23 January 2023
In their opening match of the first term of 2023, the visitors, Clifton College, elected to bat after winning the toss on Saturday at Saint Charles, where they were greeted, somewhat harshly, by very hot conditions, with temperatures sitting in the mid-thirties for much of the day.
And it was a rough start for Clifton, with Shahzaad Perumal falling for four and his fellow opener Ben McElligot for 14, but the Durban boys then settled down nicely, with Jayden Roux and Joseph Ray building a useful partnership while making the Saints’ bowlers toil in the heat and humidity.
Roux and Riley partnership
Ray, playing an attacking innings, struck four fours in a 30-ball knock before he was caught and bowled by Marcell Wellman for 26. Tim Saulez weighed in with 15, but once he departed, another victim of Wellman, Camden Riley joined Roux out in the middle and Clifton advanced their score appreciably.
Riley, scoring at just shy of a run a ball, sent one delivery from left-arm spinner Wellman clear over the bowler’s head and over the boundary for six, and added a further four fours. However, with the total having advanced to 190 for 4 in the 46th over, he was dismissed, hitting out towards the legside off of Brendon Sunguro.
As happens so often after a big partnership is broken, his long-time partner soon followed. Jayden Roux was stumped off the bowling of off-spinner Matthew Urquhart for a well-played 80, which was comfortably the highest score on the day. Like Riley, he blasted one six and added six boundaries in his 138-ball stay.
Wicket-takers
Saints’ Dakesh Rajah snapped up two late wickets, both bowled, to crush a late innings’ burst by Clifton, resulting in the Durbanites finishing on 209 for 8 after their 50 overs.
Rajah finished with 2 for 32 from his eight overs, Sunguro claimed 2 for 39 in 10, and Wellman picked up 2 for 46 in nine.
In reply, Saint Charles paced their response well as each of the seven batsmen who visited the crease made meaningful contributions. Evidence of this was the fact that Marcel Wellman’s 20 was the lowest score of their innings.
Saints’ top scorers
Cian Fortmann and Ntando Zuma led the way, with each man making 37, although at vastly different scoring rates. Fortmann was cautious at the top of the order, taking 74 balls for his runs, while Zuma, in at three, needed only 39 balls for his runs, which included four fours.
Captain Matthew Urquhart made a solid contribution with 35, while opener Sam Brown, with 21, also did well before he was cleaned bowled by a fine delivery from Keaton Murray, which struck the top of the stumps.
It was left to Kwanele Nqayi and Brendon Sunguro to see Saints to victory and they did that effectively after Urquhart and Wellman departed within two runs of one another, with Wellman, the latter of the two batsmen to fall, out with the total on 159.
Nqayi ended on 21 not out, while Sunguro was undefeated on 28, their unbroken partnership worth 53 runs, when Saint Charles passed Clifton’s total after 47.5 overs to secure a five-wicket win.
Left-arm spinner Shahzaad Perumal led the Clifton attack with 3 for 39 from his 10 overs, while Keaton Murray and Mitchell Tillard removed a batsman each.
SCORES
1st XI
Cliton College 209 for 8 (J. Roux 80, C. Riley 42, J. Ray 26, D. Rajah 2 for 32, B, Sunguro 2 for 39, M. Wellman 2 for 46)
Saint Charles College 212 for 5 (C. Fortmann 37, N. Zuma 37, M. Urquhart 35, B. Sunguro 28*, S. Perumal 3 for 39)
Saint Charles College won by 5 wickets
2nd XI
Clifton College 122 all out
Saint Charles College 123 for 2
Saint Charles won by 8 wickets
3rd XI
Clifton College 79 for 7
Saint Charles College 80 for 1
Saint Charles won by 9 wickets
u16A
Saint Charles College 117 all out
Clifton College 118 for 9
Clifton won by 1 wicket
u16B
Clifton College 112 for 8
Saint Charles College 115 for 6
Saint Charles won by 4 wickets
u15A
Clifton College 135 all out
Saint Charles College 136 for 5
Saint Charles won by 5 wickets
u15B
Clifton College 111 all out
Saint Charles College 115 for 2
Saint Charles won by 8 wickets
U14A
Clifton College 309 for 9
Saint Charles College 239 all out
Clifton won by 70 runs
u14B
Saint Charles College 80 for 1
Clifton College 79 all out
Saint Charles won by 9 wickets
SCC u14C vs SCC u14D
Saint Charles College u14C 194 for 1
Saint Charles College u14D 70 all out
Saint Charles u14C won by 124 runs
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