The Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week wrapped up with T20 matches on Sunday, and St John’s College captain, Nkosana Sibiya, not the biggest guy, made the biggest impression by going big 14 times in a swashbuckling and match-winning knock against Clifton College on Barns’ Field at Maritzburg College.
Sibiya won the toss and opted to field, but it was questionable whether or not that was a good decision when Clifton responded with 157/8 in their 20 overs. The St John’s skipper then emphatically ensured his decision was on the money.
Hayden Drieselmann, Clifton’s most consistent batsman during the four days of competition, led the Durban side’s batting effort, striking eight fours and a six in his 45 off only 28 deliveries. Three others – Veer Ramouthar (29), Jack Snaith (23), and Daniel Rea (20) – added useful scores.
Clifton’s best partnership, between Drieselmann and Ramouthar for the third wicket, produced 54 runs in only 5.1 overs.
Juan de Villiers was St John’s best bowler, capturing 3/23 from his four overs, while Jared Gilmour claimed 2/33.
St John’s needed to bat at 7.9 runs per over to win. Instead, they raced along at almost 13 per over, with Sibiya and his opening partner, Luke Fry, driving coach Bongani Ntini‘s boys to an astonishing 10-wicket win in only 12.2 overs.
Fry chipped in with a run-a-ball 29, hitting four fours. Skosana, at the other end, tore into the Clifton attack. In an extraordinary 45 balls, he smashed 14 sixes, five fours, and finished unbeaten on 116.
George Gooch, with 0/18 in three overs, was the only Clifton bowler to go for less than 10 runs per over. Keegan Watson, with 0/38 in 3.2 overs, was the next best.
Durban High School (DHS) vs St David’s Marist Inanda
At Howick High, matters were far tighter, but St David’s Marist Inanda eventually got the better of Durban High School (DHS), coming away with a hard-fought 10-run victory.
The toss favoured St David’s captain Sohail Seonath, and he then made a key contribution at the crease. Before he could truly get after the DHS bowling, however, he saw Hayden Campbell depart for four and Jonah Gruskin for a duck, both victims of Joshua Morley‘s darting deliveries.
That left the Johannesburg boys on 18/2 in the fourth over. They didn’t lose another wicket.
Seonath and Khutso Sekgobela combined for an unbroken third-wicket stand of 136 off 101 balls to see their side to 154/2.
The skipper scored at a run a ball, finishing with 63 not out, which included eight fours and a six. Sekgobela, meanwhile, was more aggressive, clubbing five fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 71 off only 50 balls.
Morley, the lone wicket-taker, returned 2/19 from three overs.
DHS, in reply, had four players make at least 20, but none progressed beyond the 35 scored by Sulaimaan Jadwat before he was run out.
Josh van Biljon made a bright start, charging to 20 off only 11 balls, three of which he dispatched for four and another for six, but Kyle Butler prevented any further damage when he bowled the DHS captain in the third over.
Mo Asmal cracked two sixes in his 24 off 19 and shared a 43-run partnership with Sulaimaan Jadwat for the third wicket. Jeremiah Josephs also faced 19 balls. He also hit two sixes and a four, but made two more runs, contributing 26.
Butler finished with 2/23 from four, while Christopher Emslie, who accounted for the dangerous Ismaeel Omar, took 2/31 in his four as St David’s did just enough to hold off DHS. After 20 overs, the Horseflies totalled 144/8.
Kearsney College vs Cornwall Hill College
Kearsney College, after upsetting Affies on Saturday, took down another Pretoria school on Sunday, ending Cornwall Hill College‘s attempt to go four from four with a 34-run victory on the Varsity 2 Oval at UKZN.
Cornwall won the toss and asked Kearsney to bat. Then, in the first over, they effected a run out, which left opening batsman, Asher Hollister, to partner his captain, Keegan de Jager, the hero of their win over Affies. Together, they took control, adding 83 runs in only 56 balls.
Hollister exited in the 11th over, caught by Zander Davel off Rourke de Lange, for 45. He had faced only 26 balls, smashing three fours and four sixes. De Jager went on to the innings’ top score of 64, hitting seven fours and three sixes in a 48-ball stay.
Besides Hollister and De Jager, however, only Rivan Moodley, with 11 not out, made it beyond single figures as Kearsney’s innings ended on 144/7.
Phalguna Pakala, the seventh bowler brought into the Cornwall Hill attack, snapped up 2/7 in two overs, while Kirill Broughton went for nine an over, but returned 2/36 from his four.
