KPS smacks Outeniqua

Update

KNYSNA CRICKET NEWS - Knysna Primary School's U13 cricket team walked all over Outeniqua Primary School on Saturday 12 October, mustering up an impressive eight-wicket victory at Knysna Sport Academy.

Competition between schools in Knysna and George is always fierce, with teams from these two Garden Route towns continuously fighting it out for top spot in their respective sport disciplines.

One of the stronger rivalries exists between KPS and OPS on the cricket field, as they are two of the best cricketing primary schools in the Southern Cape.

This means any match between these two schools is typically a tight encounter, but last weekend KPS set out to break the routine hoping they could send Outeniqua back to George with nothing to show for their trip to Knysna.

Outeniqua would bat first in the one-day game at Knysna Sport Academy, undoubtedly hoping to get off to a strong start and make a statement of intent for the match.

KPS' bowlers had other ideas however, as openers Aiden Booysen and Tiago Campher refused to let Outeniqua's batsmen settle, claiming three wickets in the first half-hour of the match. Outeniqua's batsmen would struggle to kick on during their innings, with only three managing to reach double figures. Divan Badenhorst and Vallen Smithers would be Outeniqua's top scorers with both batsmen scoring 21 to help Outeniqua stumble their way to a lowly score of 90, meaning KPS only needed 91 in 50 overs for victory. The pick of KPS' bowlers was Hlumelo Hlangani, who took four wickets in 10 overs for only 29 runs.

KPS' openers Blake Muller and Hanno Neethling would bide their time at the crease, taking their time scoring their runs. Hanno would fall for only two runs, but Blake and number three batsman Sebastian Bell would continue KPS' patient chase. With cricket known for being a gentleman's game, and despite shouts of "Bowl hom raak, maak hom seer!" (loosely translated to a rather ungentlemanly "Bowl him on his body, hurt him!") coming from Outeniqua parents, Blake and Sebastian remained calm and collected, keeping the scoreboard ticking at a slow and steady pace.

Blake would fall for 22, with Sebastian top scoring for KPS with 26*, while Trent Huisamen would hit the winning runs for KPS, steering them to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory to get their season off to a great start.

Sebastian Bell plays a stunning cover drive through the covers.