St Andrew’s end on a high

Warriors representatives St Andrew’s College showed what could have been as they finished their Coca-Cola Schools T20 National Finals campaign on a high with a thumping 44-run victory over Cobras reps Paarl Gimnasium at Tuks University on Sunday morning.

St Andrew’s went through the group stage of the competition without picking up a win, leaving them bottom of their pool and out of the running for the final.

But they came firing back in the subsequent cross-pool matches, winning against their namesakes and defending champs from the Knights, St Andrew’s School Bloemfontein, and then followed that up by beating Paarl Gimnasium.

“In tournament sport you’re not quite sure how the boys will respond to the initial pressures, but I think as long as they’ve gained something from it, it is a success,” St Andrew’s coach Carl Bradfield said.

“There is so much that they can take away [from five games] and learn from for the future.”

Paarl Gim went into the game unbeaten over the 20overs portion of the game in the tournament.

They were desperately unlucky to tie two games against the two teams that made the final, Lions reps St Stithians and Dolphins reps St Charles, and then lose in a super over against St Stithians and then tie their super over against St Charles, losing in the end by a count-off, with St Charles having hit more boundaries.

This meant they were favourites against St Andrew’s, who had only won one game at that stage, but were then blown away in a low-scoring match.

Batting first, St Andrew’s lost regular wickets throughout their innings, but middle-order batsman Guy Rushmere (31) and lower order batter Nicholas Frances (21) ensured they would have something to bowl at as they ended on 108/9 at the end of their 20 overs.

A brilliant bowling and fielding effort then followed as Paarl Gim were knocked over for just 64.

Lilitha Lubengu bowled just five balls at the end of the innings, picking up the last two wickets while conceding no runs, while Nicholas Barlow, 2/1, Ryan Ford, 2/12, and Malcolm Macgregor, 2/16, all chipped in as well. It was the perfect end to the tournament for the Grahamstown team, especially after picking up their first win over St Andrew’s Bloem on Saturday afternoon.

“Yesterday (Saturday) we played on a really good wicket and it allowed us to chase a big total, while today was different,” Bradfield said.

“I don’t think it was ever going to be easy for a team chasing today and the manner in which we defended a low total with good spirit and energy was great.”

The other Eastern Cape team at the tournament, Coastal Focus School reps Hudson Park, ended their campaign on a low after being comfortably beaten by eight wickets by Titans reps Waterkloof.