Tristan le Roux, Ethan Cunningham and Samuel Chemaly ensured that they ended the week with no regrets, as they brought up magnificent hundreds on a batting-friendly fifth and final day of the Momentum U15 Boys Week in Stellenbosch on Tuesday.
Le Roux’s unbeaten knock helped Easterns to victory, while Chemaly inspired host province Boland to a successful finish to the campaign. Cunningham produced the third undefeated ton of the day to lead Western Province to five wins out of six in the week.
Easterns, WP and Boland were three of the five sides to score over two hundred runs and pick up victories on a day where the batsmen expressed themselves in the limited-overs format.
Le Roux recorded the highest individual score of the day as he led Easterns to a 66-run win over Mpumalanga after they won the toss and elected to bat, posting 234-4 at the end of their allotted overs. He batted patiently, scoring an unbeaten 110 off 191 deliveries, including nine fours.
In reply, Mpumalanga’s innings didn’t get off to the best start as they lost wickets at regular intervals before a 69-run stand between Given Sukwini (35) and Orion Reddy (38) steadied the ship, but it was not enough, as they were bowled out for 168 after 43.4 overs.
Chemaly was the key figure in the biggest score of the day, as Boland notched up a daunting 255-4 in their 50 overs against Limpopo. After winning the toss and batting, Chemaly strode out to open the batting and led from the front with a superb 107 off 133 balls.
Jan-Pagel Hanekom picked up 4-17 to ensure it was not a contest, as Limpopo were restricted to 137, securing a 118-run triumph for the home side.
A mammoth 163-run, third-wicket partnership between skipper Cunningham (101 not out) and Michael Levitt (76 not out) ensured WP’s competitive innings total in their clash against Free State. The pair reached their respective fifties before Cunningham brought up his hundred, with WP posting 228-2 after 50 overs.
Free State proved no pushovers and battled hard, thanks to lower-order contributions from Dean de Bruin (51) and Neethling Hermann (39), but it was not enough as Laeeq Cooper led WP’s bowling attack to dismiss Free State for 175 after 47.5 overs.
Cooper picked up three wickets for 37 runs, confirming the second spot behind the competition’s leading wicket-taker, Akhona Ratyana (21) with 19 scalps.
Elsewhere, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal Inland, KZN Coastal, Northern Cape and Border ended this year’s tournament with convincing victories over Eastern Province, Northerns, North West, South Western Districts and Namibia respectively.
Michael Levitt finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 245 runs at an average of 61.2, including two half-centuries.
Full scorecards can be found at www.websports.co.za.
