Lincoln Casais played sensational back-to-back innings to help the Johannesburg Invitational XI secure comfortable victories over Wise Owl High and St George’s College at the St John’s Rams T20 Challenge, hosted by St John’s College in Harare, on Friday.
In the other matches, Shiraz Perumal and Rivan Moodley ensured that Clifton and Kearsney also made flying starts to the tournament.
Casais, from Jeppe High School for Boys, walked away from both matches with the Player of the Match awards.
In the Invitational XI’s first match, he scored a steady 72 from 52 balls, striking two sixes and seven fours, to help his team to 160/7 against Wise Owl.
He also shared in a 104-run third-wicket partnership with his captain, Joshua Hall. The pair came together in the aftermath of a blistering start by the Wise Owl bowlers, who dismissed Kyle Hennene and Herman Basson in quick succession.
Hall ensured that Casais was not under undue pressure to look for boundaries, weighing in with 44 from 30 deliveries. Their partnership ended with Hall’s dismissal in the 15th over, and Casais followed him back to the pavilion two overs later.
By then, the Invitational side had Farhaan Ahmed at the crease, and the King Edward VII (KES) learner slashed an impressive 25 from only 15 balls to give the innings a late boost.
The Gilmour twins, Bryn and Jared, then ensured that Wise Owl did not get a sniff in the contest by collecting five wickets between them. They both bowled a full complement of four overs, with Bryn finishing with 3/20 and Jared claiming 2/30.
Against St George’s College, Casais slashed an unbeaten century as the Invitational XI catapulted to 191/4, before their bowlers limited the Harare school to 116/6 in reply.
Casais, who faced more than half of the balls in his team’s innings, delivered more than half the runs. He was unbeaten on 140 from just 73 deliveries, eight of which he dispatched over the boundary, and 10 of which he sent to the boundary. His strike rate was an impressive 191.78.
Herman Basson chipped in with 22 and shared a 109-run second-wicket partnership with Casais, working to give his on-fire partner the strike.
Kyle Hennene was the Invitational XI’s destroyer-in-chief with the ball, capturing 3/12 in four overs. Tapiwa Chikwava played a brilliant supporting role, nabbing 2/6 in four overs, while Keegan Hendey nabbed /15 in two as the Johannesburg side won by 75 runs.
Clifton College
In Clifton College’s first outing of the day, captain Shiraz Perumal delivered a masterclass in leg-spin bowling to guide the Durban boys to an emphatic nine-wicket win over Churchill. He snared 3/15 in 3.5 overs as Churchill was bundled out in only 15.5 overs for 69. It took Clifton only seven overs to overhaul the victory target.
Perumal enjoyed outstanding support from Blake Johnson, Daniel Rea, and George Gooch, who claimed two wickets apiece. Daniyaal Klinck, meanwhile, went after the modest victory target aggressively, carving an unbeaten 41 from 21 balls to see the KZN crew to 73/1 and a win with 13 overs to spare.
Perumal was at it again in Clifton’s second match, knocking over 4/18 as Christian Brothers College (CBC) was limited to 108 all out in 16.3 overs. Clifton, in reply, powered to 110/4 in only 12.3 overs to secure a convincing six-wicket win.
Perumal tore into the CBC top and middle order, ensuring that they did not develop any traction in their innings. He was well supported by Caleb Naiker and Keegan Watson, who grabbed two wickets each to cripple the Bulawayo school’s innings.
The Clifton skipper then put his all-round skills on display by bashing an unbeaten 24 from only 13 balls to see Clifton over the finishing line. Daniyaal Klinck was again Clifton’s top scorer, contributing a steady 30 off 20 balls, while Hayden Drieselmann contributed 21 runs.
Kearsney College
Leg-spinner Rivan Moodley captured a five-for to set Kearsney up for a four-wicket win over Hellenic Academy. In an inspired spell, he dismissed five batsmen for only 10 runs in just 2.4 overs. With Moodley leading the way, Hellenic’s innings lasted only 13.4 overs and ended with the locals all out for 85. Kearsney also needed 13.4 overs to score 86/6 in reply.
