Michaelhouse made a loud statement on the Roy Gathorne Oval on Saturday, outplaying an in-form Northwood side by eight wickets in a limited-overs match, thanks to an extraordinary innings from their captain, Graydon Leslie.
Needing 148 to win, House bounded to victory in only 25.2 overs, with Leslie unbeaten on 103 from just 82 balls, which included 12 fours and two sixes.
Only 46 runs of Michaelhouse’s 149/2 came from other sources, including 24 not out from Rex Wardlaw, who shared an unbroken 101-run stand with Leslie for the third wicket.
Ryan van Zyl picked up 2/23 from six overs, but the other Knights‘ bowlers found no success in the face of Leslie’s onslaught.
Sent in to bat, Northwood had mustered only 147 all out. Their struggles began early, with Josh Nicholson dismissing Ross McGlashan and David de Bruyn, and Ben Heuer removing Nick Slater inside the first four overs to leave the visitors wobbling on 13/3.
Ryan Willis and Luc Boyall provided some stability, adding 59 for the fourth wicket, but that was as good as it got for Northwood.
Willis made 27, while Boyall went on to score 32. He was the fifth man out in the 24th over, which left the Knights on 92/5. With the following ball, they were 92/6, with Preston Greene capturing two wickets in successive balls.
He went on to claim a decisive 3/31 from nine overs, while Josh Nicholson, who struck twice early, added the wicket of Hamza Amla to return 3/23 from six.
Josh Mills defied Michaelhouse with the innings’ top score of 38, hitting four fours in his 53-ball stay, but he was the second-last man out, and five balls later Northwood was all out for 147.
Glenwood High vs Durban High School
In a low-scoring game on Dixon’s Field, Glenwood High followed up a win over Clifton College last weekend with a hard-fought three-wicket defeat of Durban High School (DHS), who fielded a stayers’ side.
The home side’s decision to bat first turned out to be a good one, with DHS struggling mightily at the crease. Opening batsman Sulaiman Jadwat top-scored with a patient 30 from 94 balls, but, crucially, he was run out, which left the Horseflies on a laboured 79/7 in the 33rd over.
They lasted only 4.2 overs more before being dismissed for 94. Shirav Reddy‘s modest 14 was the second-highest score by a DHS batsman, but 21 extras helped a little.
All six bowlers employed by Glenwood enjoyed wicket-taking success. Esihle Gasa was particularly impressive, sending down 10 overs and snaring a miserly 2/14. Kreesan Pillai matched that return, but from eight overs, and Qhamani Sikutshwa nabbed 2/17 in 3.5 overs.
Glenwood’s batsmen didn’t fare much better than their DHS counterparts at the crease. However, Sebastian Oertel, a consistent performer, battled hard and struck seven fours in a circumspect 36 not out from 70 balls to see the hosts to victory in the 29th over, with a 26-run boost from extras.
Charles Nkwanyana, with 11, Esihle Gasa, with 10, and Kamo Moloto, with nine, didn’t make many runs, but each of those small contributions proved to be vital in Glenwood’s win.
Eben Peters caused the home side some flutters, snatching three late wickets, which reduced them from 78/4 to 89/7, and picked up 3/10 from 4.2 overs, but his successes had come too late for DHS.
Bonga Maphanga captured 2/30 from eight overs, and Matt Potgieter took 1/16 from four, but DHS’s batting failures cost them.
Summarised Scorecards:
Northwood 147/10 (Josh Mills 38, Luc Boyall 32, Ryan Willis 27; Josh Nicholson 3/23, Preston Greene 3/31, Ben Heuer 2/27); Michaelhouse 149/2 (Graydon Leslie 103*, Rex Wardlaw 24*; Ryan van Zyl 2/23). Michaelhouse won by eight wickets.
Durban High School 94/10 (Sulaiman Jadwat 30, Extras 21; Esihle Gasa 2/14, Kreesan Pillai 2/14, Qhamani Sikutshwa 2/17); Glenwood High 97/7 (Sebastian Oertel 36*, Extras 26; Eben Peters 3/10, Bonga Maphanga 2/30). Glenwood High won by three wickets.
