September 19, 2008

Zululand OBSERVER

	Johnny be good Felixton College Grade 8 pupil, Johnny Riekert, blasts one to the boundary on his way to 52 not out against UniZul on Saturday.   Groenewald bludgeons pupils Mike Harrison RICHARDS Bay, thanks to a century to Charl Groenewald and 55 to Ruan van Rensburg, were able to keep their unbeaten Weber Cup record in tact with a handsome 125 run victory over Grantleigh in last weekend's rounds of the competition. As far as Grantleigh were concerned, this defeat was part of the learning curve but was not quite as devastating as their clash with Empangeni the previous week. One or two of them emerged with enhanced performances, especially Craig Vawdrey who did well with both bat and ball. Batting first, Richards Bay amassed a big total of 255/7 from their 45 overs. Groenewald scored 107 with good support from Van Rensburg and Stephen Joubert 27. Vawdrey with 2/17 from eight overs, and Alister Keet 2/24 from six, were the best bowlers. Grantleigh made a spirited reply but were dismissed for 130. Vawdrey 21, and Garth Bishop 22, were the top scorers with Byron Jollivet 3/24, and Joubert 2/14, doing the damage with the ball. Felixton The home team took first knock in their clash with UniZul. Richard Bennett followed up his 69 the previous week with 24. But it was Johnny Riekert, a Grade 8 pupil coming in at number three, who really impressed with 52 not out, including seven fours. Trevor Kietzman's partnership of 47 for the fourth wicket with Riekert was the feature of the innings, boosting their total to 154/8 after 45 overs. Thula Ngema 2/16, and Sandile Ngema 3/18, both bowling nine overs, were the wicket takers. UniZul made an explosive reply and quickly ran to 120/2 after just 13 overs. Thula Ngema, who is a regular in the uThungulu team, was mainly responsible with a quick fire 89. Kietzman then took five wickets in quick succession and the game changed dramatically. UniZul were now in a spot of bother still three runs short with their last two batsmen at the crease. However, they managed to knock off the required runs. Kietzman, who recently gained selection for the KZN U17 team squad, finished with 6/29 from eight overs. Off spinner Chris Koogje offered support with 1/14 from five overs. Upcoming UniZul meet Zululand Vets at Addison Park this Saturday 20 September, while Empangeni travel to eShowe for their fixture on Sunday 21 September.