Tag: Pite van Biljon

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Debutants lead VKB Knights to victory

VKB Knights debutants, Gerald Coetzee and Shaun von Berg, bowled the VKB Knights to victory in the opening match of the 2019/20 4-Day Domestic Series against Warriors in Kimberley.
The 19-year-old Coetzee, who was making his First-Class debut, grabbed 4 wickets in the second innings of the match while the VKB Knights new signing, Shaun von Berg, claimed 2 wickets to help limit warriors to 180 all out, thereby securing a 255-run victory for the home side.
The pair combined to share 12 wickets between them in the match, with Von Berg being named Player of the Match for his 6 wickets as well as the half-century (61)* he scored in the second innings.
The VKB Knights captain Pite van Biljon (95) and the 2018/19 4-Day Franchise Series leading run-scorer Keegan Petersen (84) shared a 3rd wicket 176-run partnership to help the home side set a commanding target of 436 runs for Warriors.


Mbulelo Budaza was also impressive with his bowling, grabbing 3 wickets in the first innings, including important wickets of Rudi Second and Jon-Jon Smuts, and 2 wickets in the second innings.
Head coach of the VKB Knights, Alan Kruger, was more than pleased with how his side played in their first match of the season and is proud of how the whole team came together.
“It is very exciting to get off the mark in the first game, it is every coach and every team’s dream and we are all happy with the result,” commented Kruger.
“I am very impressed with how Gerald Coetzee started his First-Class career. He came with energy and ran in to bowl with energy. Shaun von Berg was also very impressive. He executed his job excellently,” said the winning coach.
The VKB Knights face off against Hollywoodbets Dolphins in their second match of the season on Monday, 14 October, at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

VKB Knights debutants, Gerald Coetzee and Shaun von Berg, bowled the VKB Knights to victory in the opening match of the 2019/20 4-Day Domestic Series against Warriors in Kimberley.

The 19-year-old Coetzee, who was making his First-Class debut, grabbed 4 wickets in the second innings of the match while the VKB Knights new signing, Shaun von Berg, claimed 2 wickets to help limit warriors to 180 all out, thereby securing a 255-run victory for the home side.

The pair combined to share 12 wickets between them in the match, with Von Berg being named Player of the Match for his 6 wickets as well as the half-century (61)* he scored in the second innings.

The VKB Knights captain Pite van Biljon (95) and the 2018/19 4-Day Franchise Series leading run-scorer Keegan Petersen (84) shared a 3rd wicket 176-run partnership to help the home side set a commanding target of 436 runs for Warriors.

Mbulelo Budaza was also impressive with his bowling, grabbing 3 wickets in the first innings, including important wickets of Rudi Second and Jon-Jon Smuts, and 2 wickets in the second innings.

Head coach of the VKB Knights, Alan Kruger, was more than pleased with how his side played in their first match of the season and is proud of how the whole team came together.

“It is very exciting to get off the mark in the first game, it is every coach and every team’s dream and we are all happy with the result,” commented Kruger.

“I am very impressed with how Gerald Coetzee started his First-Class career. He came with energy and ran in to bowl with energy. Shaun von Berg was also very impressive. He executed his job excellently,” said the winning coach.

The VKB Knights face off against Hollywoodbets Dolphins in their second match of the season on Monday, 14 October, at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

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PETERSEN GETS TWO CAREER BEST TONS IN ONE MATCH

A second successive career-best score in the same match by Keegan Petersen completed an excellent draw for the VKB Knights against the log-leading World Sports Betting Cape Cobras on the final day of their 4-Day Domestic Series encounter in Bloemfontein on Monday.

The right-hander, who hit 161 in the first innings, went four runs better second time round by amassing an unbeaten 165 (261 balls, 18 fours, 2 sixes) as the hosts lost just one day-four wicket at the Mangaung Oval.

There was also a century for captain Pite van Biljon, the 17th of his career after he struck 105 off 138 balls (11 fours, 3 sixes) and shared in an unbroken third-wicket stand that was worth a fixture record 213.

The Knights eventually ended on 360 for two when the skipper shook hands with opposite number Dane Piedt, whose side remained comfortably ahead of the pack at the top of the standings.

The Central Franchise started the final day on 135 for one and there was hope for the visitors early on when Raynard van Tonder was bowled by Simon Khomari for 57 (126 balls, 9 fours) with only 12 added to the overnight total.

But that was as good as it got for the Cape side as Petersen, who completed his 13th and 14th first-class tons in the game, and Van Biljon dug in.

The pair surpassed the previous best third-wicket partnerships in the fixture held by Van Biljon himself and Theunis de Bruyn of 109 (2016/17) and the 200 between Justin Ontong and Stiaan van Zyl (2012/13).

