25 October 2024
The topsy-turvy nature of cricket was on display as Durban High School (DHS) dominated a large part of their Schools SA20 match against Clifton College on Theobald Oval on Thursday only for the visitors pull off a stunning fight-back and victory.
Clifton impressed with their calm approach after DHS had restricted them only 112/9, and a disciplined performance in the field led to them keeping School to just 101/7. The home side had appeared to be well on their way to victory on 82/2 before being stopped by exceptional bowling spells from Shiraz Perumal and Tim Saulez.
They weren’t, however, the only bowlers to excel. The excellence began at the very start of the game after Clifton had elected to bat, and it came from left-arm spinner Dhilan Naraidu, who took the new ball for DHS. He offered the batsmen little width, and that’s what brought him a wicket in the very first over, when he bowled Hayden Drieselman.
The accuracy of his attack could be measured in the other three wickets he claimed, ridding Clifton of three more top-order batsmen – Byron Ward, Tim Saulez and Shiraz Perumal – with Ward falling LBW and Saulez and Perumal being bowled.
Thanks to Naraidu’s outstanding spell, Clifton’s top-order had been removed and they were in trouble on 34/4. Opener Muhammed Malik followed, out for 15,caught off Akhtar Basra‘s bowling, and the visitors had lost half of their wickets with only 44 runs on the board.
Their innings was rescued, though, by a 50-run partnership between Zach Williamson and Lawson Dinsdale, who played maturely and under control. That was until Williamson, with the scoreboard pressure beginning to tell, tried to execute a scoop and was bowled by Bhavesh Naicker for 22 from 26 balls.
Two runs later, with the total on 96, Dinsdale followed, run out well short of his ground after chasing a second run that was never on. He had made 18 from 22.
Clifton suffered another run out in the pursuit of runs late in their innings, with Caleb Naicker for five departing as a result of a direct hit.
After 20 overs, the visiting side had clawed their way to 112/9. Naraidu’s terrific four overs brought him 4/10, while Bhavesh Naicker picked up 1/14 from three and Akhtar Basra claimed 1/6 from two.
Clifton’s total didn’t appear to be enough and that perception was enhanced when, after losing two early wickets, DHS steadily worked their way into a winning position behind the batting of Ismaeel Omar and Josh van Biljon.
Together, they advanced the total from 10/2 to 82/2, but Omar, then, became the first of Shiraz Perumal’s victims, trapped in front for 40 from 52 deliveries, with three fours.
Four runs later, Van Biljon followed, out hit wicket, for 30 from 39 balls, which left DHS on 86/4. They needed 27 runs to win, but all of a sudden their scoring all but came to a standstill as Perumal and Saulez gave the batsmen little to hit. Survival against the duo was a challenge, never mind scoring runs.
Perumal made a mess of the DHS middle-order, adding another three wickets to turn the tide in Clifton’s favour, while Saulez bowled a very full length and the batsmen struggled to get the ball away. In very short order, the match tilted from favouring DHS to being a toss-up to rapidly going Clifton’s way.
In the end, the DHS challenge spluttered out, as they meekly slid to 101/7, leaving Clifton the winners by 11 runs.
Perumal finished with 4/19, which took him to 59 wickets for the year. That lifted the grade 10 learner to a Clifton 1st XI record, bettering the 58 wickets taken by former SA u19 captain Matthew Montgomery in 2017 and Josh Brown in 2018.
“Shiraz was fantastic. He has been all year,” Clifton 1st XI coach Brandon Scullard said after the game.
Extras played a massive role in determining the outcome of the contest. Clifton gave up 13 and DHS conceded 28. That’s a difference of 15 and the winning margin was 11 runs.
The visitors’ composure in the field in the face of a sub-standard batting effort was impressive. “The team talk at the change of innings was that it was not an easy wicket. If we stay in the game, and we keep them quiet for long enough, we’ll come out on top,” Scullard explained.
“Their composure and the fact that I have blooded a lot of junior cricketers throughout the year meant that my playing eleven today wasn’t so much a stayers’ eleven. It was very close to a first-team,” he added, while referring to the fact that the Schools SA20 is an u17 competition which continues into 2025.
“We kept it simple enough that the scoreboard pressure started to tell. When the rate got to eight, in schoolboy cricket they’re going to play a few more shots than they really should. Maybe if they [DHS] had put bat on ball and run well, they could have got a bit closer,” Scullard said.
The loss brought to an end an impressive 10-game winning streak for DHS, which had included comfortable defeats of Affies and St Stithians, while for Clifton, it was an eighth win in nine games, with that sole loss being to Waterkloof, arguably the best team in the country at present.
They’ve, maybe, crept up on other teams with their run of success. With only two matrics moving on, they’ll be a team that bears watching in 2025.
Scores
Clifton College 112/9 (Extras 28, Zach Williamson 22, Lawson Dinsdale 18, Dhilan Naraidu 4/10, Bhavesh Naicker 1/14); Durban High School 101/7 (Ismaeel Omar 40, Josh van Biljon 30, Shiraz Perumal 4/19, Tim Saulez 2/11, Regan Radley 1/19).
Clifton College won by 11 runs.
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