23 February 2024
Kearsney College vs St Andrew’s College
In a hard-fought contest, one of the best of the day, Kearsney College outlasted St Andrew’s College to score a narrow two-wicket victory on Friday at the Independent Schools Cricket Festival in Pretoria.
Kearsney were led by two of their top performers this season, with Ross Coetzee delivering a match-winning knock with the bat, and leg-spinner, Asavela Khambule, forging decisive inroads into the St Andrew’s batting.
The Makhanda side, batting first, posted 183 all out, with opener William Beamish striking eight fours in his 44. Alex Price almost matched him, contributing 43.
In the latter stages of the St Andrew’s innings, Oliver Johns, with 24, and Joe Wostenholm, with 17, helped their side improve from 142/7 to 173/8.
Khambule spearheaded the Kearsney attack, spinning his way to 4/40 from 10, while Jack O’Donovan, brought on as the ninth bowler employed by Kearsney, provided the formula they needed as he got rid of the tail. In just two overs, he picked up 3/8.
There was the usual tidy spell from Michael Groom, who claimed 2/28 from 10 overs.
Replying, Kearsney were reduced to 29/2 when Cameron Veenstra was dismissed. Jason De Gryse then teamed up with Ross Coetzee and they added 53 before De Gryse was out for 28. with the total on 82.
Jack O’Donovan was the fourth wicket to go down on 113, but his departure was followed by another two quick wickets for St Andrew’s, which left Kearsney in a little trouble on 124/6. Coetzee was still out in the middle, but he needed some good support. Cole Young delivered it.
Coetzee and Young put on 47 runs for the eighth wicket but, with victory only 13 runs away, Young was caught by Roman van Zyl off Joe Wostenholm for a well-played 28 from 42 balls, which had included three fours and a six.
Ryan Browning, the next man in, was soon removed by Van Zyl, but Sandiswa Yeni and Ross Coetzee then steered Kearsney to a two-wicket win.
Coetzee finished with 73 not out, from 95 balls. He launched one of those over the boundary and seven into the boundary.
In a similar manner to Jack O’Donovan’s late success with the ball for Kearsney, Samuel Scheckter, bowling ninth for St Andrew’s, also took three wickets. In three overs, he claimed 3/17. Opening bowler Joe Wostenholm captured 2/24 in 8.1 overs.
Clifton College vs St John’s College
Meanwhile, Clifton College battled hard, but St John’s College had their number and recorded a 71-run win over Shahzaad Perumal and his cohorts.
Batting first, St John’s lost an early wicket to opening bowler Callum Watson, but they were undaunted, and their on-fire skipper Joe MacRobert joined Thomas Ievers at the crease and immediately attacked the Clifton bowlers.
MacRobert spent just 37 balls at the crease, but during that time he hit six fours and three sixes, making 50, before he was trapped in front by Zach Williamson.
Ievers, meanwhile, kept the Joburg school’s innings chugging along, scoring 65 from 77 deliveries before he was removed by Rivan Moodley, who was Clifton’s most successful bowler, snaring 3/35 in 10. He was well backed up by Shahzaad Perumal, who bagged 2/42.
“The Clifton spinners bowled really well,” St John’s coach, Bongani Ntini, reckoned.
In the latter stages, the St John’s innings was given a boost by Malan du Plessis, who smashed 39 from 29 balls, with two fours and two sixes. All-rounder Cole Francis weighed in with 24. Meanwhile, Tim Saulez knocked over 2/32 as St John’s made 219 all out.
Whatever hopes Clifton might have had of a brave run chase, they suffered a mortal blow up front as the first three wickets went down for only 12 runs. Then, when Tim Saulez was out for 11, Clifton was deep in the mire on 29/4.
Aalok Beharie and Lawson Dinsdale then slowed St John’s with a 44-run stand for the fifth wicket before Beharie was out for 27. Dinsdale continued on, eventually making 34 from 64 deliveries. However, it was Bryon Ward, more often seen opening the batting, who gave the St John’s bowlers the most problems.
He blasted two sixes and struck four fours in an unbeaten 44 from 45 balls, but Clifton paid the price for their s slow start, and they were all out for 150.
Francis captured 4/32, while his opening partner, David Ireland, claimed 1/12 from eight overs. Oliver Tait stood out, too, snapping up 3/34 from his 10 overs.
Michaelhouse vs St George’s College
Michaelhouse had endured a tough time at the hands of the number one ranked Bishops on day one of the ISCF, but matters were altogether easier on day two for Cameron Strudwick and his side.