The end result left the Cobras just under 20 points ahead of the bizhub Highveld Lions at the summit, with the Knights in fourth place.

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ROCKS KEEP THEIR HOPES ALIVE

Faf du Plessis struck his fourth half-century of the Mzansi Super League season to keep alive the Paarl Rocks’ hopes of reaching the playoffs with a key six-wicket victory over the Jozi Stars at Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

There was also a perfectly weighted unbeaten 71 (55 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) from Man of the Match Grant Thomson that anchored the innings of the visitors as they chased down a 171-victory target with three deliveries to spare in Johannesburg.

Kerwin Mungroo was their unlikely hero with the ball as the lanky fast bowler grabbed a rare chance in the competition by bowling out of his skin to claim three for 29, which included the key wickets of Chris Gayle, Reeza Hendricks and Pite van Biljon.

Victory in the end for the Paarl side enabled them to climb fourth on the table, with 17 points from nine games, four behind the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, who they will now host in a virtual shootout on Wednesday.

The Tshwane Spartans (16 points) can still catch both, but they will need to also win their remaining two games to change the order on the standings.

Defeat for the second-placed Stars, meanwhile, assured the Cape Town Blitz an automatic ticket to a home final next Sunday, with the Stars staying second on 24 points and still having some work to do in their final match against the Spartans on Tuesday.

The Jozi stars, though, will no doubt be disappointed that they did not seal their playoff berth in front of their home fans, after posting a solid 170 for six after they were put into bat first.

Their innings was built around Rassie van der Dussen’s enterprising 83 (55 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes). This after Mungroo pegged them back at the start by dismissing Hendricks (5) and West Indian superstar Gayle (9) inside the opening 3.2 overs.

A 73-run stand between Van der Dussen and captain Dane Vilas (23) dragged the home side back into a good position, before more quick wickets threatened to derail their innings.

But support for their main batsman came through Dwaine Pretorius (28) as they set a challenging total.

The Rocks’ innings followed a similar pattern with Duanne Olivier (3/30) claiming the early wickets of Cameron Delport (15) Aiden Markram (3), leaving them on 19 for two.

However, a key 120-run stand between Du Plessis, who made 61 off 34 balls (7 fours, 2 sixes), took them too far ahead for the Stars to bring them back, even after the skipper fell, 17 not out by Dwayne Bravo helping to carry them over the line.

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MZANSI SUPER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES FINALISED T20 SQUADS

The inaugural Mzansi Super League (MSL) T20 Player Draft was held today at Montecasino in Johannesburg today.

Each team had already been allocated a Marquee Standard Bank Protea player. Today the teams made their picks from the six International Marquee Players and then filled the remaining 14 places in each squad from the foreign and South African players who had applied to enter the draft.

In the mini-round to select the International Marquee Players, the Durban heat had first call and went for Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, the No. 1 ranked bowler in the current ICC T20 rankings. They were followed by the Jozi Stars who went for Chris Gayle of the Windies. Paarl Rocks followed with another Windies player, Dwayne Bravo. Cape Town Blitz then took Dawid Malan of England followed by Tshwane Spartans with England white ball captain Eoin Morgan and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants with England opening batsman Jason Roy.

In round one proper, the Giants led off with Chris Morris, followed by the Spartans with Lungi Ngidi, the Blitz with Andile Phehlukwayo, the Rocks with Tabraiz Shamsi, the Stars with Kolpak star Dane Vilas and the Heat with David Miller.

Lutho Sipamla became the first rookie to be chosen in Round Eight by the Spartans and they followed with another rookie in Tony de Zorzi in Round Nine. Other rookies signed were Sinethemba Qeshile for the Stars, Dyllan Matthews for the Giants, Okuhle Cele for the Heat, Eathan Bosch for the Rocks, and Kyle Verreynne for the Blitz.

The resulting teams are a unique blend of both local youth and international experience which is sure to make for some very exciting cricket.

The Draft order was predetermined by a weighted Player Matrix system. The players who are eligible for the main Draft are those who entered into a binding agreement to enter the Draft.

FINAL SQUADS

(in order of Protea Marquee Player, International Marquee Player, and then the 14 draft rounds, making a total of 16 players per squad)

CAPE TOWN BLITZ: Quinton de Kock, Dawid Malan (England), Andile Phehlukwayo, Dale Steyn, Samuel Badree (Windies), Asif Ali (Pakistan), Farhaan Behardien, Anrich Nortje, Janneman Malan, Malusi Siboto, George Linde, Ferisco Adams, Jason Smith, Sibonelo Makhanya, Kyle Verreynne (rookie), Dane Piedt.

