Zacheo puts up a show for Gym Robins vs WHS

Windhoek Gymnasium’s under-19 first cricket team, the Robins, dominated their T20 interhigh match against Windhoek High School by a big margin of 156 runs on Thursday.

Gymnasium’s captain and the school’s head boy Zacheo van Vuuren played an aggressive innings of 130 not out, scored from 64 balls.

Van Vuuren, who won the toss and chose to bat first at the United field, walked in as batsman number three, after WHS opening bowler Christiaan Venter had removed Michael Müller (bowled for 3) and in the same over had Tiaan van der Merwe caught for six runs.

With Gymnasium on 12/2 after 2.5 overs, Van Vuuren found a batting partner in Faf du Plessis, who contributed an effective 41 off 41 balls (3x4) before the third wicket fell at 172 after 18.6 overs. Once again, it was Venter (3/19 in 4 overs) whose bowling created the catch to dismiss Du Plessis.

In between, Van Vuuren brought havoc on the WHS bowling, hitting eleven fours and seven sixes. He brought up his fifty off 34 balls, and his century off 57 balls by hitting a six off Venter.

Facing all six balls of the 20th over right after Du Plessis’s dismissal, Van Vuuren dished out his most severe punishment worth 28 runs to bowler Adriaan Coetzee (6 2 6 4 4 6).

Gymnasium’s total of 200 for three present a tough ask for WHS, who responded with just 44 all out.

Hans-Dieter Rakow, with 4 wickets for 6 runs in 2 overs, Franko Bergh with 4/11 in 3.1 overs and Douglas Truter (2/4 in 3) ensured that no WHS batsmen besides Christiaan Venter (17 off 29 balls, 3x4) and Wayne Shirley (10 off 16, 1x6) reached double figures.

Gymnasium had the only three 2024 Namibia Under-19 World Cup team representatives on their side, of which Van Vuuren and Du Plessis were in the playing eleven. Nico Pieters (injured) was restricted to duty as 12th-man while his brother Johan took his place.

During the ICC U19 World Cup in South Africa in January, Van Vuuren displayed his all-round ability with four wickets against Sri Lanka and 86 runs against Scotland.



UNDER 15s

Gymnasium won the U15 interhigh match convincingly as well, after restricting WHS to 97/7 and overtaking the target to win by nine wickets.

The highlight of the first innings was Ruan Conradie, whose 49 off 38 balls (7x4 1x6) ensured him a player of the match award despite being on the losing side.

Besides a 25-run partnership with Nico Koekemoer (24), the WHS innings struggled and collapsed against the bowling of Gerhard Genis (3/25 in 4), Armand Scholtz (2/13 in 3) and Ruben Kotze (2/3 in 2).

In the Gymnasium reply (101/1 in 12.4 overs), captain Brink Walters (34 not out off 34 balls, 5x4) and Gerhard Genis (26 off 26 balls, 2x4) helped themselves to some runs.