St George’s College (Harare) won the toss and elected to bowl, which Michaelhouse seemed to enjoy. At the top of the order, Ethan Muir put his stamp on the game with 72 from 99 balls, with five fours. Sebastian Hofmeyr added 25 to steady the innings after the next three batsman made starts before losing their wickets.
Then, Murray Hall-Jones came to the wicket and he took charge. He hit only four boundaries, but three of those were sixes, as he tallied an undefeated 82 from just 69 deliveries. His rapid knock and 23 from West Mitchell-Innes helped ‘House to 260/6.
In the context of Michaelhouse’s healthy total, Jayden Peterson‘s 2/38 from 10 overs was a fine return.
Unfortunately for St George’s, they had few answers for ‘House’s bowlers. Their first three batsmen were all dismissed for ducks and in just 29.2 overs they were sent packing for only 49 runs.
Not surprisingly, that left Michaelhouse with some very neat and good-looking bowling figures. Ross Moller claimed 2/4 from five overs, Luke Mitchell, his new ball partner, took 2/10 in four, and Jean-Luc Rey followed up his five-for against Bishops with 3/12 from 10. Cameron Strudwick bowled as tightly as ever and snared 3/7 in 6.2 overs.
Hilton College vs St David’s Marist Inanda
In a similar fashion to their performance on the first day, Hilton College showed some fight, but they ended up on the wrong side of a result, going down to St David’s Marist Inanda by 37 runs.
Captain Matthew West starred for St David’s coming up just shy of a century when he was run out for 94. He and Armaan Manack, who made 38, shared a 66-run stand for the second wicket.
Joshua Jacobs then added a useful 33 from 32 balls, with four fours, as St David’s posted a decent 239/9 from their 50 overs.
Luke Campbell bowled well for Hilton, snaring 3/25 from his 10 overs, while Netanzi Denenga did a good job with the new ball, and later against the middle order. He also removed three batsmen, with his nine overs costing 38.
Hilton’s captain, Ethan van Heerden, got rid of two batsmen as St David’s attempted to hit out at the end of their innings.
The KZN boys made a solid enough start to their reply, with Ben Hockly and Robert Burman adding 40 for the first wicket before Jason Rowles separated them. Hockly was out for 26, but Burman went on to Hilton’s highest score of 58, which included four fours, and came from 92 deliveries.
James Ogilby, batting fifth, kept St David’s at bay, with a nuggetty 47 from 78 balls, six of which he sent to the boundary.
But Matthew West, together with Jason Rowles, put the skids under the Hilton reply. West captured 3/27 from nine to round off an excellent all-round day for the St David’s skipper, while Rowles, who captured four wickets on Thursday, repeated the trick again, this time taking 4/20 from 10.
Hilton kept plugging away and lowering the deficit, but so too did St David’s keep plugging away, and their bowlers struck regularly. While Hilton added 58 runs in the last 10.4 overs of their innings, the Sandton side claimed six wickets in that time, to end Hilton’s innings on 202.
SCORES
St Andrew’s College 183/10 (William Beamish 44, Alex Price 43, Oliver Johns 24; Asavela Khambule 4/40, Jack O’Donovan 3/8, Michael Groom 2/28); Kearsney College 184/8 (Ross Coetzee 73*, Jason De Gryse 28, Cole Young 28; Samuel Scheckter 3/17, Joe Wostenholm 2/24) Kearsney College won by 2 wickets.
St John’s College 219/10 (Thomas Ievers 65, Joe MacRobert 50, Malan du Plessis 39, Cole Francis 24; Rivan Moodley 3/35, Tim Saulez 2/32, Shahzaad Perumal 2/44) Clifton College 150/10 (Bryon Ward 44*, Lawson Dinsdale 34, Aalok Beharie 27; Cole Francis 4/32, Oliver Tait 3/34) St John’s College won by 69 runs.
Michaelhouse 260/6 (Murray Hall-Jones 82*, Ethan Muir 72, Sebastian Hofmeyer 25, West Mitchell-Innes 23; Jayden Peterson 2/38); St George’s College 49 (Cameron Strudwick 3/7, Jean-Luc Rey 3/12, Ross Moller 2/4, Luke Mitchell 2/10). Michaelhouse won by 211 runs.
St David’s Marist Inanda 239/9 (Matthew West 94, Armaan Manack 38, Joshua Jacobs 33; Luke Campbell 3/25, Natenzi Denenga 3/38, Ethan van Heerden 2/46); Hilton College 202/10 (Robert Burman 58, James Ogilby 47; Jason Rowles 4/20, Matthew West 3/27, Oliver Botha 2/47). St David’s Marist Inanda won by 37 runs.
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