Moonsamy blast Titans to victory over SA u17

The Unlimited Titans’, Rivaldo Moonsamy (94*), was his side’s hero in their 44 run victory over the South African Invitational u17-side on the opening day of the annual Cricket South Africa’s Cubs Week in Stellenbosch.

Moonsamy took a liking in the national under-17 side’s bowling as he struck an unbeaten 94 runs off only 56 deliveries as his side recorded 311/3 in their allotted 50 overs. His innings included 15 fours and two sixes. He also scored a century during last year’s Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week in December against Eastern Province.

The Titans’ opening batsman, Evan Jones (78), and Dean Foxcroft (75*) also scored half-centuries. Foxcroft and Moonsamy shared an unbeaten 165 runs over the last 15.3 overs in their fourth wicket stand. The national u17-side put up a great fight with Ricardo Vasconcelos (67) and Gavin Kaplan (54) both weighing in with centuries.

The Chevrolet Knights almost produced an upset in their defeat of 11 runs against the hosts, the Nashua Cape Cobras. The victorious side could only manage 194/8 in their allotted over on Paul Roos Gimnasium’s field. For the Knights their seam bowler, Aiden Brooker (3/55), boasted the best bowling figures, but the best bowling performance belonged to Neil Durrow (0/28) who made the Cobras’ batsmen work hard for their runs.

The South African Schools’ captain of 2014, Matthew Christensen (42) and fellow SA Schools player Kyle Verreynne (38) managed to get some good starts with the bat. For the Knights, Pule Mokwena (32), gave some resistance, while Jay Stevens (3/32) was the Cobras’ leading bowler.

The defending champions of the tournament, the bizhub Highveld Lions, recorded an easy victory of 133 runs against Zimbabwe. The SA Schools’ opening batsman, Ryan Rickelton (95), just missed out on his century. He and Sebastian Green (38) shared an opening stand of 90 runs, before he and Tony de Zorzi also added 82 runs over the second wicket to lay a solid foundation.

The Lions’ captain, Marques Ackerman (4/23), was the pick of his side’s bowlers with his part-time spin bowling.

One of the South African u19-players who helped the country be crowned world champions, Sibonelo Makhanya (67), was the hero in the Sunfoil Dolphins’ victory of five wickets over the Chevrolet Warriors. He already made his senior franchise debut for the Dolphins in the Ram Slam T20-competition. He was also his side’s best bowler as he picked up two wickets for 27 runs.

The Warriors’ Tim Niemand also produced an allround performance as he contributed 33 runs with the bat and grabbed two wickets for 26 runs with his seam bowling.

Fixtures for 6 January 2015:

Bizhub Highveld Lions vs. Chevrolet Knights (Van der Stel)
Sunfoil Dolphins vs. South Africa u17 Invitational (Spes Bona)
Nashua Cape Cobras vs. Zimbabwe (Distell)
Unlimited Titans vs. Chevrolet Warriors (Coronation)

Summarised Scorecards:

Unlimited Titans 311/3 (Rivaldo Moonsamy 94*, Evan Jones 78, Dean Foxcroft 75*); South Africa Invitational u17 267/8 (Ricardo Vasconcelos 67, Gavin Kaplan 54, Wiaan Mulder 39; Stefan Klopper 2/48, Nkosi Msiza 2/48). Unlimited Titans won by 44 runs.

bizhub Highveld Lions 279/8 (Ryan Rickelton 95, Sebastian Green 38; Davis Murwendo 2/20); Zimbabwe 146 (Lawrence Magwenzi 37*; Marques Ackerman 4/23, Tony de Zorzi 2/13). bizhub Highveld Lions won by 133 runs.

Nashua Cape Cobras 194/8 (Kyle Verreynne 42, Matthew Christensen 38; Aiden Brooker 3/55, Tsepo Ntuli 2/29); Chevrolet Knights 183 (Pule Mokwena 32; Jay Stevens 3/32, Dayyaan Galiem 2/27). Nashua Cape Cobras won by 11 runs.

Chevrolet Warriors 161/6 (Craig Sansom 52*, Tim Niemand 33; Sibonelo Makhanya 2/27); Sunfoil Dolphins 163/5 (Sibonelo Makhanya 67; Tim Niemand 2/26). Sunfoil Dolphins won by five wickets.