Hoedspruit boasts its own T20 series
Last weekend, Hoedspruit Sports Academy played the second of a three-match T20 series against the Conservation Cricketers.
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The series was the idea of Murray Reid from the Conservation Cricketers, and Mickey Buyst from Hoedspruit Sports Academy; allowing for friendly matches to be played to give players from the academy an opportunity to get game time. “The first match was played with so much enthusiasm from both teams that it was decided to make it a series of three matches. “The Conservation Cricketers team is made up of residents who work in the conservation industry and locals with a passion for cricket.
“Hoedspruit Sports Academy is a new high-performance sports academy in Hoedspruit facilitating high-level training,” said Buyst. The first match was won by the Conservation Cricketers. They posted a total of 153 for the loss of seven wickets and Hoedspruit Sports Academy fell short of four runs chasing down the runs and putting on a total of 150 for the loss of five wickets. The Player of the Match was Conner Walker with 47 runs off 44 balls.
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Last weekend the second game of the three-game series was played, and Hoedspruit Sports Academy won this game by 4 wickets. The Conservation Cricketers batted first putting on a target of 138 with the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. Hoedspruit Sports Academy came in to bat and chased down that target and made 142 for the loss of six wickets in 18.3 overs. Kyle Pretorius made 61 runs off 34 balls; and with the anchor of Oliver Adams creating support for Pretorius and the other batsmen, he made 23 runs off 48 balls.
The Player of the Match award went to Pretorius. The Hoedspruit Sports Academy is a high-performance sports institution with cricket, rugby, soccer, netball, and swimming. “We strive for excellence helping athletes to achieve their full potential in the discipline of their choice. “Over and above this, we cater to the large home school market and will be participating in events against other schools in the Hoedspruit, Phalaborwa, and Tzaneen areas,” Buyst concluded. The last game of the series will be played within the next two weeks.