Clifton and Kearsney lay down the law on day one of St John’s Rams T20
While the Johannesburg Invitational XI, a team made up of players from King Edward VII (KES), Jeppe High School for Boys, and St John’s College, went two for two on the opening day of the St John’s Rams T20, in Harare, the other South African participants, Clifton College and Kearsney College, also recorded dominant victories.
Clifton, especially, ran roughshod over their Zimbabwean opposition, needing only 10.4 overs to overhaul Churchill‘s 132/6 to claim an eight-wicket win, and then using just 12.3 overs to canter to a nine-wicket victory over Wise Owl.
Kearsney was also on cruise control, charging to a seven-wicket win over St George’s College, with four overs to spare, before hanging a 30-run defeat on Hellenic Academy.
Churchill vs Clifton College
Brandon Sam paced Churchill’s innings of 132/6 against Clifton, making 43 at a run a ball, with three fours and a six, while Takunda Rakabopwa flayed four fours and a six in his 32 from 38. Zvikomborero Masango added some impetus, matching Sam’s boundary output while making 31 from only 22 balls.
Caleb Naicker, on as the first change bowler, led the Clifton attack with a haul of 2/17 from three, while Blake Johnson returned 2/18 from four.
Hayden Drieselmann and Cohen Naidoo then propelled Clifton to a convincing victory by laying on an opening stand of 104 in only 7.3 overs.
Naidoo was the first to go, but by then he had destroyed any chance Churchill had of restricting Clifton to less than the 136 they had scored. He blasted eight sixes and five fours in a spectacular 79 from only 30 deliveries.
Drieselmann followed 15 runs later, with the total on 119, also caught and bowled by Brandon Sam. He had weighed in with 33 off 22 and hit four fours and a six.
An over-and-a-half later, Clifton had sealed a comfortable win.
Sam did well to snap up 2/8 in two, but it was an expensive outing for most of the Churchill bowlers.
St George’s College vs Kearsney College
St George’s College, meanwhile, mustered a moderate 117/9 against Kearsney, with only Tyshawn Zuze, who made 25, making it beyond the teens.
Michael Groom was the pick of the bowlers, capturing 3/3 in three overs, while Rivan Moodley claimed a tidy 2/15 in four, and Matthew Gorrie chipped in with 2/20 in four.
A hard-hitting and unbeaten 51 from 44 deliveries, with six fours and a six, from Keegan de Jager, along with 30 not out from 30 by Asher Hollister saw the Botha’s Hill boys to a convincing win.
After Kearsney had slipped 46/3 in the fifth over of their reply, the pair shared an unbroken stand of 72 from 11.1 overs to see their side home.
Wise Owl vs Clifton College
Later in the day, Tim Saulez starred with the ball, removing five batsmen for only 16 runs in four overs to undermine Wise Owl’s batting effort against Clifton. Regan Radley, with 2/9, and Blake Johnson, with 2/16, also played their part as the school from Marondera struggled to 90/10.
Had it not been for 40 from 42 by Simbarashe Mudzengerere, which was 30 more than the next highest score made, Wise Owl’s innings would have looked especially miserable.
When Clifton batted, Cohen Naidoo was again explosive, bashing 33 off 19 balls, seven of which he dispatched for four, before he departed with the total on 49 in the sixth over.
Byron Ward and captain Tim Saulez, then, smoothly steered Clifton to victory, adding a further 42 runs. Ward was undefeated on 29 from 35, while Saulez ended on 24 not out.
Hellenic Academy vs Kearsney College
Batting first, Kearsney posted 187/6 against Hellenic Academy, with Cole Young leading their charge. Remarkably, his 58 off 30 didn’t include a single four, but he did launch seven sixes.
Asher Hollister made his mark again, with 35 off 29, while captain Jason De Gryse clattered 31 off 22 at the top of the order and shared an opening stand of 43 in five overs with Aaron Blackburn, who made 21.
Jonty Wiggett, with an unbeaten 26 off 13, with three fours and a six, provided Kearsney’s innings with a timely late boost.
Kirby Madaramete picked up 2/38 in four overs, but the best economy rate that any of the Hellenic Academy bowlers managed was eight an over by opening bowler, Matthew Martell, who conceded 32 from his four overs.
The Harare school, then, tallied 157/5 in reply, with brothers, Kian and Michael Blignaut, giving them a vague hope of victory with a third-wicket partnership of 58 off 5.5 overs before Michael was caught by Keegan de Jager off Rivan Moodley for 42 from 21 balls, six of which he struck for four, and two which went for six.
Kian Blignaut fell in the 17th over for the innings’ top score of 58 off 48, with eight fours. Following his dismissal, though, Hellenic Academy was unable to accelerate their innings, and they came up well short of Kearsney’s challenging total.
Michael Groom, the bowling star of Kearsney’s win over St George’s, once again led the KZN school’s attack, snaring 3/14 in four.
SCORES
Churchill 132/6 (Brandon Sam 43, Takunda Rakabopwa 32, Zvikomborero Masango 31; Caleb Naicker 2/17, Blake Johnson 2/18); Clifton College 136/2 (Cohen Naidoo 79, Hayden Drieselmann 33; Brandon Sam 2/8).
Clifton College won by eight wickets.
St George’s College 117/9 (Tyshawn Zuze 25; Michael Groom 3/3, Rivan Moodley 2/15, Matthew Gorrie 2/20); Kearsney College 118/3 (Keegan de Jager 51*, Asher Hollister 30*).
Kearsney College won by seven wickets.
Wise Owl 90/10 (Simbarashe Mudzengerere 40; Tim Saulez 5/16, Regan Radley 2/9, Blake Johnson 2/16); Clifton College 91/1 (Cohen Naidoo 33, Byron Ward 29*, Tim Saulez 24*).
Clifton College won by nine wickets.
Kearsney College 187/6 (Cole Young 58, Asher Hollister 35, Jason De Gryse 31, Jonty Wiggett 26*, Aaron Blackburn 21; Kirby Madaramete 2/38); Hellenic Academy 157/5 (Kian Blignaut 58, Michael Blignaut 42; Michael Groom 3/14).
Kearsney College won by 30 runs.
