THE Eastern Warriors found it tough going at Cricket South Africa’s Cubs tournament for u/19 teams which ended in Stellenbosch last week.
Matches were played over 50 overs and the Warriors managed only one win from their five outings.
Randy Syce was the star in the nail-biting first match against the Central Gladiators which the Warriors won by two runs.
He played a magnificent innings of 105 runs and scored from 124 deliveries. Jean Upman gave Syce solid support with 77 runs.
Syce and Upman were involved in an excellent partnership of 141 runs for the third wicket, helping the Warriors to a very good score of 293/5.
The Gladiators nearly reached the winning target, just coming up short with 291/8. Luphelo Mdyesha (3/20) and Dawid Vermaak (2/41) were the most successful bowlers.
The Pearson star, Esa Gangat, was very economical with 1/28 in 10 overs.
The second match was a huge disappointment. The visiting United States of America (USA) outfit destroyed the Warriors to win by 181 runs. Grey’s Lekhona Gcora (3/51) and Gangat (2/42) did well with the ball, but the USA scored 281/7.
The Warriors batted poorly, scoring 100 runs, with Jacques van der Merwe (41) and Syce (22) the main contributors.
It was a much better performance in the next match when the Warriors made 256/6 against the Southern Superstars.
The Pearson all-rounder, Cayden Wilson, was unbeaten with 75 runs behind his name and Syce made 58. Gangat also batted well for his 34 not out.
The Superstars had enough batting power to reach 259/3 to win by seven wickets. Wilson took 2/33.
There was another dismal batting performance by the Warriors in the next match against Namibia.
Namibia made 223/8 with Hlumelo Ntola (3/35) the most successful of the Warriors bowlers.
Daniel Pienaar’s main man, Jadwyn Cona, and Gangat bagged two wickets each. The batting led the Warriors down. They were bundled out for a mere 68 to give victory to Namibia by 155 runs.
On the last day of the tournament, it was a rematch with the Gladiators. This encounter turned into a real run feast.
The Gladiators put a massive 372/7 on the board. It was a great bowling effort from Ntola who took 6/64.
The Warriors tried bravely to chase down the huge target, but it was just too many runs for them. They managed 249, which meant the Gladiators won by 123 runs. Gangat (46), Syce (46), Kian Cambier (39), Upman (32) and Wilson (21) were all among the runs but it was not enough for victory.
The interschool matches are now underway in Nelson Mandela Bay – send your fixtures, scores and photos to steenkamphenk@gmail.com.
