Coetzer, Van Heerden hit tons, but Cobras lead the way at Cubs Week

Hardus Coetzer (102*) and George van Heerden (100) recorded centuries on the second day of Cricket South Africa’s Cubs Week in Stellenbosch but could not save their respective teams, the Titans and Warriors, from suffering defeats against the Cape Cobras and Knights.

Coetzer came close to getting the Titans over the line as they ended just six runs short of victory. He struck one of his five sixes earlier in the final over, but as he and his final batting partner, Jabulani Nkosi (3), called for two runs off the third delivery of the over the latter got run out after some excellent fielding.

Coetzer faced only 95 deliveries in his innings. His partnership over the sixth wicket with Christiaan Daniels (54) got the Titans close, but in the end, it was not enough. Michael Levitt (4/43) and Salmaan Ajam (3/64) caused the Titans’ batsmen the most problems.

The Cape Cobras reached 274/7 in their allotted 50 overs on Tassies Oval. Captain, Daniel Smith (72), Nicholas Keevy (64), and Ethan Cunningham (53) all weighing in with half-centuries for the winning side.

Coetzer was also the pick of the Titans’ bowling attack as he ended up with figures of 2/39 in nine overs.

Van Heerden, who also captains the Warriors, ran out of partners as his side’s second-best batting effort came from a chap called Extras. Adam du Plessis (12) and Joshua Stevenson (11*) were the only other two batsmen who managed to get into double figures.

Van Heerden struck 12 boundaries in his innings before losing his wicket to Mvula Chabalala (3/38). The Knights won the clash on the Coetzenburg Oval by 49 runs.

The Knights who batted first reached 226/8 in their allotted overs thanks to contributions from GJ Maree (71), Lerato Nqoyi (44), and Liam Doherty (34*).

Luc Benkenstein (60), son of former Protea-batsman Dale Benkenstein, struck his second successive half-century of the tournament to help the Dolphins to secure a 51-run victory over the Lions.

Benkenstein, who also captains the Dolphins, scored an unbeaten 58 runs in his side’s opening match against the Cape Cobras on Wednesday. He also added value with the ball in hand as he picked up two wickets at the cost of 37 runs.

The pick of the Dolphins bowling attack was Colby Dyer grabbed three wickets at the cost of only 31 runs. Dyer also added 25 runs with the bat in hand.

The Lions’ Caleb Seleka had a good day at the office on Maties’ C-field by getting rid of three batsmen for a mere 21 runs.

Day three of the U19 Franchise Cubs Week continues on Friday. To follow all the action live from Stellenbosch, visit www.pitchvision.com.

Summarised Scorecards: 

Knights 226/8 (GJ Maree 71, Lerato Nqoyi 44, Liam Doherty 34*; Adam Richards 3/41); Warriors 177 (George van Heerden 100*, Extras 25; Mvula Chabalala 3/38, Reeza Alexander 2/28). Knights won by 49 runs.

Dolphins 241/8 (Luc Benkenstein 60, Joshua Stride 31, Colby Dyer 25, Nicholas Hatten 25; Caleb Seleka 3/21); Lions 190 (Ronan Herrrmann 36, Taheer Isaacs 34, Extras 33; Colby Dyer 3/31, Luc Benkenstein 2/37). Dolphins won by 51 runs.

Cape Cobras 274/7 (Daniel Smith 72, Nicholas Keevy 64, Ethan Cunningham 53, Michael Levitt 27; Hardus Coetzer 2/39); Titans 269 (Hardus Coetzer 103*, Christiaan Daniels 54, Jordan Hermann 40, Dewald Brevis 25; Michael Levitt 4/43, Salmaan Ajam 3/64). Cape Cobras won by five runs.

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