DHS runs over Michaelhouse, St Charles triumphs at Hilton
Michaelhouse‘s batting woes again haunted the visitors on the Theobald Oval on Saturday, with Durban High School (DHS) requiring a little over 25 overs to bowl out ‘House for only 87.
Six players made five runs or less, and two more weighed in with seven, which, simply, wasn’t enough. Radhesh Jhilmeet, batting seventh in the order, top-scored for Michaelhouse, striking two fours and a six in his innings of 20 from 31 deliveries.
The only other players to make it into double figures were opener William Russon, with 13, and Victor North, batting sixth, who made 14. The highest partnership, though, belonged to Jhilmeet and Jean-Luc Rey, who added 28 for the seventh wicket.
Taine Havermann blitzed the Michaelhouse top order, removing Ben Heuer, Graydon Leslie, and Michael Blignaut, to capture 3/18 from six overs. His fellow speedster, Bayanda Majola, knocked over 2/12 in six. Then, Josh Morley got rid of the ‘House tail, snaring 3/6 in just 2.4 overs.
Facing a low total, School opted to go on the attack. They were rewarded with a nine-wicket victory in less than 10 overs.
They lost Ethan Cooper for eight, bowled by Luke Mitchell, with 17 runs on the board, but that was the sole success enjoyed by the visiting team’s bowlers.
Ismaeel Omar and Josh van Biljon powered DHS to victory adding 74 runs in only seven overs, with Van Biljon, especially, playing an unusually aggressive knock. He blasted two sixes and nine fours in an unbeaten 56 from only 30 balls, while Omar continued his good run of form with 23 not out from 18 deliveries, with four fours.
Mitchell picked up 1/24 from three. Unfortunately, for Michaelhouse, apart from one over from Ben Heuer, which went for two runs, none of the other bowlers went for less than eight an over.
It was all over in a flash.
Hilton College vs St Charles College
Much like their great rivals, Hilton College has been searching for batting consistency in 2025. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t find it on Saturday when they hosted St Charles College on the Hart-Davis Oval. Perhaps because they recognised Hilton’s batting struggles, Saints opted to bowl first after winning the toss.
After losing James Ogilby early on, though, Hilton appeared to be on course for a decent total when Alex Pitman and Simon Steyn put on 29 for the second wicket, but the introduction of Ryan Clarke brought an end to Pitman’s innings when he trapped him LBW for 14 with the total on 43.
That triggered a collapse, with Hilton crashing from 41/1 to 45/5. Clarke got rid of Simon Steyn and Ben Hockly, while Caleb Sharp dismissed Jayden Roux.
There was some fight, though, from Stewart Falconer and Luke Wilson, who arrested the slide with a 22-run partnership. Then, Wilson and David Hill added 29 for the seventh wicket before Hill was bowled by Rowen Rajah for 19. Wilson followed six runs later, also out for 19, Hilton’s joint-highest scorer, leaving the hosts on 102/9.
Kaiyuran Naidoo grabbed the last three wickets to fall, also removing Benoit Rey and Sechaba Gude, both for ducks, to go along with Wilson’s dismissal, as Hilton fell for 112.
Naidoo finished with 3/12 from 5.4 overs, Clarke claimed 3/14, Caleb Sharp 2/22, and Rowen Rajah 2/41.
Defending a small total, Hilton picked up an early wicket, with Alex Pitman catching Thando Zama for four off the bowling of Sechaba Gude.
Keegan Veermaak and the captain, Rico Honiball, who opened the innings with Zama, advanced the total to 31 before Gude struck again, having Vermaark caught by Jayden Roux for nine.
Caleb Sharp and the skipper, Honiball, partnered for 32 runs before David Hill got rid of Sharp for 10, with Jayden Roux, again, pouching the catch. Five runs later, Saints were reduced to 68/4 when that same combination struck to send Ryan Clarke on his way.
When Connor Simpson was dismissed by Luke Campbell, with Roux recording a fourth catch, the visitors were in a slightly uncomfortable position, on 73/5, but Rico Honiball and Rowen Rajah proceeded to seize control of the contest.
They added an unbeaten 41 to see St Charles to victory after 24.5 overs. Honiball took 59 balls and struck a six and a four in an unbeaten 50, while Rajah upped the run rate with a quickfire 29 from 19, which included three fours and six.
Opening bowler, Sechaba Gude, claimed 2/23 in five overs, while David Hill picked up 2/33 in 5.5 with his leg spin. Luke Campbell‘s off-spin brought him 1/29 in seven.
Summarised scorecards
Michaelhouse 87/10 (Radhesh Jhilmeet 20, Ethan Jenkins 3/6, Taine Havermann 3/18, Bayanda Majola 2/12); Durban High School 91/1 (Josh van Biljon 56*, Ismaeel Omar 23*). DHS won by 9 wickets.
Hilton College 112/10 (Luke Wilson 19, David Hill 19, Kaiyuran Naidoo 3/12, Ryan Clarke 3/14, Caleb Sharp 2/22, Rowen Rajah 2/41); St Charles College 114/5 (Rico Honiball 50*, Rowen Rajah 29*, Sechaba Gude 2/23, David Hill 2/33). St Charles won by 5 wickets.
