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VICTORIA HUB CROWNED WESTERN CAPE WINNERS TO SEAL NATIONAL FINALS PLACE

26 Jan 20253 mins

Victoria Hub are the Western Cape’s Schools SA20 Phase 2 winners and, as a result, will be headed to the National Finals in March.

After two days of action, in searing heat in Oudtshoorn, Victoria Hub (Western Province winners) and Hoër Tegniese Skool Drostdy (Boland winners) faced off in the region’s Final at Recreation Ground. Both had comfortably beaten the locals, Bridgton Hub (South Western District winners), on the opening day.

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Victoria’s opener Imaan van Schalkwyk (54 not out) and number 4 Thaurah Dollie (52) were the stars of their 96-run victory; while Mia-Lize van der Vyver (52 not out) was the mainstay of Drostdy’s successful chase and 8-wicket win.

When the two teams then met in the early match on Saturday, Victoria cruised to a 9-wicket win (Nuhaa Benjamin 42 not out) after bowling Drostdy out for 80 in 17.3 overs – an innings which included four run outs!

In the final itself, at Recreation Ground, Benjamin again came to the fore. The opener scored 47 off 51 balls (4x4) and held the innings together until she was the eighth wicket to fell. Middle-order batter, Sakeenah Williams (14 off 21 balls) was the only other batter to get to double figures as Victoria posted 102/9 off their 20 overs. The damage was done by Drostdy’s opening bowler, Lize de Waal’s 3/19 and second-change Mia-Lize van der Vyver’s 3/11.

Those two then opened the batting for the Bolanders, but Sakeenah Williams (2/10) claimed de Waal and Anneke Swanepoel for 1, leaving Van der Vyver and Daneli Boshoff at the crease. The pair are both senior Boland squad members despite only being in Grade 11 (Van der Vyver) and Grade 10 (Boshoff) respectively, and duly stabilised the Drostdy chase. However, soon after Van der Vyver (20 off 38, 3x4) and Boshoff (17 off 23, 1x4) fell in quick succession, the score went from 50/4 after 11.5 overs to 68 all out. Thaurah Dollie (3/12) and Fatima Dollie (2/8) did the majority of the damage before Ashline Titus (1/15) claimed the final wicket, cueing ecstatic celebrations.