Jason Niemand’s Man of the Match all-round display helped South Africa U19 claim a three-wicket win against England in the Tri-Series final on Sunday.
It was a close encounter between the two sides, with SA U19 aiming to gain redemption against the side who convincingly beat them twice in the Tri-Series.
The England U19 side was dominant throughout the series, finishing unbeaten with four wins out of four, but could not brush off a determined SA U19 in the final on Sunday.
The visitors started off well at Senwes Park after they were sent into bat, a 74-run partnership between the openers saw the hosts desperate for a breakthrough and Niemand provided this by trapping Savin Perera (20) lbw.
Jade de Klerk then caused some havoc sparking the run-out of the England captain, Harry Brook (13), followed by bowling the Player of the Tournament Will Jacks for a duck.
Liam Banks managed to power through the pressure to take his side past the 100-run mark, but Niemand struck for his second, Banks out lbw after a 56-ball 51 (7 fours). Niemand struck again in his following over to remove Tom Lammonby (8), completing his third wicket, the off-breaker finishing with figures of 3-52.
De Klerk picked up his second with the dismissal of Jack Davies (10) before Finlay Trenouth was dismissed by Kenan Smith after a stubborn 46-ball 37.
A late surge from Tom Scriven and Luke Hollman saw a 74-run partnership, held together by a Scriven half-century before he was dismissed by Hermann Rolfes on 53 from 61 balls ( five fours).
Stuck on 259 Hollman (34) followed suit, dismissed by Rolfes three balls later before Gerald Coetzee wrapped things up with the wicket of Dillon Pennington (0).
South Africa’s chase was dominated by good starts, but their top five struggled to convert these into milestones as they found themselves 193-5 after 39.3 overs. Matthew Breetzke (39) and Jiveshan Pillay (26) took their side to 65-0 before Pillay was bowled by Jacks followed by Breetzke just four runs later caught and bowled by Brook.
Raynard van Tonder (34) and Rolfes sparked a recovery to take SA to 129-2 before Van Tonder was dismissed by Hollman. Rolfes was next to go after a well-played 42 and Wandile Makwetu continued his struggling form, caught and bowled for Jacks’ second on 27.
A heroic knock from Niemand followed. The 19-year-old smashed a 53-ball 60 (5×4, 1×6) to see his side over the line, claiming a three-wicket victory with two balls to spare.
A few words from Man of the Match, Jason Niemand. #SAU19s #YouthTriSeries #final pic.twitter.com/CMveoPriLp
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) December 10, 2017
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
