 2/38.
No significant run partnership, not batting out our overs and a dropped catch put us under pressure in defending the low score posted.
UHS lost this match by 4 wickets.
On Saturday our Colts played at Botanics against Muir College in a 40 over match. Muir won the toss and asked us to bat first. Union lost some quick wickets upfront through poor shot selection and a lack of patience. Kwande Mhlabeni and Matthew Basson consolidated for a brilliantly played 70 run partnership. With a lapse in concentration we lost our last 6 wickets for only 39 runs. Union made 139 all out in 31.3 overs.
Top batsmen: Kwande Mhlabeni 42; Matthew Basson 39; Sisipho Arnols 15.
The Union bowlers struggled to bowl a good line and length. As a result failed to put the Muir batsmen under pressure. Missed chances didn’t help us. Muir passed our score in the 31st over having lost only 5 wickets.
Top bowlers: Laython Carelse 3 for 28 in 8 overs; Daniel Nell 1 for 16 in 3 overs; Hlakinipha Skepe 1 for 34 in 7.2 overs.
Union lost the game by 5 wickets.
1st XI vs Daniel Pienaar – T20
On Friday the 1st Xi played against Daniel Pienaar in a T20 match.
Union won the toss and elected to bat. Daniel Pienaar hit their lines and length right from ball one putting our batsmen under pressure and had us at 27/4 after 8 overs. However an excellent 60 run partnership between Bowen Langmead and Caerwyn Spence got us to a modest 101 in our 20 overs.
Batting performances: Bowen Langmead 41; Caerwyn Spence 22; Luke Mc Naughton 13
Daniel Pienaar came in to bat and the Union bowlers struggled, bowling too many lose deliveries and allowed Daniel Pienaar to score freely. This team however showed tremendous character and fight. Despite having their backs against the wall defending such a low total, were able to take the match right down to the second last over.
Bowling performances: Jaden Brotherton 1 for 18 in 4 overs; Luke Mc Naughton 1 for 15 in 3 overs
Union lost the match by 8 wickets.
1st XI vs Daniel Pienaar – Declaration
On Saturday the 1st XI took on Daniel Pienaar again in a Declaration format match.
Union won the toss and sent Daniel Pienaar in to bat.
We were treated to some fantastic new ball bowling from Lung Zantsi, Luke Mc Naughton and Lihle Mxhunyelwa who ripped through their top order and had them 33 for
4 after 12 overs. This was followed by some excellent spin bowling from Jaden Brotherton, Trevor Moos and Brett Amsterdam and Union ended up bowling Daniel Pienaar out for 116.
Bowling performances: Lunga Zantsi 3 for 24 in 9 overs; Jaden Brotherton 3 for 20 in 9 overs; Trevor Moos 2 for 20 in 7,1 overs; Brett Amsterdam 1 for 19 in 7 overs
Union went in to bat and once again were met with excellent accurate bowling and soon found ourselves in trouble. We were then witness to some outstanding batting from Brett Amsterdam who took control of the innings with great maturity and Bowen Langmead who scored at an alarming rate and exciting flare and together put on a 106 run partnership in which each batsman complimented each other perfectly allowing us to reach and extend on our target.
Batting performances: Bowen Langmead 57 off 44 balls; Brett Amsterdam 47; James Pringle 13
Union won the match on 1st innings by 6 wickets.
2nd Team
UHS won the toss, electing to bat and did well to reach a score of 206/8 in this 35 over match. Matthew Hesselink 84 and Jarrod Naude 50* were the main contributors with their 119 run partnership for the 5 wickets in 17 overs. Khwezi Simon made 12 runs.
Daniel Pienaar were well on their way at drinks with a score of 109/3 at 17 overs bowled, but with good accurate bowling by Khwezi Simon 4/10, Gregon Jenneke 3/12 and Matthew Hesselink 2/18, the Daniel Pienaar side were all out for 145 in the 25th over. Gregon Jenneke took an important catch on the boundary to get the wicket of their top scorer. Mihlali Tyanase also took an impressive catch at mid-on.
UHS won by 61 runs.
