Grand times for Greenwood Bay College cricket
PLETTENBERG BAY - Greenwood Bay College's cricket teams have been in great form lately. Their U13 team triumphed over Knysna Primary School for the first time ever, and their U9 team recently beat Sunridge Primary School.
In the U13 fixture, KPS batted first and got off to a great start, but GBC's Lino Ningiza soon provided the breakthrough with two wickets in his first two balls. After the top order toppled a bit, KPS' middle and lower order batters stabilised their innings with some hard-hitting that showcased why KPS is considered the premium cricket side in the KPSSS region.
However, the GBC bowlers were able to have the last say courtesy of disciplined death bowling by Riley Porter, who finished with the best bowling figures of three wickets for 17 runs in four overs. KPS scored 121-7 in 20 overs, setting GBC a target of 122 runs to win, which would be the highest successful run chase at the school.
GBC got off to a good start thanks to the opening pair comprised of the team captain, Hudson Whitehouse, and Cameron Nefdt who did well to weather the early KPS storm. With GBC needing 31 runs to win off 24 balls, it was the KPS bowlers who struck again with two quick wickets to swing the momentum back in favour of the Knysna side.
The GBC batsmen kept chipping away at the target and approaching the final over, the tension around the field was palpable with both sets of parents and supporters on their feet. GBC were 115-6 after 19 overs and history beckoned with victory now within touching distance. The equation was simple, GBC needed seven runs off six balls to win to record their first ever win against KPS and achieve the school's highest successful run chase.
After six runs were scored off the first five balls of the over, the match came down to the final ball, with GBC needing one run to win.
The bowler steamed in for the final delivery of the match, Josh Axon stood firm, played the ball towards a fielder, and managed to scamper home for a single to guide GBC to victory.
For the U9 match it was GBC's turn to bat first, and they batted well to reach a total of 55 for the loss of only two wickets. Sunridge were unable to break down GBC's bowling and fielding, finding it difficult to score runs. Sunridge were restricted to 18 runs for the loss of three wickets, handing GBC the victory.