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DR JL DUBE TO REPRESENT KWAZULU-NATAL AT NATIONAL FINALS

17 Jan 20254 mins

Dr JL Dube High School have been crowned Schools SA20 Phase 2 winners in KwaZulu-Natal and will represent the region at the National Finals in March.

The girls from KwaMashu earned the right by beating Bonginhlanhla High School by 8 wickets in their one-off decider on Friday morning at Pietermaritzburg Oval.

REWATCH THE MATCH: All the runs and wickets via the SuperSport Schools App

Bonginhlanhla, located in Pongola close to where KwaZulu-Natal borders Swaziland, batted first in the encounter hoping to set Dr JL Dube a tough target. They didn’t get off the ideal start as Neliswa Nhlengethwa (3 off 7 balls) and Vuyokazi Motha (3 off 11) departed during the Powerplay and then soon after Ntombenhle Mavuso (6 off 10) all also joined them in the iconic Oval clubhouse – leaving the score 27/3 after 7.1 overs.

Nombulelo Ngwenya and Sbongakonke Hlatshwayo then combined for a promising 44-run partnership before the latter was dismissed for 12 off 16 balls. Ngwenya looked like being the mainstay of the Bonginhlanhla innings, but she fell in the 16th over – with the score at 72/5 - having compiled 29 off 48 balls. As it happened, they hit Bonginhlanhla’s only boundaries before Dr JL Dube put on the squeeze in the closing overs and the innings closed with the score at 79/8.

The scorecard made for good reading for Dr JL Dube’s bowlers; opening partners Anelisa Mhlongo (2/7) and Sthembile Dlamini (2/6) had the best figures while Zukiswa Msiya (2/14) also picked up a pair of wickets.

In their reply, provincial player Entle Mkhaliphi was the mainstay. She combined with with Amahle Nallanzi (13 off 31) in an opening stand of 44 runs which accounted for the bulk of the chase. Hlengiwe Dlamini (8 off 14) came and went, but Mkhaliphi (41 not out off 52 balls, 3x4) and the aforementioned Mhlongo (0 not out) carried their team over the line for to spark wild celebrations.