VEREENIGING: As the T20 action kicked off in Gauteng at the 2025 CSA Inland Rural Week, Free State Rural, Limpopo Rural and North West Rural were the three sides that stood out with two wins each on Saturday.
Free State won their first match of the day against Mpumalanga after they made 115 for eight in their 20 overs.
That was thanks to 30 from Tshepo Masheshemane.
In reply, opening bowlers Francois van Rooyen (3/24) and AJ Jacobs (3/11) blew the Mpumalanga side away. At the halfway stage in their innings, they were 35 for six before finishing on 95 for eight in their 20 overs.
Free State cantered home to a comfortable 20 run.
North West subjected the KZN Inland Rural side to their first defeat when they beat the KZN team by seven wickets.
KZN Inland made 108 for seven with Warren Humphries top scoring with 34 off 37 balls.
On the bowling front, Tshireletso Tiko took 3 for 25 for North West.
The chase was never in doubt as Estiaan Schonfeldt made 58 off 37 balls as they coasted to victory in just under 15 overs to win by seven wickets.
In Free State’s second match of the day, they were equally impressive, beating Liona Rural by 54 runs at the Meyerton Cricket Club.
Kellan Oehley’s 39 (29) got Free State to 134 for seven with the help of Shaun Nieuwenhuzen who made 21 off 11 balls.
Francois van Rooyen then took two wickets in the first over as the Free State side got themselves on the front foot defending 134.
The Lions never recovered and were bowled out for 80 in their chase to see Free State to a 54 run win.
Jacobs again shone with the ball taking 3 for 21 while Van Rooyen ended with 2 for 21.
North West Rural claimed their second win of the day when they snuck past Northern Cape by two wickets.
Northern Cape were bundled out for 88 with Phillip Snyman taking 3 for 15 in four overs.
Tshireletso Tiko then top scored with 23 not out to help his side to victory in the eighteenth over.
3 for 18 for Rudolph Oberholzer was the best of the North West bowlers but it wasn’t enough.
Gateng Rural beat KZN Coastal Rural by seven wickets in a clinical display chasing down 77 in just under 12 overs.
Coastal were bowled out for 76 with Alexander Kok taking 3 for seven.
In reply, an unbeaten 52 off 33 balls from Jean Pierre Kok took them to a comfortable seven wicket victory.
In the game of the day KZN Coastal Rural beat Mpumalanga in a double super over on Saturday.
The teams couldn’t be separated after 21 overs but Coastal managed to get the four runs needed in the second super over.
Mpumalanga batted first against KZN Inland and scored 109 for six in their 20 overs.
Tristan Parnell top scored with 41 off 45 balls while Bernard Verster’s 38 off 31 balls was crucial in getting them over that 100 run mark.
In reply, the KZN Coastal side needed 34 runs off 21 balls from Neill Jordan to get them close and they needed one run off the final three balls.
Bevan Carlse took two wickets off the final two balls to force a super over.
Ryyan Patel took 4 for 24 and Parnell contributed with 3 for six before Carlse’s 2 for 28 meant the teams ended tied after 20 overs.
In the super overs KZN Rural batted first and made eight off their six balls and Mpumalanga could also only managed to get eight.
In the second super over Mpumalanga lost two wickets so only managed to get three runs. Coastal needed four balls to get the required four runs to win.
Limpopo Rural claimed a good 14 run win over Northern Cape.
Limpopo made 117 for six in their allotted 20 overs with Shawn Cross making 31 and opener Armand Pansegrouw making 25 at the top of the order.
Rudolph Oberholzer was the pick of the Northern Cape bowlers taking 3 for 18 in his four overs.
The Northern Cape chase never got going as they finished their 20 overs on 103 for seven.
Stephan de Klerk top scored with 22 at the top of the innings while Stephan Swanepoel dominated with the ball taking 4 for 18.
KZN Inland Rural fell to their second defeat of the week when they lost to Limpopo Rural by 15 runs.
The Limpopo side batted first and made a competitive 138 for three in their 20 overs.
Shawn Cross scored an unbeaten 51 off 46 balls while Armand Pansegrouw’s unbeaten 39 helped them to that score.
In reply, Patrick Hancock’s 53 off 28 balls wasn’t enough as Michael McNicol took 4 for 14 to get his side over the line.
Source: cricket.co.za
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