Van der Westhuizen’s 155 propels Boishaai to victory over Reddam Colts

Paarl Boys’ High tallied a massive total of 406/5 in 50 overs, thanks to a batting masterclass by Dian van der Westhuizen, who struck 155 against the Reddam House Constantia Colts team, on Saturday.

Reddam won the toss and decided to put Paarl Boys in to bat first. It was a decision that came back to haunt them.

After losing two wickets, Boishaai’s Johan Wege and Van der Westhuizen slammed the pedal to the metal, sharing a spectacular partnership of 181. Wege raced to 86 runs from 78 balls and Van der Westhuizen was on song throughout his 155, blasting nine fours and eight sixes along the way.

By the time Wege was run out, they had lifted the Boishaai score from 44/2 to 225/3. Wege’s twin brother, Christiaan, seamlessly continued the onslaught, further boosting his team’s total with 46 runs from 38 deliveries.

Boishaai supporters will remember the twins’ older brother, Gysbert Wege, who scored a lot of runs for the first team during his time at the school.

When JJ van der Sandt was the next man at the crease, he confidently powered Boishaai to a towering total with a confident unbeaten knock of 57 off 29.

Van der Westhuizen’s rollicking romp was finally ended when Alex Wilson palmed a catch off of Charlie Naylor‘s bowling, but the damage had already been inflicted.

Faced with an intimidating total, the Constantia boys fought valiantly, with Naylor leading the way again, making a solid 43 at nearly a run a ball at the top of the order.

Mitchell Welch also scrapped his way to 40, but that came only after Christiaan Wege had dismissed the three top men in the order, leaving Reddam facing an uphill battle at 85/3 after 26 overs.

Though Reddam defended their wickets dourly, they were never able to bat at anywhere near the required run rate and Boishaai were able to see out the 50 overs comfortably, with Reddam House totalling only 181/8, still shy of their target by a sizeable 227 runs.

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Summarised scorecard

Paarl Boys’ High 405/6 (Dian van der Westhuizen 155, Johan Wege 86, JJ van der Sandt 57*, Christiaan Wege 46. Extras 22, Gideon du Toit 27; Alex Wilson 3/98); Reddam House Constantia 181/8 (Charlie Naylor 43, Mitchell Welch 40, Leo del Coure 20, Joe Gitlin 20; Christiaan Wege 3/28). Paarl Boys’ High won by 226 runs.