Alexis Kontopirakis and Rifqah Esau’s fantastic bowling effort led Western Province to a second convincing victory in as many days, this time coming against Garden Route Badgers, in Cape Town on Day 2 CSA U19 Girls’ Cricket Week, 11 December, 2023.
Kontopirakis led the way as the main threat with the ball in hand claiming astonishing figures of three wickets for only three runs.
Esua followed her lead claiming equally impressive figures of 3/13 in the seven overs she bowled.
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This extraordinary effort from the pair meant that the Badgers team could only manage a disappointing 85.
Tabitha la Grange was once again the stand-out for the South Western Districts side, top-scoring with 15 runs from 31 deliveries.
The Western Province batters, however, seemed as comfortable as they easily set off in search of the 86 runs required for victory. Katleen Seager played a very mature knock, knuckling down for her 38 runs coming off 54 balls.
Jemma Botha seemed to be batting on a different surface, scoring an aggressive run a ball 38 runs to lead the Western Province side to a comfortable nine-wicket victory.
North-West vs Kei
North-West continued their dominance, beating Kei by an impressive 142 runs. Koketso Lesenyego led the way with a remarkable 60 runs from 145 balls. Deidre van Rensburg also found herself amongst the runs for a second day in a row, adding another 47 runs to her tally for the week, while Karabo Lemphane added another 34 runs to her tally coming from 57 deliveries.
Sgempana Elethu put up another stellar performance with the ball claiming figures of 2/33 in her spell, while Oluhle Ndongeni proved to be the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/29.
Unfortunately, the Kei batters were unable to back up an impressive bowling performance stumbling to 63 all out. Bonisha Robert fought valiantly to top score but even she could only manage ten runs before she had to depart.
Gauteng Lions vs Mpumalanga
The Gauteng Lions proved why they are the favourites to be crowned champions of the tournament with another immense performance against the Mpumalanga Rhinos.
Karabo Meso showed her batting prowess, smashing the ball to all parts of the ground for her blistering 39 runs from only 22 deliveries. She found support in Samatha Swanepoel who impressed for the second day in a row accumulating 23 runs from 43 deliveries as the pair’s contributions led the Johannesburg side to a competitive 151 all out.
Ashley Barnard produced a magical spell under pressure for the Rhinos to claim the second five-for of the week, boasting figures of 5/19 in 6.5 overs.
Needing their bowlers to produce, Busisiwe Mathleng took it upon herself, tearing through the Rhinos line-up to claim the best figures of the day on the side of the Lions, bagging three scalps for only 16 runs. Inspired by Mathleng’s efforts, Swanepoel spun a web around the lower order, also claiming impressive figures of 2/11.
The pair’s efforts meant that Mpumalanga could only reach a meagre 80 before losing their last wicket, handing Gauteng a convincing victory of 71 runs.
Summarised Scorecards on Day 2 of the CSA Girls U/19 Week, in Cape Town on December 11, 2023
South Western Districts 85/10 (Tabitha La Grange 15; Alexis Kontopirakis 3/3, Rifqah Esau 3/13); Western Province 86/1 (Kathleen Seager 38, Jemma Botha 38). Western Province won by nine wicket
North-West 205/7 (Koketso Lesenyega 60, Deidre van Rensburg 47, Karabo Lemphane 34; Sgempana Elethu 2/33, Oluhle Ndongeni 2/29); Kei 63/10 (Nonisha Robert 10; Palesa Lethuri 3/9, Ane Saunderson 2/8, Karabo Lemphane 2/5). North-West Dragons won by 142 runs.
Gauteng Lions 151/10 (Karabo Meso 39, Samatha Swanepoel 23; Ashley Barnard 5/19, Neliswa Dlamini 2/21); Mpumalanga 80/10 (Snothando Letswele 17; Busisiwe Mathleng 3/16, Samantha Swanepoel 2/11). Gauteng Lions won by 71 runs.
Free State 216/7 (Erica Gates 63, Katlego Nkoga 59, Miane Smit 26; Lunje Adams 2/31); Border 123/10 (Jenna Roberts 38, Akhile Mdlalane 20; Dieketseng Matsoele 3/15, Keletso Mpiti 3/34). Free State won by 93 runs.
KwaZulu-Natal 101/10 (Olwethu Gasa 14; Shakira Malatji 4/10, Itumeleng Manyanga 3/24); Limpopo 94/10 (Meghan-Lee Mans 41; Luyanda Nzuza 3/3, Sisanda Nghubane 3/19). KwaZulu-Natal won by seven runs.
Titans 109/10 (Grace Ndlovu 31; Dandi Boshoff 3/22); Boland 57/10 (Zama Senti 13, Amone Muller 3/17, Mienke de Jager 2/4, Lesedi Madisha 2/8, Monalisa Legodi 2/25). Titans won by 52 runs.
Eastern Province 161/10 (Luna Gana 36, Megan Fourie 32, Sesona Jodwana 32; Lucian Swarts 4/24, Deandre Jacobs 2/14); Northern Cape 81/7 (Elizma Erasmus 21; Linay September 3/8, Lana von Hagen 2/20). Eastern Province won by 25 runs (D/L-method).
Original Copy: Franco Oberholzer for SuperSportSchools
Photo Caption: Jae-Leigh Filander of Western Province during the match between Western Province and Garden Route Badgers on Day 2 of the CSA Girls U/19 Week at the Jacques Kallis Oval at Wynberg Boys High, on December 11, 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images