Saints bowlers secure a deserved spot in the SA Schools 20 final

Only 40 more overs of cricket stand between Saints’ u/19 girls cricket team and another trophy lift after they comprehensively beat Botshabelo Hub (6 wickets) and Kuruman Hub (90 runs) during the SA Schools 20 Central Qualifiers pool stage today (Friday, 17 January).

This prestigious SA Schools 20 tournament sees the best teams from across South Africa compete against each other in regional qualifiers before moving on to the final stage where the cream of the crop will fight for top spot as SA 20 National champions.

Saints’ bowlers showed their prowess today as they completely dismantled Kuruman Hub’s batting line-up for 22 all-out at the JB Marks Oval.

Siphumelele “Ice Tea” Duma (3/10), Rea Dithipe (3/4) and Gogontle Padi (2/6) made an impact with fantastic bowling. The highest score for the visitors was the extras, which amounted to 7.

Saints made 112/6 with the bat, thanks to a solid 40 from Rea Dithipe and a handy 24 from Diarabilwe Ngubeni.

Earlier on, Saints were in top form against Botshabelo from Free State with a solid bowling performance restricting their opposition to 61 in their 20 overs. All the bowlers chipped in with economical bowling to give their batters a solid chance to chase down the score.

Saints were cruising on 52/1 after 14 overs, with Jessica Joshua (23 off 48) and Siphumelele Duma (15 off 27 balls) looking in control, before a lapse in concentration saw Duma run-out at the non-strikers end with a superb direct hit.

Joshua lost her wicket two overs later which made for a nervy finish at the end.

Diarabilwe Ngubeni kept her cool to hit the winning runs with 5 balls to spare.

Saints will now await Botshabelo Hub or Kuruman Hub in the final tomorrow (Saturday, 18 January) at 14:00 at the J.B. Marks Oval.