Wynberg U13A Winning Streak Broken

In what can only be described as a thriller filled with twists and turns and unexpected incidents, this morning's U13 cricket match between hosts Kenridge Primary School and Wynberg Boys Junior School provided the spectators with plenty of entertainment.

Once again the weather was a factor as overnight rain and overcast conditions dictated that whoever won the toss should field first. The Kenridge captain won this vital battle and rightly sent Wynberg in to bat.

With a seven match winning streak under their belts the Wynberg boys tried to continue playing in the positive manner that had proved so successful for them. Unfortunately with the wicket being a proper turf surface they did not adapt to the slower conditions and lost wickets at regular intervals. Instead of playing sensible cricket the Wynberg batsmen tried to dazzle with big shots and got themselves out more than anything else.

Special mention must be made of the fact that young Jarred Philp stood his ground as the sixth batsman to the crease and was not out at the end of the Wynberg innings. He showed composure and discipline in abundance and proved that this is the correct recipe for batting successfully in these conditions.

Wynberg were all out for 85 after 22.4 overs

Wynberg innings statistics:

Batting:

Jordan Holgate 16

Dong Min Lee 12

Kyle Tattersall 12

Bowling:

Andre 8 overs, 0 maidens, 2 wickets for 32

Tyla 8 overs, 0 maidens, 4 wickets for 32

Etienne 3.4 overs, 0 maidens, 2 wickets for 6

Dylan 3 overs, 0 maidens, 1 wicket for 13

Wynberg had a huge task on their hands in trying to defend their mediocre total. To make matters worse the sun had made its appearance during the latter stages of the Wynberg innings. This favoured the batting side.

Mika Ekström opened the bowling for Wynberg and with his searing pace and unerring accuracy the batsmen retreated into their shells. It was evident that Kenridge opening bat and WP U13A cricket representative Dylan Edwards can handle a bat and he took the main responsibility for facing Mika. Both batsmen did well to stand up to the barrage with Dylan's opening partner having been dropped in the slips off Mika.

Dylan scored 17 runs before he was caught at gully by Wynberg captain Jordan Holgate off Mika's bowling. In the very next over off-spinner Kyle Tattersall claimed the scalp of Dylan's opening partner and Wynberg had a glimmer of hope with the score at 22 for 2. 

Mika continued to bowl with some venom and the batsmen had no answer to the questions he was posing. Changing his line of attack to around the wicket he had success with the second ball of this ploy as he broke leg stump into pieces to claim his second wicket. The two Kenridge batsmen at the crease managed to see out the rest of Mika's eight over complement without further damage.

Wynberg made good use of their spinners during the middle part of the innings as both Jordan and Kyle kept the scoring rate under wraps and picked up crucial wickets with the pressure that was being applied. After 20 overs Kenridge were 45 for 5 with another 20 overs of their innings remaining.

With Mika out of the attack Ryan Vorster was brought in having been out of cricket for four weeks with a fractured finger. Although he had not bowled in a match for a long time he showed that he was up for the occasion as he bowled with wonderful discipline focusing on line and length. Ryan's metronomical bowling yielded great success as three batsmen took unnecessary chances against him in an effort to improve their scoring rate and paid the ultimate price.

With one wicket standing Kenridge needed to score ten runs to win the match and their last batsman Tyla did the business without much fuss or bother. 

Kenridge won the match by one wicket as they reached the required 86 runs in 29 overs.

Kenridge innnings statistics:

Batting:

Dylan Edwards 17

Bowling:

Mika Ekström 8 overs, 4 maidens, 2 wickets for 5 runs

Ismaeel Galant 2 overs, 0 maidens, 0 wickets for 16 runs

Kyle Tattersall 8 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 18 runs

Jordan Holgate 6 overs, 2 maidens, 2 wickets for 17 runs

Ryan Vorster 4 overs, 0 maidens, 3 wickets for 15 runs

Rayyaan Meyer 1 over, 0 maidens, 0 wickets for 6 runs