Congratulations to Jarrod Naude (50*) and Matthew Hesselink (84) in their second team win against Daniel Pienaar
U/15A (T20 Format)
Union High won the toss and elected to bowl first. Daniel Pienaar scored 110 for 6 in 20 overs. Best Bowlers: Hlaki Skepe 2 for 25 in 4 overs; Daniel Nel, Rhuzé Hendrick, Sisipho Arnols and Kwande Mhlabeni each picked up a wicket.
Union High replied with 93 for 9 in 20 overs. Best Batsmen: Sisipho Arnols 19; Hlaki Skepe 17.
Union High lost by 17 runs.
U/15A (Limited overs – 50)
Union High won the toss and elected to bowl first once again. Daniel Pienaar scored 206 all out.
Best Bowlers: Hlaki Skepe 4 for 20 in 8 overs; Kwande Mhlabeni 2 for 60 in 9 overs; Sisipho Arnols 2 for 47 in 7 overs.
Union High replied with 69 all out in 21 overs. Best Batsmen: Sisipho Arnols 21; Hlaki Skepe 18;
Union High lost by 137 runs.
Our boys need to apply themselves better, grind it out and spend time in the middle. The old adage of catches win matches was also part of the 50 over match. We had Daniel Pienaar up against the ropes at 70 for 6, from this point we dropped 4 catches and missed 3 run outs which proved to be our downfall.
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.
Over the week end the 1st XI travelled to East London to play against Stirling in a declaration match. However due to rainy weather the match was reduced to a 40 over match.
Stirling won the toss and elected to bat. It was a day of moments for Union with the ball and in the field. There were moments of brilliance and moments of struggle and unfortunately the latter proved to be prominent on the day and we allowed Stirling to reach a well-played 196 in their 40 overs.
Best bowlers: Lunga Zantsi 2 for 25 in 8 overs; Jayden Brotherton 2 for 47 in 8 overs; Union went in to bat and struggled to get the score board ticking over with the regular loss of wickets. Thanks to a fantastic batting performance by Jayden Brotherton who kept the innings together right till the end despite having wickets fall all around him got us to a rather short but respectable 142. Unfortunately a lack of application at the wicket by our batsmen let us down in a game where things could have gone far better had we put together one good partnership.
Best batting: Jayden Brotherton 66; James Pienaar 16.
Union lost the match by 54 runs
The U15 A cricket team travelled to East London to play against Stirling. Due to rain the start of play was delayed and the match was reduced to 30 overs. Union batted first and scored 126 all out in 26 overs.
est Batsmen: Sisipho Arnolds 35; Laythan Carelse 23; Hlaki Skepe 15.
Stirling replied with 100 all out in 24 overs.
Best bowlers: Kwande Mhlabeni 3 for 16 in 5 overs; Hlaki Skepe 3 for 22 in 6 overs; Daniel Nel 2 for 15 in 5 overs. Laythan Carelse and Likhona Finca each took one wicket.
Union won the match by 23 runs
The 2nds played against Stirling at home on Saturday. Stirling won the toss and elected to bat. UHS started off well to have the opposition 53/7 in the 12th over, but were unable to prevent their remaining batsmen from taking their score to 167 in the 32nd over in this 40 over match.
Josh Calitz bowled well for figures of 5/40 in 7 overs and William Kayster 3/43 in 8 overs.
UHS struggled against some hostile bowling. Peter Watermeyer made 40 runs batting for 23 overs, and was the only bat to weather the storm. William Kayster did well for 18 runs. UHS were bowled out in the 29th over for 107 and lost by 60 runs.
Congratulations to Lunga Zantsi and James Pienaar who received their 1st Team Cricket Caps on Friday, 19 January before the match against Framesby.
U/13A Cricket vs Niko Brummer
On Saturday, 20 January, our U/13A cricket team played a limited over match against Niko Brummer. We were asked to bowl first and started with real urgency in the field, with our opponents on 35-4 after 10 overs we were well in control of proceedings, however, we then suffered a severe lapse in concentration conceding 82 extras in the next 30 overs allowing Niko Brummer to reach 220 runs. Our batsmen started well and after being 92-3 after 13 overs it looked …like it would be smooth sailing. This was not the case and we were bowled out for 122 losing by 98 runs.
Best bowler – Shaakir Kazi 6/28
Best Batsmen – Camran Swartz 32 runs
U/13B lost by 108 runs.