Gary Verbaan scored a resolute unbeaten 40 runs, while Litha Gonya gave little away with the ball; unfortunately, for the Botha’s Hill boys, those efforts were not enough to land Kearsney College the title at the St John’s Rams T20 Challenge in Harare on Sunday.
The men from KZN, who took on Peterhouse in the final, succumbed to a seven-wicket loss on the Fisher Field at St John’s College.
Kearsney, who had won the tournament in 2023, had few problems fending off the other teams, but Peterhouse was their kryptonite.
Their clash in the title game was the second time they met in the competition. In the group stage, the Marondera school marched to an eight-wicket win.
Captain Keegan de Jager and his men went into the final with a point to prove. But it was not to be.
Peterhouse won the toss, elected to bowl first, and limited Kearsney to 150/6 from their 20 overs. Then, in a match that closely resembled their win over Kearsney in their group game, they took only 17.5 overs to canter to 151/3 to lay claim to the trophy.
“We got a competitive score of 150, probably about 20 short of where we wanted to be ideally. But they bowled really well in their middle overs, and their first two overs in the powerplay were good,” said Kearsney coach Matt Savage.
“We just didn’t quite get away. We only managed 150, and we knew he had to bowl and field well. I thought we did bowl pretty well, but dropped two or three really important catches, which ultimately cost us.”
Verbaan arrived at the crease just after the powerplay. Kearsney was on 49/2 thanks to Asher Hollister’s brisk 23-ball 37, which included four fours and two sixes. After Kearsney lost Luke Grobbelaar in the second over, Hollister had taken charge. De Jager kept the other end intact with a patient 19 off 27 deliveries, while Hollister counterattacked.
When Verbaan visited the crease, he scored at a strike rate above 100 and locked down one end while his fellow batsmen tried to push the game forward. He was undefeated on 40 off 37 balls when Kearsney’s innings finished on 150/6.
They might have been able to push the total to a more competitive level had Verbaan been able to construct an innings that resembled Ndiriwashe Munatsire’s knock for Peterhouse.
The opener sank his teeth into the task of scoring at just above 7.5 runs per over, hitting four fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 51-ball stay that brought him 68 runs. His presence at the crease allowed Isaac Elliot (25), Tyler Chapman (32), and Victor Watama (11*) to take risks.
The Peterhouse batsmen got to all of Kearsney’s bowlers, except for Litha Gonya, who sent down three overs, one of them a maiden, and conceded only 11 runs. He also bowled 11 dot balls and removed opener Isaac Hildebrand for nine.
Ryan Staats was the only other wicket-taker for Kearsney, claiming 1/31 in 2.5 overs.
The most successful bowler of the match was Peterhouse’s Callum Scott-Elliot, who knocked over 2/23 runs in four overs. Jordan Gakanje, Cameron Oosthuizen, and Victor Watama picked up a wicket each for the winners.
“I was really happy with the boys’ progress throughout the festival. They played some great cricket,” Savage reflected after his side’s runner-up finish.
Summarised Scorecards
Kearsney 150/6 (Gary Verbaan 40*, Asher Hollister 37; Callum Scott-Elliot 2/23, Victor Watama 1/26). Peterhouse 151/3 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 68*, Tyler Chapman 32; Litha Gonya 1/11, Ryan Staats 1/31). Peterhouse won by seven wickets.
Johannesburg Invitational XI 143/8 (Lincoln Casais 45, Herman Basson 27; Ryan Staats 2/37, Matthew Rice 1/2). Kearsney 147/3 (Asher Hollister 86*, Keegan de Jager 35; Tapiwa Chikwava 2/38, Matthew de Jong 1/17). Kearsney won by seven wickets.
Clifton 81/10 (Muhammed Malek 26, Veer Ramouthar 21; Callum Scott-Elliot 4/16, Jordan Gakanje 2/17). Peterhouse 82/1 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 34*, Isaac Elliot 25*; Blake Johnson 1/21, Caleb Naiker 0/10). Peterhouse won by nine wickets.
Wise Owl 67/8 (Pharrell Makunura 22*, Delroy Nzuma 15; Cameron Oosthuizen 3/10, Victor Watama 2/9). Peterhouse 68/0 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 46*, Isaac Hikdebrand 19*; Pharrell Makunura 0/10, Panashe Mazai 0/14). Peterhouse won by 10 wickets.
St John’s 175/5 (Riley Ettlin 71, James Manning 59*; Blake Pugh 2/17, Litha Gonya 2/28). Kearsney 176/6 (Asher Hollister 60, Aaron Blackburn 35*; Sean Price 1/21, Jetas Sai Maramreddy 1/31). Kearsney won by four wickets.
Falcon College 161/7 (Joshua Engelbrecht 55, Imbirai Guzha 33; Alex Landman 3/42, Kirby Madaramete 1/21). Hellenic Academy 165/6 (Kian Blignaut 51, Michael Blignaut 30; Leo Clarkson 2/21, Liam Nel 2/30). Hellenic Academy won by four wickets.
St George’s College 122/9 (Allen Masiya 28, Jayden Petersen 28; Tadiwanashe Mushira 3/11, Gilbert Magwaza 1/18). Churchill 123/8 (Ricardo Msipa 50*, Simbarashe Manzou 22; Ethan Zhou 4/16, Jayden Petersen 1/27). Churchill won by two wickets.
Prince Edward 153/4 (Felix Munda 69, Donell Madongo 28*; Joshua Armstrong 1/21, Charles Thatha 1/20). Christian Brothers College 125/7 (Pollock Mubobo 33*, Ross Schmahl 19; Shayne Garwe 3/21, Donell Madongo 1/14). Prince Edward won by 28 runs.
