The two teams emerged victorious against the Eastern Cape Iinyathi and AET Tuskers, respectively, in Saturday's semi-finals.

Northern Cape Heat finally got a chance to avenge their loss from last seasons’ One Day Cup final when they defeated the AET Tuskers by 17 runs to book themselves a spot in the final.

Heat had won the toss and opted to bat first. But it was Grant Thomson’s unbeaten 54* off 36 (5 boundaries and two maximums) that set the Northern Cape side to a defendable target of 142 runs in their allotted 20 overs, at a loss of only five wickets.

Tuskers’ bowlers did well to restrict their opponents, with captain, Michael Erlank, striking first to dismiss CP Klijnhans before he could score any runs. Keith Dudgeon returned economical figures of 2/23 in four overs, with dismissals of Ernest Kemm (15) and Hanu Viljoen (39). Nduduzo Mfoza and Malcom Nofal registered one wicket each after the dismissals of Bafana Mahlangu (20) and Rivaldo Moonsamy (6).

However, Heat bowlers did not hold back in their reply. Andrew Rasemene led the attack to claim three wickets (3/27), with the support of Benjamin van Rensburg (2/27) and Romano Terblanche (2/22). Tshepo Ntuli (1/15) and Ernest Kemm (1/16) were clinical in their four overs to restrict the Pietermaritzburg based side to 125/9.

In an action-packed Saturday at Buffalo Park, the second semi-final saw the SA U19 Men secure a four-wicket victory over Eastern Cape Iinyathi.

Iinyathi had found themselves in trouble early on after losing four quick wickets to the SA U19‘s duo, Liam Alder (2/25) and Matthew Boast (2/31). The pair managed to dismiss Clayton Bosch and Jerry Nqolo without any runs. They followed that up with dismissals of Joshua van Heerden (5) and Mncedisi Malika (26)

Skipper, Marco Marais, put on a stunning 64 off 40 before he fell to Liyema Waqu (2/33). The Eastern Cape Iinyathi amassed 160 runs by the end of their innings.

In response, the SA U19 batting paced themselves well to reach the target with seven balls to spare.

Opener Ronan Hermann smashed 44 off 26, as he anchored the innings with wickets falling regularly around him. Juan James contributed an important unbeaten 31 off 19 towards the end of the innings. Other notable contributions from Richard Seletswane (27) and Mathew Boast (26) helped the SA side to seal a convincing four-wicket victory and secure the final spot.

T20KO UPCOMING FIXTURES

SUNDAY, 09 OCTOBER 2022

Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium, East London

14h00: SA U19 vs Northern Cape Heat