GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — On Thursday, September 7, Union High School's first XI cricket team left Graaff-Reinet for Port Elizabeth to play in the Annual Pearson High School Cricket Festival.

First, Union faced off against Somerset College.

Union won the toss, decided to bowl first and started very well.

After the 11th over the Union boys were still in a good position. Unfortunately, they then dropped two vital catches which cost them a lot of runs and Somerset College ended up scoring 161/3 after 20 overs. Union went in to bat and started slowly, not batting with intent and not running hard enough between the stumps. That stopped them from rotating the strike properly and could not reach their target.

The Union boys ended up on 130/2 after 20 overs.

Matt Harpur took 1 wicket for 16 runs in 4 overs, Sinethemba Ndudula, 1 for 27 runs in 4 overs, and Waylon du Plessis 1 wicket for 22 runs in 3 overs.

Waylon du Plessis scored 21 runs off 40 balls and Ronan Retief 23 runs off 30 balls. Matt Harpur was not out on 31 runs off 26 balls and Luke McNaughton not out on 42 runs off 25 balls.

Union High School vs Woodridge College

Union won the toss and put Woodridge in to bat first.

The Union boys started off well, with the bowling restricting Woodridge to 4.5 runs an over up until the 12th over. Unfortunately, a lapse in concentration in the field and poor bowling made things easier for Woodridge.

Quality sides don’t waste opportunities and they ended up on 165/4 after 20 overs. Union started batting at a reasonable rate, but the loss of wickets stopped their momentum. Good batting from Matt Harpur and Luke McNaughton gave Union a respectable score in the end, but they fell short of their target. Union scored 111/5 in 20 overs.

Sinethemba Ndudula took 1 wicket for 33 runs in 4 overs, Waylon du Plessis, 2 wickets for 20 runs in 4 overs and Matthew Broeksma, 1 wicket for 35 runs in 4 overs.

Batsmen Luke McNaughton scored 41 runs off 34 balls and Matt Harpur, 24 runs off 19 balls.

Union High School vs Westering High School

On day 2 the format of the match against Westering was time-cricket, which always has an influence on the decision taken by the coach and captain on what to do when winning the toss. Union won the toss and elected to bat first, on a very grassy pitch. Wickets were lost early and Union was in trouble.

A few batsmen were able to grind out some runs and the Union team was bowled out for 108 runs.

Westering went into bat and the Union bowlers started off very well, having taken 3 wickets for only 10 runs after 5 overs. After lunch, there was a slump in the Union bowling attack, and a quick 33 runs got Westering back into the game.

At the end of the 1st innings, Westering were all out for 121 runs in 42 overs. Union trailed by 13 runs and due to the format of the game, had 24 overs left in the days’ play to set a target for Westering to chase. Union had to take 5 wickets for an outright win. The Union boys went in to bat and from the first over the batsmen were showing intent and batted well. Luke McNaughton must be congratulated on brilliant innings of 69 runs off 38 balls, which made it possible for Union to set a decent target.

When Westering went in to bat, they needed 85 runs in 12 overs to win the match, and Union needed to take 5 wickets for an outright win. Unfortunately, Westering decided to bat the innings out and not try to win the match, and Union could not get the required wickets.

Luke McNaughton top scored with 25 runs in the first innings and that brilliant 69 in the second innings.

Waylon du Plessis took 4 wickets for 32 runs in 11 overs, Sine Ndudula took 3 for 40 in 13 overs, Matt Harpur took 2 for 20 in 8 overs and Brett Amsterdam, 1 for 16 in 6 overs.

Union High School vs Victoria Park

On the final day, Union played a 50-over game against Victoria Park. Union won the toss and elected to bowl first. The opening bowlers stayed true to their form and made life very difficult for the Victoria Park batsmen, who were in trouble early and eventually bowled out for 76 runs. The Union boys batted well and reached their target comfortably, ending on 79/3.

Waylon du Plessis took an astonishing 6 wickets for only 13 runs in 7.2 overs. Sinethemba Ndudula, Luke McNaughton, and Brett Amsterdam each took 1 wicket.

The top batsmen were Matt Harpur, with 19 runs not out and Waylon du Plessis with 18 runs off 35 balls.

Union won the match by 7 wickets.

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