Gees in abundance as Cornwall Hill lay down rain SA20 Derby Series marker against Midstream

Cornwall Hill College claimed the rain SA20 Derby Series bragging rights over Midstream College until next year with a confident 91-run victory under lights on Wednesday night.

More than the result, the way the two nascent schools’ sets of supporters showed up at Van der Byl Field showed that this match-up, is burgeoning both off and on the field.

With regards to the on-field action, it was the home captain Zander Davel who won the ‘rivers or mountains’ toss and elected to bat first.

The Cornwall Hill opening pair Rourke de Lange and Keagan van Wyk made a circumspect start while assessing conditions under the floodlights. Meanwhile, both the CHC and Midstream student bodies packing out the Sealy Pavilion were ‘building an innings’ of their own.

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With visiting captain Rikus Cilliers smartly rotating between his bowlers during the powerplay, it was his third change, bringing back paceman Jonathan Wiseman (who recently beat Cilliers to the honour of first-ever Midstreamer to 100 1st XI caps) that brought upon a breakthrough.

As De Lange (9 off 15 balls, 1x4) tried to up the run rate, Wiseman drew him into a hook shot that he was not in position for and Dian de Villiers gladly gathered at midwicket to leave the score 19/1. Tyler Neil joined Van Wyk at the wicket and the pair were cognizant off the large outfield to chip into the numerous gaps between fielders, run hard for twos and every now and then pull out an inventive short.

The score went from 29/1 after the powerplay, to 50/1 after 8.2 and 64/1 at the 10-over halfway mark of their innings.

If was then that Van Wyk, in particular, and Neil started to find their range. A more regular helping of boundaries (13 between them) and three massive sixes from Van Wyk saw the scoring rate rise remarkably. To such an extent in fact that 200-plus looked on the cards at one stage. That said, economical death overs from off-spinner Dian de Villiers (0/21 from his four) and medium-pacer Wian de Bruin (0/28 from his allotment) saw Cornwall Hill ‘only’ rack up 178/1 after 20 overs – van Wyk carrying his bat for an unbeaten 91 off 63 balls (7x4, 3x6) while Neil’s contribution was 56 not out off 48 balls (6x4).

CHC’s resident brass band kept the atmosphere building during the innings break, as the watching public wandered if a fourth rain SA20 Derby Series classic was in the offing.

It was, to a degree, if you were flying navy blue colours. Almost from the moment Ryan Strauss was bowled by Carsten Heyman for a duck off the second ball of Midstream’s innings, Cornwall Hill wrestled control.

The Heyman-Mohale Pitso combination of pace and canny spin bowled throughout the powerplay with Hanro de Villiers (17 off 16 balls, 1x4, 1x6) becoming Heyman’s second scalp during it before Obakeng Mokonyane benefitted directly after it after Connor Alexander took a smart jumping catch to send Maarten Nortje (4 off 13) packing.

The middle order pair of Keegan Gibson (17 off 16, 1x4, 1x6) and Midstream captain Rikus Cilliers (19 off 25, 1x4) attempted a recovery but their departures opened the floodgates. Cornwall Hill leg-spinner Rourke de Lange (3/16) was their destroyer-in-chief, but it was an all-round bowling effort that kept the pressure on the visitors – though you might not have known it considering how vociferously those in maroon were cheering on their boys.

Ultimately, with wickets falling at regular intervals, Midstream were bowled out for 86 in the final over of the match, handing the Cornwall Hill the bragging rights for this inaugural edition of the rain SA20 Derby Series. Van Wyk’s standout performance with the bat earned him the rain Player of the Day award, one of many stories to be told about a memorable night ‘up on the hill’.