UDCU High Schools has initiated cricket games for all its teams against Port Shepstone High School this term.
This was done in order to expose our players to external teams, to evaluate their strength within the region & to build relationships with other districts.
In the first match, Scottburgh High were comprehensive victors over “Sheppy” with valuable contributions from many players including an unbeaten 52 from Aubrey Sosibo.
In the second match, the Combined Schools team, the majority of whose players come from Umzinto Secondary, decided to bat first. Openers Prineshan Pillay & Gavin Reddy were aggressive from the start putting on a 101 run partnership before Gavin was dismissed. His 36 runs included 3 fours & 2 sixes.
Preain Shanmugam then joined Prineshan at the crease, playing a secondary role & cleverly rotating the strike.
Prineshan was soon rewarded with a brilliant century which included 9 fours & 5 sixes in an innings that was patient & almost flawless. Coach Andre Pretorius had been waiting many years for such an innings in the schools setup.
When Prineshan was retired on 100 runs, Preain took the senior role & became more confident in his stroke making. The left hander ended on 55 not out, hitting 2 fours & 3 sixes. Ably supported by Sashan Ramdeens’ 26 runs, the team amassed a total of 245 for 4 after their 30 overs.
The bowlers then proceeded to rip apart the defences of the Port Shepstone batsmen. Young left handed Jadin Nobin took 3 wickets for 1 run in his 2 overs, while Preains offspin netted him 2 wickets for 2 runs in his 2 overs. Port Shepstone only lasted 13 overs before they were trundled out for a mere 40 runs.
In the third match, Sheppy bounced back to beat Umzinto Islamic School. The last match will see them take on Umkomaas Secondary who have improved vastly under their inspirational captain Vishay Singh. Submitted by Andre Pretorius
