Kearsney College openers, Asher Hollister and Rivaan Moodley, set up their side for victory over Clifton College at the Riverside Sports Club on Saturday, sharing a 169-run first-wicket partnership in 33.2 overs to lay the foundation for a challenging total.
Eventually, Muhammed Malek ended the stand, bowling Moodley for 73. He had faced 92 balls and struck seven fours and a six. Hollister, however, was far from done.
He and Gary Verbaan added 65 from only 57 balls, taking the total to 234 before Hollister was caught by Shiraz Perumal off the bowling of Keegan Watson for a superb 131 from 141 balls, 15 of which he sent to the boundary, and another over long on for six.
Verbaan and Aaron Blackburn kept the momentum going, tacking on 33 from 21 deliveries before Verbaan departed for 32 from 37 balls, which included one four and two sixes.
Matt van Zyl didn’t last long, run out in the 49th over for seven, but Aaron Blackburn remained until the end, finishing with 25 not out as Kearsney totalled a sturdy 297/4.
Keegan Watson, who removed the centurion, Asher Hollister, was the best of the Clifton bowlers, returning 1/37 from nine overs.
Unfortunately for the home side, they managed nowhere near the start that Kearsney enjoyed, with Ryan Staats producing a peach of a delivery to bowl Ethan Drieselmann for a single in the third over.
Yusuf Ahmed and Daniyaal Klinck made 32 for the second wicket before Ahmed fell in the 12th over for 17. His innings included four fours.
Klinck hit the same number of fours and a six before Ryan Staats ran him out for 26.
Muhammed Malek offered stiff resistance, finding the boundary seven times before falling to the left-arm wrist spin of Matthew Gorrie for 36. That left Clifton in a spot of bother on 91/5 in the 23rd over.
Caleb Naicker and Shiraz Perumal then added 39 for the sixth wicket, which proved to be the best partnership of Clifton’s innings. Unfortunately for the home side, that didn’t measure up to Kearsney’s first two partnerships.
Nonetheless, Perumal batted well for 48, hitting four fours and two sixes. However, when he fell in the 36th over, that started the collapse that brought the match to an end, with four wickets going down for six runs in four overs.
Kearsney’s spinners, Matthew Gorrie and Rivaan Moodley, combined for five wickets and destroyed the Clifton lower order.
Gorrie snared 3/39 in nine overs, while Moodley bagged 2/31 from 7.5 overs, and Clifton’s innings came to an end in the 40th over, all out for 162, leaving Kearsney with an emphatic 135-run victory.
Durban High School vs Maritzburg College
On the Theobald Oval, Durban High School (DHS) and Maritzburg College engaged in an entertaining, high-scoring 50-over clash, with DHS setting College 280 to win after putting up 279/7.
For the umpteenth time over the past three seasons, Ismaeel Omar and Josh van Biljon produced a solid partnership, adding 48 for the third wicket. Only one other partnership bettered that, with Shaun Stumke and Bonga Maphanga adding 66 off 62 balls for the sixth wicket.
Stumke top-scored, blasting eight fours and three sixes in his 71 from 58 balls, while Omar tallied 63 from 103 deliveries. Van Biljon’s contribution was 31, while Bonga Maphanga, with 27, and Matt Potgieter, with an unbeaten 29 from just 20 deliveries, ensured the home side finished strongly.
Left-arm spinner, Riley Palmer, picked up 2/32 from eight overs. Akhil Bharath went for 45 from his eight, but removed three batsmen, and Reece Willson claimed two wickets, but conceded 65 runs from his 10 overs.
Maritzburg College needed to bat at 5.6 runs per over to win. If they were to challenge the staunch DHS total, they needed to make a good start. They got it from Akhil Bharath and Kyle de Bruyn, who posted 51 before Bharath fell for 22 in the 12th over.
De Bruyn and Dax Jursa then shared the best stand of the match, advancing the total by 103 runs from just 99 balls. Then Maphanga bowled Jursa for 35.
De Bruyn followed two overs later, run out by Ismaeel Omar, for 92. He had faced 100 balls, stroking 11 fours and three sixes. When Luka Puddu followed shortly after, College was on 168/4 after 32 overs, and the contest was delicately poised.
Luan van der Merwe and Reece Willson ensured the visitors stayed in the game with an 84-run stand from 81 balls. Again, however, an important innings ended with a batsman being run out. This time, Potgieter got rid of Willson for 34. Less than five overs remained, and College needed 28 to win.
When Luke Venter departed for one, it was down to 20 runs needed from 18 balls. Luan van der Merwe was still at the crease, however, but James Pembridge had no time to get his eye in.
The visitors took 10 off the 48th over, which included a critical four off the bat of Van der Merwe, to draw closer to the finish line. Then, AC Buys surrendered only five runs from the 49th over.
Maritzburg College needed five to win from six balls, with four wickets in hand. Bonga Maphanga, who had captured 2/33 from nine overs, took the ball for DHS. Pembridge was on strike.
Dot ball. Then three to Pembridge. That brought Van der Merwe on strike, and he responded by hitting a four to win the match for College with three balls to spare. He was not out on a composed 74 from 61 balls, with eight fours and a six.
Mpahanga finished with 2/40 from 9.3 overs, but Sharav Reddy was the tidiest and most successful of the DHS bowlers, snaring 3/39 from 10 overs.
Summarised Scorecards:
Kearsney College 297/4 (Asher Hollister 131, Rivaan Moodley 73, Gary Verbaan 32, Aaron Blackburn 25*; Keegan Watson 1/37, Muhammed Malek 1/42); Clifton College 162/10 (Shiraz Perumal 48, Muhammed Malek 36, Daniyaal Klinck 26; Matthew Gorrie 3/39, Rivaan Moodley 2/31). Kearsney College won by 135 runs.
Durban High School 279/7 (Shaun Stumpke 71, Ismaeel Omar 63, Josh van Biljon 31, Matt Potgieter 29*, Bonga Maphanga 27; Akhil Bharath 3/45, Riley Palmer 2/32, Reece Willson 2/65); Maritzburg College 282/6 (Kyle de Bruyn 92, Luan van der Merwe 74*, Dax Jursa 35, Reece Willson 34, Akhil Bharath 22; Sharav Reddy 3/39, Bonga Maphanga 2/40). Maritzburg College won by four wickets.