DURBAN HEAT: Hashim Amla, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Kyle Abbott (kolpak), Keshav Maharaj, Khaya Zondo, Albie Morkel, Marchant de Lange (kolpak), Vernon Philander, Brandon Mavuta (Zimbabwe), Temba Bavuma, Morne van Wyk, Okuhle Cele (rookie), Sarel Erwee, Tladi Bokako.

JOZI STARS: Kagiso Rabada, Chris Gayle (Windies), Dane Vilas, Rassie van der Dussen, Daniel Christian (Australia), Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Dwaine Pretorius, Eddie Leie, Pite van Biljon, Duanne Olivier, Ryan Rickelton, Sinethemba Qeshile (rookie), Simon Harmer, Calvin Savage, Alfred Mothoa.

NELSON MANDELA BAY GIANTS: Imran Tahir, Jason Roy (England), Chris Morris, Jon-Jon Smuts, Junior Dala, Christiaan Jonker, Aaron Phangiso, Ben Duckett (England), Sisanda Magala, Ryan McLaren, Heino Kuhn, Marco Marais, Dyllan Matthews (rookie), Lizaad Williams, Rudi Second, Carmi le Roux.

PAARL ROCKS: Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo (Windies), Tabraiz Shamsi, Dane Paterson, Aiden Markram, Mangaliso Mosehle, Bjorn Fortuin, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Grant Thomson, Paul Stirling (Ireland), Tshepo Moreki, Henry Davids, Cameron Delport , Eathan Bosch (rookie), Patrick Kruger, Kerwin Mungroo.

TSHWANE SPARTANS: AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan (England), Lungi Ngidi, Robbie Frylinck, Jeewan Mendis (Sri Lanka), Theunis de Bruyn, Rory Kleinveldt, Sean Williams (Zimbabwe), Gihahn Cloete, Lutho Sipamla (rookie), Tony de Zorzi (rookie), Dean Elgar, Andrew Birch, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Shaun von Berg, Eldred Hawken.

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VAN BILJON TO LEAD KNIGHTS IN 2018/19 SEASON

Pite van Biljon has been appointed as captain of the VKB Knights for the 2018/2019 season, across all formats.

“it gives us great pleasure to announce Pite van Biljon as the new captain of the VKB Knights”, commented Chief Executive of the VKB Knights, Johan van Heerden. Mr van Heerden believes Pite’s leadership skills and personality will bring positive change to the central region. “Pite has a fantastic track record. He has made great contributions in all the teams he has captained to win trophies”, said Mr van Heerden. “VKB Knights had an indifferent 2017/2018 season and the Board feels, with this appointment, the Knights will get back on track”, added Johan.

Chairperson of the Central Cricket Franchise, Ms Zola Thamae also expressed her excitement for this appointment. “We are excited that one of the players coming from our structures has been given an opportunity to lead. The players were given an opportunity to choose whom they want as captain so this was not a top-down decision. This goes to show how much support he has from both board members and the team”, commented Ms Thamae.

Pite played cricket in the central region growing up and Mr Johan van Heerden believes this will have a major impact in helping build the team. “As a local player, he understands values, culture and the fighting spirit of the central region. He has wonderful attributes to drive the values of the team. We are confident he will restore pride back in the team”, concluded Mr van Heerden.

“I am very excited and humbled by the opportunity to captain such a great team. I’m also very grateful to be part of Knights and the history that comes with this great region”, commented the newly appointed captain of the VKB Knights. “As captain, my goals are simple. I want to help create an unbreakable team spirit. I want to get the most out of every individual. I want us to play a brand of cricket that people from our region can and will be proud of and, lastly, I want us to give back to the community”, concluded Pite van Biljon.

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KNIGHTS EDGE PAST DOLPHINS IN TENSE THRILLER

The VKB Knights will host the Momentum One-Day Qualifier on Sunday after they beat the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in a low-scoring thriller at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday night.

In a see-saw affair, the visitors made heavy work of a modest 205 target and had to rely on an unbeaten last wicket stand of 27 to get them over the line with four balls to spare. Sammy Mofokeng (17) and Marchant de Lange (7) were the heroes in a remarkable game that could so easily have gone either way.

Dillon du Preez and Imran Tahir claimed 4/31 apiece for their respective sides, but it boiled down to nerves at the end as the Knights held theirs in what was essentially a quarter-final meeting.

The Central franchise will now host the Warriors in Bloemfontein in the next round, with the Multiply Titans awaiting the winner in the March 31 final.

But they had to work hard to get there, despite a disciplined performance with the ball after they had lost the toss and were asked to bowl first.

