Bat first and get to the next phase.
That was the theme of the quarter-final matches in the Eastern Province section of the inaugural Schools SA20 Tournament.
The quarter- and semi-finals for boys were recently played in Gqeberha and all the winning teams batted first.
In the quarter-finals, there were huge victories but the semi-finals were much more competitive.
Grey High got the ball rolling in the quarter-finals with an easy 187-run victory over New Brighton.
Luke Tait (81) and Connor Parry (68) piled on the runs for Grey on the way to 227/4. New Brighton was bowled out for 40 runs. Anfred Jansen took three wickets.
Daniel Pienaar was also way too strong for Nico Malan. The Kariega side won by 80 runs to set up a semi-final clash with Grey.
The captain, Andrew Muir (59 runs), and Enrique Strydom (51 runs), laid the foundation for victory for Graeme College when they batted first in their quarter-final match against Union.
Graeme made 152/6 and Union could only manage 59 runs in their reply. Lisekho Zinyane and Ajay Jeggels took five wickets between them and Graeme won by 92 runs.
Pearson beat Gelvandale by a massive 207 runs and it was clear that it was going to be a thrilling encounter against Graeme in the semi-final.
It was Pearson who batted first. A good team effort, led by Cayden Wilson with 22 runs from just nine balls, took Pearson to 134/8.
For Graeme, it was Zinyane who bowled well again but Corbin Tidbury was the star with 2/9 in four overs.
It was a good effort from Pearson to restrict Graeme to 119/8. Luphelo Mdyesha tried hard with his innings of 31 runs, but Pearson got home by 15 runs.
Grey stuck to the winning formula of batting first in their semi-final against Daniel Pienaar. They put 152/6 on the scoreboard.
Parry (40 runs) and Markus Potgieter (34*) led the charge for Grey. Jadwyn Cona (3/25) bowled very well for Daniel Pienaar. Grey controlled proceedings in the field and although the Daniel Pienaar batters gave it a full go, they had to settle for 116/7.
Nathan Howell (2/20) and Drisden Pretorius (2/24) were the best Grey bowlers. They were well supported by a solid fielding performance to secure victory by 36 runs.
Pearson and Grey will now go onto the second phase of the tournament which is the regional playoffs in January and February next year in East London.
The finals will be played from 13 to 15 March and hopefully, we will see a Gqeberha side still in the mix by then.
In the Eastern Province final for girls earlier this year it was Pearson who secured a place in the second phase by beating Framesby by 78 runs.
