St John’s returns home from Sri Lanka tour on a high
A triumphant St John’s College was in high spirits when they touched down at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday evening. The Blues were returning home from a successful 12-day preseason excursion to Sri Lanka that took them to Colombo, Kandy, and Galle, where they won six of their eight matches.
“The tour provided not only tough cricket but also a platform to test new combinations, blood younger players, and experience the culture of a proud cricketing nation,” Bongani Ntini, the St John’s coach, told SuperSport Schools Plus.
The Blues began their expedition with a three-match series, two 50-over contests and a single T20, against Wesley College, St Peter’s College, and St Joseph’s College in Colombo. Their first assignment was against Wesley, who won the toss and elected to field first.
Darshik Lutchman lashed a brilliant 59-ball 77 to help The Blues reach 251 in 50 overs. His effort was well-supported by James Yuill’s 39 runs from 47 balls. Alec Loveland, the skipper, and Aiden Barberini bagged two wickets apiece as they bowled St John’s to a thrilling 8-run victory.
Unfortunately, The Blues couldn’t maintain that momentum as they fell to a one-wicket loss to St Peter’s in their second outing. The visitors made 214 in 50 overs batting first, courtesy of half-centuries from Lutchman (55 off 61) and Yuill (55 off 65). However, the milestones were not enough to lead The Blues to an unassailable total.
Loveland produced his best innings of the tour in the visitors’ first T20 encounter. The captain rinsed a 56-ball 100 to lift The Blues t 183/6, before Nkosana Sibiya, Malan Du Plessis, and Joshua Nyamaropa took two wickets each, to ensure a commanding 66-run win.
“The tour was invaluable for building squad depth — with the squared rotation policy ensuring every player had the chance to make contributions deep into the tour. Even in match seven or eight, energy levels and the will to win remained high,” Ntini explained.
From Colombo, St John’s headed to Kandy, where they jostled against the RSA Academy and Maliyadeva College. Herman Basson put his all-round skills on display against RSA with a fluent half-century (82 off 61) and a three-wicket haul (3/32), as The Blues secured a 29-run win.
With the bat, Basson was supported by Aiden Barberini, who thrashed an unbeaten 89 (113), as he shepherded St John’s to 254 in 50 overs. Connor van der Walt complimented Basson with the ball with 3/30 in eight overs.
Maliyadeva put The Blues on trial by spin in their fourth 50-over fixture. However, despite their best efforts, including some resistance with the bat, Maliyadeva made light work of the total set by St John’s and registered a comfortable seven-wicket victory.
“The match against Maliyadeva proved to be a crucial learning experience about playing quality spin in subcontinental conditions,” Ntini reflected.
From Kandy, The Blues headed to Galle, where they played Richmond College in a 50-over tie and then duelled with Foundation of Goodness and Holy Cross College in T20 encounters.
Basson showed his quality with the bat again with a well-played half-century, 53 off 82, on a tough wicket as he guided The Blues to a six-wicket win over Richmond. Joshua Hall ensured that an end remained intact with a patient 58-ball 38 in the chase. St John’s victory was set up by David Ireland’s outstanding bowling spell that produced three wickets for 31 runs in 10 overs.
“The tour allowed younger players to gain confidence without the immediate pressure of local rivalries, while combinations for the coming season were tested with success,” Ntini said.
Conquering tough conditions against Richmond gave St John’s confidence as they went into their last two matches. Lwazi Khupe (3/19) and Ireland (2/18) took five wickets between them as The Blues bundled Foundation of Goodness out for 119 in a T20 tie. Michael Stubbs then lashed a 16-ball 30 as St John’s raced to a four-wicket victory.
The match against Holy Cross was supposed to be a 50-over encounter; however, it was reduced to 20 overs a side due to conditions. Hall starred with the bat, spanking an unbeaten 68 from 43 balls as he steered The Blues to 161.
Basson and Barberini, who both returned figures of 2/17, dictated terms during Holy Cross’ chase as they helped St John’s close the tour with a 25-run win.
“Beyond the matches, the squad also enjoyed valuable educational excursions that gave the boys deep insight into the humility, care, and generosity of the Sri Lankan people. They learned vital life lessons: the boys were humbled by the generosity, love, and respect of a community that, despite not having much materially, gave selflessly at every opportunity,” Ntini shared.
The Blues will put the skills they sharpened and learned during their tour in their first local assignment, the Fasken Two-Day Festival on the 28th of August, where they face Clifton and Nelspruit. After that, they will head to KwaZulu-Natal for the Michaelmas Festival from 4–7 October. Michaelmas will be the final showcase for this year’s matric group.
