8 January 2024
Three KwaZulu-Natal schools – Michaelhouse, Kearsney College and Clifton College – enjoyed unblemished records on the opening day of the 2024 iHlobo Festival, winning both of their short form matches. The only KZN school to lose was DHS, but that was to their provincial opposition, Michaelhouse.
Michaelhouse vs Durban High School
Michaelhouse and Durban High School enjoyed an excellent battle on the AH Smith Oval, with ‘House edging a young DHS team, missing a number of players and featuring only one grade 12, by just two runs in a 30 over per side match on Monday.
The boys from Balgowan were out in the middle first and totalled 197 for 5, with Murray Hall-Jones‘ 66 from 50 balls, which included four fours and two sixes, their top score.
Up front, Ethan Muir, sent three deliveries over the boundary and another two for four as he tallied 59 from 51, while Dylan Hewlett made a telling 40 from 54.
Ethan Cooper picked 2 for 33 in five, as all of the six bowlers used by DHS went for between 31 and 35 runs.
Ross Moller removed the DHS openers cheaply, but Ethan Cooper and Josh van Biljon then halted the Michaelhouse attack as they put on 74 runs for the third wicket. Cooper led the way with 42 from 45 balls, while Van Biljon struck a-run-a-ball 39.
Taine Havermann, their lone grade 12, hit two fours and two sixes in his innings of 30 from 28 deliveries, and DHS were also the beneficiaries of 25 extras, which included 18 wides. In the end, though, they came up just two runs shy after a brave run chase, finishing on 195 for 9.
Michaelhouse new ball bowler Ross Moller excelled, returning 3 for 18 from three, while Ethan Muir claimed 3 for 26 from his four.
St John’s College vs Kearsney College
St John’s College (Harare) has made it a habit of playing tight games against South African opposition, and their clash with the hosts of the iHlobo Festival was no different, with Kearsney College scoring a narrow three-wicket victory over their Zimbabwean opposition.
With the overcast weather threatening rain, the schools, apart from Michaelhouse and DHS, instead of playing declaration games, tested their mettle in the T20 format.
Batting first against Kearsney, St John’s posted 147 for 6.
John-Mark Benadie set about the Kearsney bowling, smashing 38 from 25 balls, with three fours and two sixes, to top score for St John’s. Connor Lovatt made 36 at just better than a run a ball, while Luke Wright provided a late boost, blasting an unbeaten 28 from only 14 deliveries, with three sixes.
Murray Weyer, with 3 for 36 in four, was the most successful bowler for the home team.
Kearsney made a fine start in pursuit of the 148 they required to win, with Cameron Veenstra and Weyer putting on 57 for the first wicket in 8.2 overs. Weyer fell for 20, but Veenstra went on to tally 45 from 44, including two fours and a six.
Matthew de Oliveira weighed in with an important 26, which included a couple of fours and a couple of sixes, from just 19 balls.
Kearsney appeared to be cruising to victory, but then lost three wickets for four runs, leaving them on 125 for 6 in the 18th over. Still, they found a way to win, getting home with three balls to spare.
Cameron Rowbotham came close to turning the match on its head, capturing 4 for 16 in three overs, but Kearsney survived. Dhaneel Govender was also among the wickets, picking up 2 for 29 in three.
St Alban’s College vs Clifton College
St Alban’s College, more used to the faster, more batsmen-friendly pitches of Pretoria, were caught out by the slower pitch at Kearsney in their opening game against Clifton College and were well beaten.
Sent in to bat by Clifton, St Alban’s slumped to just 73 all out, with only two batsmen making it into double figures, just.
Gabriel Vermeulen, with 3 for 15 in three, and Preston Govender, with 3 for 16 in three, put the skids under St Alban’s, who simply failed to fire.
Set a low total to win, Clifton took an aggressive approach and powered their way to an eight-wicket victory in only 6.3 overs.
Cohen Naidoo smashed three sixes in his 19 from 11 deliveries, while Tim Saulez struck two sixes and three fours in his undefeated 24 from 10 balls as Clifton cruised to a comfortable win.
Falcon College vs Uplands College
Falcon College opened the Zimbabwean account with a convincing 122-run victory over Uplands College in their T20 match.
Batting first, Falcon roared along at over 11 runs per over to total 221 for 5.
Zach Gover top scored, cracking 10 boundaries, three of them sixes, in a quickfire 64 not out from 38 deliveries. Callum Orford sparkled with 54 from 29, with six fours and three sixes, and Zane Sibande tore into the Uplands bowlers, striking an unbeaten 43 from just 16 deliveries, with five sixes and a lone four.
Amidst the mayhem, Luke Barnard stood out for Uplands, capturing 3 for 23 in four overs.
Unfortunately for the school from White River, they were never able to mount a challenge with the bat. They fell behind the required run rate early and were eventually bowled out for 99 in the 19th over.
