Shiraz Perumal led from the front with an unbeaten half-century and a brace of wickets to steer Clifton to a six-wicket win over St John’s College, Harare, in their St John’s College Rams T20 Challenge contest on the Fisher Field at St John’s on Saturday afternoon.
The other South African sides at the showpiece, Kearsney College and the Johannesburg Invitational XI, delivered mixed results.
Kearsney slumped to an eight-wicket loss to Peterhouse, while the Invitational XI powered to an 87-run win over Falcon College.
Perumal won the toss and chose to field first against St John’s, who put up a decent 162/9 in their 20 overs. In a tight finish, Clifton took 19.2 overs to get to 163/4 to claim victory.
Perumal starred in the run-chase with an unbeaten 56 from 29 balls, striking five fours and three sixes. The Clifton captain profited from Hayden Drieselmann‘s contribution up front.
The opener scored a steady 53 from 44 deliveries, launching three sixes and hitting two fours. He watched three batting partners come and go before he joined forces with Perumal for a 58-run fourth-wicket partnership that left Clifton on the brink of victory. Perumal then combined with Ethan Drieselmann for the remaining 26 runs.
Perumal and Hayden Drieselmann’s half-centuries countered Noah Mitchell‘s valiant 73 earlier in the afternoon. The opener, however, lacked strong support, thanks to some wonderful bowling from Perumal and his attack.
The leg-spinner nabbed 2/35 in four, while Keegan Watson snared 2/32 in his four. Dan Rea claimed 2/28, but he was expensive, going at 14 runs per over.
Kearsney College
Kearsney suffered their first defeat of the tournament when they succumbed to an eight-wicket loss at the hands of Peterhouse. Captain Keegan de Jager and his side were put in to bat first and mustered 141/8 in 20 overs. Peterhouse charged to 144/2 in 18 overs in reply.
Aaron Blackburn, batting at four, top-scored for Kearsney with a 35 off 25 balls. The men from KZN needed a couple more contributions of that nature to put the game beyond Peterhouse, but they didn’t get them. A big reason for their failure to do so was the four wickets evenly shared between Nicholas Orphanides and Cameron Oosthuizen, which denied Kearsney momentum.
Ndiriwashe Munatsirei led Peterhouse’s chase with an unbeaten 69 from 57 balls, while Isaac Hildebrand provided valuable support, tallying 43 off only 30 balls.
Johannesburg Invitational XI
Sean Rowles ensured that the Johannesburg Invitational XI secured their third win in three outings, with his 51 off 40 balls helping the composite side to an 87-run win over Falcon College.
The Invitational XI, captained by Joshua Hall, won the toss, chose to bat first, and totalled 168/7 in their 20 overs. Their bowlers then delivered disciplined lines and length to bowl out Falcon for only 81 runs in 16.4 overs.
Rowles, who didn’t do much in the first two games, was promoted up the order, and he made his opportunity count with a half-century. Lincoln Casais, who starred for the Invitational XI with the bat on Friday, continued his blistering form, racing to an unbeaten 46 off only 20 balls, batting at seven.
Casais then demonstrated his all-round skills by capturing 2/13 in three overs as Falcon struggled to gain a grip on the contest.
Herman Basson was the pick of the bowlers, returning 2/14 in four overs, while Kyle Hennene and Juan de Villiers also picked up a brace of wickets each. Bryn Gilmour enjoyed success, too, taking 1/18.
Summarised Scorecards
St John’s College 162/9 (Noah Mitchell 73, James Manning 24; Keegan Watson 2/32, Shiraz Perumal 2/35). Clifton College 163/4 (Shiraz Perumal 56*, Hayden Drieselmann 53; Jetas Sai Maramreddy 2/24, Sean Price 1/21). Clifton won by six wickets.
Kearsney College 141/8 (Aaron Blackburn 35, Luke Grobbelaar 22; Nicholas Orphanides 2/26, Cameron Oosthuizen 2/35). Peterhouse 144/2 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 69*, Isaac Hildebrand 43; Rivan Moodley 1/19, Keegan de Jager 1/11). Peterhouse won by eight wickets.
Johannesburg Invitational XI 168/7 (Sean Rowles 51, Lincoln Casais 46*; Leo Clarkson 3/35, Reed Merick 2/34). Falcon College 81/10 (Nathan Kaufman 19*, Liam Nel 19; Herman Basson 2/14, Lincoln Casais 2/13). Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 87 runs.
Hellenic Academy 180/8 (Daniel Ellis 43, Ben Lashbrook 38; Simbarashe Rombera 2/20, Joseph Mutumbi 2/26). Prince Edward 107/9 (Mike Takodza 47, Keith Mabena 14; Kian Blignaut 3/21, Alex Landman 2/7). Hellenic Academy won by 73 runs.
St George’s College 99/10 (Munashe Muchatukwa 34, Abhiraj Singh 17; Tadiwanashe Rusere 4/17, Tinodaishe Pasipamire 1/1). Wise Owl 102/5 (Takunda Rakabopa 30, Ambitious Muduma 18; Tanaka Murahwa 2/10, 2/39). Wise Owl won by five wickets.
St John’s College (Harare) 202/4 (Spagnuolo 63, Jetas Sai Maramreddy 26; Ryan Madzima 1/16, Zvikomborero Masango 1/32). Churchill 179/4 (Tatenda Ushe 51*, Zvikomberero Masango 47; Luca Spagnuolo 2/28, Kai Yatras 1/25). St John’s won by 23 runs.
Hellenic Academy 142/5 (Michael Blignaut 75*, Ben Lashbrook 32*; Victor Watama 3/18, Cameron Oosthuizen 1/31). Peterhouse 147/3 (Isaac Allott 38*, Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 30; Kirby Madaramete 1/24, Alex Landman 1/24). Peterhouse won by seven wickets.
Falcon College 177/7 (Reed Merick 114, Liam 21; Takunda Rakabopa 2/16, Pharrell Makunura 2/38). Wise Owl 179/7 (Brendon Senzere 33, Denzel Phiri 32; Leo Clarkson 2/26, Reed Merick 2/31). Wise Owl won by three wickets.
