If there’s a team that has put its hand up as a serious Wildeklawer Noord-Suid T20 title challenger, it’s Hoërskool Waterkloof.
At the recent Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week, Klofies were the lone side to compile a perfect record of four wins in four matches. Besides that fact, their wins were all emphatic.
They opened with a 104-run victory over Durban High School (DHS) after dismissing the local side for only 119. AJ de Villiers led the way for Klofies with 74 runs.
In their second match, they outplayed Paarl Gimnasium by 180 runs, with De Villiers again top-scoring with 76 before Gimmies were bowled out for only 88.
Day three brought a showdown against Northwood, who had beaten King Edward VII (KES) and Jeppe, the national T20 champion, in their first two matches. Again, it wasn’t close, with Waterkloof surging to a 117-run win. This time, captain Franco Schmidt was the leading scorer, with an unbeaten 100, but De Villiers was prominent again, scoring 71.
Waterkloof endured a tougher workout from Hilton College in their last outing, a T20, but they, nonetheless, won comfortably by 28 runs. They dismissed Hilton for 125 after posting 153/8, with Vorster De Villiers making 58, and De Villiers was again the second-leading scorer with 25.
De Villiers was named the Player of the Festival. He’s made a habit of collecting similar accolades.
While the Klofies’ opener was outstanding during the Michaelmas Week, he did something even more eye-opening at the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, making an unbeaten 217 against Hoërskool Noordheuwel. Juan Swart weighed in with 206, and the pair shared a stunning partnership of 376 for the second wicket in only 51 overs.
They were named the joint winners of the Player of the Festival.
In February, Klofies also proved their excellence in the 20-over game when they won the Clifton T20 Tournament, beating a stacked field of sides, including KZN’s finest.
Besides that, Waterkloof is the defending Wildeklawer T20 champion. They powered their way to the title last year, outplaying Grey College by 125 runs in the final. In that match, captain Riley Miller top-scored with 49 as his side posted 214/5. As usual, AJ de Villiers made his presence felt, scoring 48.
Grey College was subsequently bowled out for 89.
The point of showing off Waterkloof’s successes over the past year is to demonstrate their competitiveness at the highest level in all forms of the game. It’s also to show how much AJ de Villiers has been a cornerstone of those successes.
Apart from the previously mentioned awards, he was also the Player of the Tournament at the Wildeklawer T20 last year. He represented the Titans U17 side in 2025 and was also the Batsman of the Tournament at the Mozzie Week.
This goes to show that De Villiers has regularly demonstrated the enviable ability to rise to the occasion when the challenges are biggest. He’ll be a key player for Klofies in their defence of the Wildeklawer T20 title. He won’t, though, have to do it alone, and that makes coach Cobus Pienaar‘s side a very dangerous outfit.
