Blake Pugh and Franco Schmidt were outstanding with the ball and bat, helping Kearsney College and Hoërskool Waterkloof to victories over Affies and Northwood in their Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week fixtures on Saturday.
Pugh played a central role as Kearsney brought cheer to the local fans with a thrilling two-wicket win over Affies on Barns’ Field, at Maritzburg College.
The men from Gauteng won the toss, chose to bat first, but managed only 115 runs in 21 overs. Kearsney stumbled a few times in their run chase, falling to 80/8 after 27 overs, but they stayed calm and reached 119/8 in 41.3 overs to claim victory.
Pugh hobbled Affies’ batting efforts by dismissing four of the top six in the batting order. He accounted for JP Botha (35), AJ Morkel (18), Daniel Murray (0), and also claimed the prized wicket of Vihan Pretorius for a duck. His invaluable return was 4/18 in six overs.
His new ball partner, Litha Gonya, was expensive, but claimed a brace of wickets, while Hayden Lotte nabbed 2/11, and Sebastian de Brogito 2/26.
Kearsney’s skipper, Keegan de Jager, batting at four, commandeered the chase with a patient unbeaten 55 from 97 balls, stroking eight fours. He watched a procession of wickets at the other end but held his nerve to steer Kearsney to a morale-boosting win.
Waterkloof vs Northwood
Franco Schmidt slashed an undefeated century to set Waterkloof up for an impressive 117-run win over high-flying Northwood at the Collegians Club.
Schmidt, the Waterkloof captain, took the challenge head-on after Northwood won the toss and chose to bowl first. He struck an unbeaten 100 from 85 balls to lead Klofies to a strong 298/6 in 50 overs. Then his bowlers bundled out Northwood for 181 in 48.3 overs.
Schmidt capitalised on the good work done by opening batsman, AJ de Villiers, who held the innings together with 71 from 96 balls. De Villiers stood tall and faced the majority of the strike in his partnerships with Wian du Plessis (3), Johan Feuth (20), and Rico van der Walt (8).
The Waterkloof skipper, who shared a brief 36-run fourth-wicket partnership with De Villiers, took control of the match after the opener exited.
Middle-order batsman Luc Boyall scored a resolute 58 from 77 balls in Northwood’s reply, but the Knights needed further telling contributions, and they didn’t get them.
The KZN side was kept in check by some brilliant bowling from Christiaan Smit, who claimed 4/31 in 10 overs, while Johan Feuth supported him well, snapping up 3/27 in 7.3 overs.
King Edward VII vs Hilton
Troy Gordon produced a sensational all-round performance to inspire King Edward VII (KES) to a 69-run win over Hilton College on the Hart-Davis Oval.
Matthew Bromley, the KES captain, won the toss, elected to bat first, and his side totalled 202/8 in their 50 overs before bowling out Hilton for 133 in 45.1 overs.
Gordon scored a priceless 51 from 89 balls that stabilised things for the visitors after they lost their openers for low scores. He proceeded to share a match-winning 108-run third-wicket partnership with Urav Mukhija (57).
Gordon’s second important act in the match was to secure an outstanding five-wicket haul to deny Hilton any hope of victory.
He was all but unplayable, dislodging five batsmen for only 10 runs in 7.1 overs, leaving him with a miserly economy rate of 1.4 runs an over.
Pretoria Boys High vs Glenwood
Euan Gottfried claimed four wickets to steer Pretoria Boys High (PBHS) to a resounding 128-run win over Glenwood at Lynwood.
Boys High won the toss, elected to bat first, and scored 249/9 in 50 overs. Then they produced a splendid bowling and fielding performance to dismiss Glenwood for 121 runs in 31.1 overs.
A solid team effort helped PBHS set Glenwood a challenging run chase. Justin Basdeo and Joshua Hall led the scoring with 41 runs apiece, while Louis Kruyshaar and Victor Louw chipped in with 35 runs each as they mounted a total that proved to be beyond Glenwood.
However, the star for Boys High was Gottfried, who captured 4/22 in eight overs to ruin Glenwood’s run chase. He enjoyed outstanding support from Basdeo, who chipped in with 3/27 runs from 5.1 overs.
Jonah Chaita top-scored for Glenwood with a steady 49 from 60 balls. Unfortunately for the Durban school, he lacked the support he needed to push his side close to Pretoria Boys High’s total.
St Charles vs St Alban’s
Christiaan Visagé and Thomas Hall scored brilliant half-centuries to help St Alban’s clinch a tight two-wicket win over St Charles College on the SCC Oval at St Charles.
St Charles posted 277/7 from their 50 overs after being told to bat first. St Alban’s, then, worked their way to 278/8 in 49.4 overs to win a nail-biter with only two balls to spare.
Kyle Earle and Will Hewitt gave the Pretoria side the edge with the ball, claiming a combined four wickets between them to deny St Charles momentum, while Tristan Naidoo, Luke Ward, and Tiashin Naidoo chipped in with a wicket each.
When the visitors batted, Thomas Hall gave their innings stability in the middle with a well-played 74 from 100 balls. However, the star of the show was Christiaan Visagé, with whom he shared a 94-run sixth-wicket partnership.
Visagie powered St Alban’s to victory with a brisk and vital 93 from 82 balls.
Summarised Scorecards
Affies 115/10 (JP Botha 35, Zian Labuschagne 26; Blake Pugh 4/18, Hayden Lotte 2/11, Sebastian De Broglio 2/26). Kearsney College 119/8 (Keegan de Jager 55*, Sebastian de Brogito 15; Vihan Pretorius 4/19, Nico Loggenberg 2/20). Kearsney won by two wickets.
Waterkloof 298/6 (Franco Schmidt 100*, AJ de Villiers 71; Cameron White 2/47, Max Nicholson 2/37). Northwood 181/10 (Luc Boyall 58, Josh Mills 23; Christiaan Smit 4/31, Johan Feuth 3/27). Waterkloof won by 117 runs.
King Edward VII 202/8 (Urav Mukhija 57, Troy Gordon 51; Sechaba Gude 2/19, Obakeng Motsepa 2/31). Hilton College 133/10 (Luke Wilson 44, Robert Burman 33; Troy Gordon 5/10, Matthew de Jong 1/10). King Edward VII won by 69 runs.
Pretoria Boys High 249/9 (Justin Basdeo 41*, Joshua Hall 41; Gqamane Sikhutshwa 2/32, Kreesan Pillai 2/40). Glenwood 121/10 (Jonah Chaita 49, Jayden Pillay 15; Euan Gottfried 4/22, Justin Basdeo 3/27). Pretoria Boys High won by 128 runs.
St Charles College 277/7 (Ryan Clarke 88, Caleb Sharp 48; Will Hewitt 2/32, Kyle Earle 2/53). St Alban’s College 278/8 (Christiaan Visagé 93, Thomas Hall 74; Connor Vogt 2/15, Ryan Clarke 2/46). St Alban’s won by two wickets.
