On Saturday, the third day of 50-over contests at the 2026 Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week, Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) won the toss and chose to bat first on Goldstone’s against Maritzburg College.
Opener Luan Coetzee was in phenomenal form. Facing 146 balls, he struck seven fours and slugged two sixes in a telling contribution of 108 runs.
He also spent 24 overs with Janko Webb, and they added 129 runs for the second wicket. Webb tallied 74 off 61, whacking eight fours and three sixes.
Riley Palmer led the College bowlers, claiming 3/37 in 10 overs, which was outstanding given the stick his fellow bowlers came in for.
At the end of their innings, Paul Roos had totalled 304/5.
Akhil Bharath led Maritzburg College’s run pursuit, slamming 12 fours and two sixes and scoring 109 off 104 balls in a stubborn response to PRG’s big total.
Luka Puddu, batting at five, was the next highest scorer, with 58 off 54. He and Bharath combined for a 112-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Number six batsman, Reece Wilson, weighed in with 42 runs, hitting six fours as College made it close.
Nonetheless, the Stellenbosch school’s bowling unit did the job and dismissed the hosts for 291 after 47.5 overs to score a tight 13-run victory.
In addition to his century, Coetzee also contributed with the ball, claiming 3/44 from eight overs, while Marcus Conradie picked up 2/50.
At the Varsity 1 Oval, Grey College won the toss against Clifton College and continued the day’s popular trend of batting first.
Opener Christian Kind, one of the most reliable top-order batsmen around, walloped eight fours in his innings of 41 off 36.
However, it was River Scott, batting at four, who was the cornerstone of the Grey College innings. He stroked 12 fours, added two maximums, and scored a superb 110 runs off 125 deliveries.
He also partnered with Albert Liebenberg for 100 runs for the fourth wicket before Liebenberg departed for 38.
Scott fell at the start of the 46th over, with the score on 232, but that backfired on Clifton as Daniel Hattingh made his way to the wicket and then tore into the Durban school’s attack, plundering an unbeaten 47 off only 18 balls, six of which he launched over the boundary.
George Gooch was the best of the Clifton bowlers, recording 3/57 in seven overs.
After 50 overs, Grey College reached 302/6.
The Bloemfontein locals then limited Clifton to half of their runs in 37.4 overs, bowling them out for 151 runs to win by the same margin.
Opening bowler Jano Venter captured 4/25 in eight overs, while Daniel Hattingh, after his aggressive knock, inflicted further damage on Clifton by taking 3/26 in 9.4 overs.
Hayden Drieselmann made 37 off 38, hitting seven fours, while Muhammed Malek chipped in with 29 off 40, to give Clifton’s innings some stability, but when Drieselmann fell, the fourth man out with the total on 94, Clifton’s innings lost momentum.
They slipped to 105/7 within four overs, and there was no coming back from that.
At the Beaumont Eston Farmers Club, the CSA Invitational XI put up a solid 287 runs to defend after winning the toss and opting to bat first against Paarl Boys’ High.
Boishaai‘s Andreas Dippenaar ended the CSA side’s innings in the 48th over to prevent them from reaching 300, and was the most successful of the Western Cape side’s bowlers, finishing with 2/26, while Aden Batt continued his fine wicket-taking form with 2/54 from 10 overs.
Bokamoso Bantjie, batting at seven, stuck around for 85 balls, struck seven fours, and top-scored for his team with 67. Ashley Khumalo also contributed a half-century, belting seven fours and two sixes in a speedy 58 off 43 balls.
In reply, Paarl Boys’ High opener AB Jacobs did what he does best, cracking six fours and three sixes in his 67 off 65, while captain Derrick Groenewald, who made his way to the wicket after the fall of the fifth wicket, belted six fours in his 50 off 48. Together, Jacobs and Groenewald added 58 for the sixth wicket.
Reese Petersen, at eight, stuck around for an unbeaten 44 off 42, but after only 40.3 overs, Boys’ High was dismissed for 243 runs.
Four CSA bowlers claimed multiple wickets in their 44-run victory.
Opening bowlers Bokamoso Bantjie and Ripfumelo Mabundu both sent down 10 overs, capturing 3/58 and 2/47 respectively.
Njabula Mila nabbed 3/67 in nine, and Bohlokwan Baartman ended the run chase in his seventh over, picking up 2/33.
On Hannah’s Oval at Michaelhouse, Paarl Gimnasium also followed the trend of batting first after winning the toss against St David’s Marist Inanda.
They scored 177 all out after 42 overs at the crease.
Opening bowler Christopher Emslie led the St David’s attack, bagging 3/27 in seven overs, while Kairav Koobair recorded 3/42 in 10 overs. Hayden Campbell also enjoyed success, claiming 2/15 in six.
Paul Schoeman and Nico Smit were the only Gimmies‘ batsmen to move beyond the teens. Schoeman hammered three fours and a six in an otherwise conservative 29 off 43, while Smit remained undefeated and struck three fours in his 26 off 36.
St David’s had to dig deep in their run chase, but, after 45.3 overs, they reached 180/8 to win by a narrow two-wicket margin.
Number eight batsman, Kyle Butler, carried them to victory, scoring an undefeated 40 off 38, with three fours and three sixes. Top-order batsman Jonah Gruskin was the second-highest scorer in the game, with a quickfire 35 off 31.
In a losing effort, Wian Munnik was excellent. He knocked over 5/16 in 10 overs, making life difficult for the St David’s batsmen, while slowing their scoring rate to a crawl.
Summarised Scorecards:
Paul Roos Gimnasium 304/5 (Luan Coetzee 108, Janko Webb 74, Zander van Niekerk 38, Christian Fouché 30*; Riley Palmer 3/37, Luke Venter 2/79). Maritzburg College 291/10 (Akhil Bharath 109, Luka Pudda 58, Reece Wilson 42, Extras 31; Luan Coetzee 3/44, Marcus Conradie 2/50). Paul Roos won by 13 runs.
Grey College 302/6 (River Scott 110, Daniel Hattingh 47*, Christian Kind 41, Albert Liebenberg 38, Juan Maree 26, Extras 21; George Gooch 3/57). Clifton College 151/10 (Hayden Drieselmann 37, Muhammed Malek 29; Jano Venter 4/25, Daniel Hattingh 3/26). Grey College won by 151 runs.
CSA Invitational XI 287/10 (Bokamoso Bantjie 67, Ashley Khumalo 58, Moeketsi Beya 42, Joshua Thomas 34, Extras 28; Andreas Dippenaar 2/26, Aden Batt 2/54). Paarl Boys’ High 243/10 (AB Jacobs 67, Derrick Groenewald 50, Reese Petersen 44*, Christo Muller 28; Bokamoso Bantjie 3/58, Njabula Mila 3/67, Bohlokwa Baartman 2/33, Ripfumelo Mabundu 2/47). CSA Invitational won by 44 runs.
Paarl Gimnasium 177/10 (Paul Schoeman 29, Nico Smit 26*, Extras 25; Christopher Emslie 3/27, Kairav Koobair 3/42, Hayden Campbell 2/15). St David’s Marist, Inanda 180/8 (Kyle Butler 40*, Jonah Gruskin 35; Wian Munnik 5/16). St David’s won by two wickets.