Matthew Gorrie supported Moodley well, claiming 2/15 in three overs, while Blake Pugh, Litha Gonya, and Ryan Staats picked up a wicket each. Luke Grobbelaar and Aaron Blackburn then scored 25 runs apiece to help the Botha’s Hill boys saunter to victory.
Moodley also shone against Prince Edward, knocking back 3/24 in four overs as the Harare side tallied 148/9. It looked like a decent total, but Kearsney needed just 14.1 overs to race to 152/2 and an eight-wicket win.
Captain Keegan de Jager took charge of the chase, hammering an unbeaten 59 from 33 balls, capitalising on a 61-run opening partnership laid by Asher Hollister (37) and Gary Verbaan (18).
De Jager and Aaron Blackburn (27*) saw Kearsney across the line, sharing an unbroken 63-run third-wicket partnership.
Summarised Scorecards
Johannesburg Invitational XI 160/7 (Lincoln Casais 72, Joshua Hall 44; Panashe Mazai 2/18, Tadiwanashe Rusere 2/35). Wise Owl 143/7 (Ambitious Muduma 48, Praise Dube 47; Bryn Gilmour 3/20, Jared Gilmour 2/30). Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 17 runs.
Johannesburg Invitational XI 191/4 (Lincoln Casais 140*, Herman Basson 22; Ethan Zhou 2/24, Requan Mahwita 1/16). St George’s 116/6 (Abhiraj Singh 46, Michael Mukori 16; Kyle Hennene 3/12, Tapiwa Chikwava 2/6). Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 75 runs.
Churchill 69/10 (Simbarashe Manzou 20, Zvikomborero Masango 18; Shiraz Perumal 3/15, Blake Johnson 2/6). Clifton 73/1 (Daniyaal Klinck 41*, Muhammed Malek 14; Andy Tabvura 1/28, Tadiwanashe Muzhira 0/11). Clifton won by nine wickets.
Christian Brothers College 108/10 (Joshua Armstrong 33, Presely Jere 21; Shiraz Perumal 4/19, Keegan Watson 2/3). Clifton 110/4 (Daniyaal Klinck 30, Shiraz Perumal 24*; Charles Thatha 1/12, Marshall Hamandishe 1/7). Clifton won by six wickets.
Hellenic Academy 85/10 (Alex Landman 34, Daniel Ellis 14; Rivan Moodley 5/10, Matthew Gorrie 2/15). Kearsney 86/6 (Aaron Blackburn 25*, Luke Grobbelaar 25; Kian Blignaut 2/15, Tijan Nicholson 2/17). Kearsney won by four wickets.
Prince Edward 148/9 (Tapiwa Sengwe 38, Shayne Garwe 28; Rivan Moodley 3/24, Blake Pugh 1/7). Kearsney 152/2 (Keegan de Jager 59*, Asher Hollister 37; Shayne Garwe 1/23, Felix Munda 1/45). Kearsney won by eight wickets.
St John’s (Harare) 183/5 (Riley Ettlin 57, Luca Spagnuolo 54, James Manning 26; Nqobizitha Mpofu 2/24); CBC Bulawayo 69/10 (Pilate Ndlovu 27; Sean Price 3/6, Hayden Saunders 2/2, Luca Spagnuolo 2/10, Jetas Sai Maramreddy 2/16). St John’s won by 114 runs.
Prince Edward 138/7 (Donell Madongo 23*, Felix Munda 23, Thando Mashava 22; Nicholas Orphanides 2/23, Ryan Moyo 2/26); Peterhouse 139/6 after 17.3 overs (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 32, Isaac Allott 26, Ryan Moyo 20*; Takuna Kaitano 3/24). Peterhouse won by four wickets.
Falcon College 225/4 (Luke Rosenfels 112, Callum Orford 69, Joshua Engelbrecht 25; Kundanashe Mushonga 4/23); St George’s College 103/8 (Abhiraj Singh 29, Allen Masiya 22; Leo Clarkson 3/13, Christopher Thomas 2/9, Daniel Buckby 2/10). Falcon College won by 122 runs.