In reply, Cornwall Hill made a solid start, with Keagan van Wyk and Rourke de Lange putting on 25 for the first wicket inside four overs before De Lange fell victim to Blake Pugh.
Van Wyk stuck around, sending five deliveries to the boundary in his 27 off 23 balls before becoming the fourth wicket to go down, which left Cornwall Hill on 54/4 in the eighth over, and that soon became 66/8 in the 12th over as Matthew Gorrie removed three batsmen.
Tumisho Lekaote, batting at seven, stood strong, hitting a couple of fours and a six in the innings’ highest score of 34 off 33 balls. He was, however, the last batsman to lose his wicket, one of two players run out, with Cornwall Hill dismissed for 110 in the last over.
Gorrie’s decisive spell brought him 3/18 from four overs, while Hayden Lotter picked up 2/10 in one over. Rivan Moodley put Cornwall Hill under pressure with a tidy 1/15 in four.
Glenwood High vs Tusker Invitation XI
In a tight contest at the Beaumont Eston Farmers Club, the Tuskers Invitation side chased down Glenwood High‘s 102/7 to win by three wickets with eight balls to spare.
Kreesan Pillai‘s decision to bat first backfired as the Tuskers’ bowlers ripped through the Glenwood top order, reducing the Durban school to 29/6 in the ninth over. At last, though, Sebastian Oertel and Neel Patel stopped the onslaught after six batsmen had exited for single-figure scores.
They added 63 off 63 balls before Oertel’s resistance ended. He top-scored with 37 from 42 deliveries. Patel, meanwhile, finished with 29 not out as Glenwood tallied 102/7.
The Tuskers’ opening bowlers, Asanda Mhlongo and Sphamandla Dzanibe, performed superbly, with Mhlongo knocking over 3/22 in four and Dzanibe capturing 2/20 in his four. Lwazi Mkhize, the first change bowler, did his job, bagging 2/8 in three.
Chasing a modest total, the Tuskers’ opening batsmen, Daniel Nadasan and Kwanele Nqayi, gave their side a good start, sharing a 46-run partnership in 7.1 overs before Nqayi fell for 19, caught by Qhamani Sikuthshwa off Kamo Moloto.
Nadasan followed in the tenth over, bowled by Moloto for 21, which left the Tuskers on 58/2, with 63 balls to score 45 runs. The run chase didn’t go smoothly. From 58/1, they stumbled to 74/6 in the 16th over as Glenwood clamped down on the Tuskers’ batting efforts.
Caleb Thomas, however, held down one end and went on to finish with a vital 23 not out off 24 balls, while he watched five partners come and go in quick succession at the other end.
Moloto and Esihle Gasa caused the chaos, with Moloto claiming 3/20 in 3.4 overs, while Gasa bowled exceptionally well, snaring 3/9 in four overs.
Glenwood’s bowlers didn’t have enough runs to defend, however, especially not after the Tuskers’ innings started well, and the composite crew made it across the line after a hiccup or two.
Scorecards
Clifton College 157/8 (Hayden Drieselmann 45, Veer Ramouthar 29, Jack Snaith 23, Daniel Rea 20, Juan de Villiers 3/23, Jared Gilmour 2/33); St John’s College 158/0 after 12.2 overs (Nkosana Sibiya 116*, Luke Fry 29*). St John’s College won by 10 wickets.
St David’s Marist Inanda 154/2 (Khutso Sekgobela 71*, Sohail Seonath 63*, Joshua Morley 2/19); Durban High School 144/8 (Suliamaan Jadwat 35, Jeremiah Josephs 26, Mo Asmal 24, Josh van Biljon 20; Kyle Butler 2/23, Christopher Emslie 2/31). St David’s Marist Inanda won by 10 runs.
Kearsney College 144/7 (Keegan de Jager 64, Asher Hollister 45; Phalguna Pakala 2/7, Kirill Broughton 2/36); Cornwall Hill College 110/10 (Tumisho Lekaote 34, Keagan van Wyk 27; Matthew Gorrie 3/18, Hayden Lotter 2/10). Kearsney College won by 34 runs.
Glenwood High 102/7 (Sebastian Oertel 37, Neel Patel 29*; Asanda Mhlongo 3/22, Lwazi Mkhize 2/8, Sphamandla Dzanibe 2/20); Tuskers Invitation 104/7 after 18.4 overs (Caleb Thomas 23*, Daniel Nadasan 21; Esihle Gasa 3/9, Kamo Moloto 3/20). Tuskers Invitation won by three wickets.