Jack Robson was the pick of their batsmen, making 27 from 16 balls, while Lohan van Antwerpen made 24 from 28, but they received little support as the Uplands innings fell apart.
Darren Ncube knocked over three batsmen without a run being added in the latter stages of the Uplands innings and finished with 3 for 12 in four, while Benjamin Williams claimed 2 for 12 and Bradley Wentzel 2 for 25.
Falcon College vs Clifton College
Falcon were well beaten by Clifton, however, with the Durban school romping to a 77-run victory.
Opener Aalok Beharie delivered for Clifton up front, making 38 from 30, but it was Tim Saulez, in at four, who provided the fireworks, clubbing six fours and four sixes in a 42-ball 65 as Clifton totalled 179 for 8 in their 20 overs.
Alistair Carle, the seventh bowler used by Falcon, was also their most successful, snapping up 4 for 23 in three, while Benjamin Williams took 2 for 28.
Falcon, in reply, managed only 102 all out. Carle made 22, thus making him their best performer with both bat and ball, while James Thompson struck two sixes in his 19 from nine balls and Benjamin Williams contributed 16, but no one else made it into double figures.
Clifton utilised six bowlers and all of them claimed wickets. Shiraz Perumal, with 3 for 24 in four, led the way, while Simon Hill picked up 2 for 16 in three.
Michaelhouse vs DHS T10
In an effort to get in another game before the threatening weather put paid to the cricket for the day, Michaelhouse and DHS then went at it in a T10 contest, which Michaelhouse won more comfortably than their win in the T30 clash.
They posted 114 and then restricted DHS to 75 to win by 39 runs.
St Alban’s College vs St John’s College
St Alban’s rebounded nicely from their poor outing against Clifton to eke out a four-wicket win over St John’s, with five balls in hand.
St John’s, batting first, posted 170 for 6. Luke Wright top scored with a blazing 31 from only 11 balls, smashing four sixes, while Takudzwa Nduku struck 27 from 29, Khulekani Nduku 22 from 28, and John-Mark Benadie 23 from 15.
Christian Visage led the bowling attack with a return of 2 for 24 from four.
St Alban’s responded with 171 for 6 from 19.1 overs to secure a win.
Patrick Weir, with 52 from only 44 balls, with three fours and three sixes, played the pivotal innings, while Liam Basch, with 25 not out from 16, including two maximums, made a telling contribution.
Cameron Rowbotham picked up 2 for 25, and Kian Blignaut bowled tidily to finish with 1 for 17 from four, but it was not quite enough to keep St Alban’s at bay.
Summarised scorecards
T20: St John’s College 147/6 (John-Mark Benadie 38, Connor Lovatt 36, Luke Wright 28*, Murray Weyer 3/36); Kearsney College 149/7 (Cameron Veenstra 45, Matthew de Oliveira 26, Murray Weyer 20, Cameron Rowbotham 4/16, Dhaneel Govender 2/29) Kearsney won by 3 wickets.
T20: St Alban’s College 73/10 (Gabriel Vermeulen 3/15, Preston Govender 3/16); Clifton College 74/2 in 6.3 overs (Tim Saulez 24*, Cohen Naidoo 19) Clifton won by 8 wickets.
T20: Falcon College 221/5 (Zach Gover 64*, Callum Orford 54, Zane Sibande 43*, Luke Barnard 3/23); Uplands College 99/10 (Jack Robson 27, Lohan van Antwerpen 24, Darren Ncube 3/12, Benjamin Williams 2/12, Bradley Wentzel 2/25) Falcon won by 122 runs.
T20: Clifton College 179/8 (Tim Saulez 65, Aalok Beharie 38, Alistair Carle 4/23); Falcon College 102/10 (Alistair Carle 22, Shiraz Perumal 3/24, Simon Hill 2/16) Clifton won by 77 runs.
T30: Michaelhouse 197/5 (Murray Hall-Jones 66, Ethan Muir 59, Dylan Hewlett 40, Ethan Cooper 2/33); Durban High School 195/9 (Ethan Cooper 32, Josh van Biljon 39, Taine Havermann 30, Ross Moller 3/18, Ethan Muir 3/26) Michaelhouse won by 2 runs.
T10: Michaelhouse 114; DHS 75 Michaelhouse won by 39 runs.
T20: St John’s College 170/6 (Luke Wright 31, Takudzwa Nduku 27, John-Mark Benadie 23, Khulekani Nduku 22, Christian Visage 2/24); St Alban’s College 171/6 (Patrick Weir 52, Liam Basch 25*, Cameron Rowbotham 2/25) St Alban’s won by four wickets.
T20: Kearsney College 243/4 Uplands College 96/10 Kearsney College won by 147 runs.
Leave a Reply