The home side were in trouble from the outset after losing in-form openers Morne van Wyk (11) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (8) inside the first six overs. The visiting bowlers continued to chip away through the likes of Shadley van Schalkwyk (2/34) and Mofokeng (2/45).

Despite the efforts of top-scorer Sarel Erwee (44), the Dolphins were in a defensive mode for most of their innings, but did manage to pass 200 thanks to Andile Phehlukwayo (39), Robbie Frylinck (36) and Prenelan Subrayen (25).

The Knights then looked to be cruising to victory thanks to an opening stand of 61 between Rudi Second (39) and Tumelo Bodibe (20). But a collapse of five wickets for 12 runs saw the visitors plunge from 61/0 to 73/5 – David Miller amongst the wickets to fall when he was dismissed by Tahir for a first ball duck.

But a 56-run sixth wicket stand between captain Pite van Biljon (44) and Aubrey Swanepoel (42) looked to have steadied the ship, and they looked in more control after the latter was part of a 42-run seventh wicket stand.

More drama followed with three more quick wickets leaving the Knights on 180/9, but Mofokeng and De Lange squeezed their side home.

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BIRCH AND SMUTS SET UP WARRIORS WIN

Andrew Birch conceded only four runs to clinch a final-over finish for Warriors against VBK Knights at St. George’s Park, where JJ Smuts scored his second consecutive century in the Momentum one Day Cup.

Needing 11 off the last over while chasing 285, with Aubrey Swanepoel on strike on 73, Birch denied theM Knights any run off his first delivery. Three singles off the next three balls brought the equation down to eight off two. Seeing a fullish fourth delivery from Birch, No. 9 Marchant de Lange heled out to long-on, effectively securing the win for Warriors, as Swanepoel only managed to squeeze a single off the last ball, with Knights ending on 278 or 8.

Birch, who finished with 3 for 45, had earlier accounted for opener Rudi Second in the second over of the Knights innings, and bowled David Miller for 18 in the tenth, reducing the opposition to 48 for 4. Captain Pite van Biljon then resuscitated the innings with a 104-ball 84 and two consecutive 80-run partnerships with Luthando Mnyanda (43) and Swanepoel (76) for the fifth and sixth wickets respectively, to guide his side past 200 in 39 overs.

Earlier, having elected to bat, Warriors captain Smuts bludgeoned eight fours and five sixes on his way to a 144-ball 132, his sixth List A hundred, and strung a third-wicket stand of 151 with Colin Ackermann, who scored 86 off 96 balls, to take his side to 214 for 2 in 43 overs. Smuts, the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with a tally of 453 in seven innings, added 52 off only 28 balls with Lesiba Ngoepe (12) for the fourth wicket, before both fell off consecutive deliveries in the 48th over to left-arm fast bowler Mbulelo Budaza, who returned 4 for 69, the best figures for Knights on the day. Three quick wickets in the last two overs meant Warriors could squeeze in only another 18 runs, finishing on 284 for 8.

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KNIGHTS CLIMB UP TO SECOND PLACE

Pite van Biljon scored a vital half-century as the VKB Knights pulled off a stunning run chase to narrowly edge out the Cape Cobras by three wickets late on the final day of their Sunfoil Series match in Bloemfontein on Monday.

The Cobras had been bowled out for 291 in their second innings just before lunch, holding a lead of 256 runs.

This after pace duo of Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/21) and Duanne Olivier (3/41) ripped through the visitor’s middle and lower order, claiming the last six wickets for 29 runs. Justin Ontong top-scored with 57 (85 balls, 8 fours).

Van Biljon then scored 82 not out (140 balls, 10 fours) to hold the Knights’ second innings together as the hosts reached 258/7 at the Mangaung Oval.

The win re-ignited the Knights’ title chances as they collected 18.44 points from the match to move above the bizhub Highveld Lions into second place on the log, just 11.64 points behind the log-leading Unlimited Titans with two matches left to play.

The Knights were left 70 overs to chase down the winning total, but needed just 60.3 overs to complete the victory.

Their run-chase was initially a touch rocky with the early loss of Reeza Hendricks (8), Michael Erlank (3) and Rudi Second (18), although Letlotlo Sesele (45) did provide the innings with some stability.

Van Biljon and Tumelo Bodibe (28) then set up the run-chase with a 66-run fifth-wicket stand, before Van Biljon and Werner Coetsee (36) hammered 61 runs for the sixth wicket off just 10 overs to take their team to the brink of victory.

Wayne Parnell helped the Cobras claw their way back into the match when he dismissed Coetsee and Van Schalkwyk (2) in consecutive overs to set up a tense finish.

But Van Biljon and Malusi Siboto (6 not out) took their team to the finish line.

Parnell ended with 3/68 and Lizaad Williams nabbed 3/49.

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