All set for lift-off at the Clifton T20
Ahead of three days of intense competition, the 12 teams participating in the third annual Clifton T20 Tournament received their playing kits at an opening dinner in the Ken MacKenzie Hall, at Clifton, in Durban, on Thursday. It’s an event eagerly anticipated by the players, who get to see their colourful attire for the first time at the dinner.
Clifton’s Executive Headmaster, Adam Rogers, thanked the event’s sponsors – they include Mercedes-Benz, the lead sponsor, and the other premier sponsors, Edgars, Warm Heart, and City Logistics – and the people who have been hard at work behind the scenes organising the event.
“Most importantly,” he said, ” I wish to welcome you, the cricketers, and thank you for the commitment and passion that you bring to this great game.
“Cricket demands courage and character and composure. It asks you to compete fiercely and to represent your schools with pride. I have no doubt that you will do this and be a credit to your schools.”
He also shared his excitement about a change to the event: the inclusion of four primary school teams, from Clifton Prep, Highbury, Northlands Primary and Westville Senior Primary. They’ll be in action on Saturday, the middle of the three days of competition, and their matches will be livestreamed on SuperSport Schools, while the showdown between Clifton and Highbury, for the Richards Procter Trophy, will be shown on DStv Channel 216, which will feature all the matches from the Crusaders Main Oval.
Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools or on DStv Channel 216
Durban High School (DHS) is the two-time defending champion. One of the key matches that will be featured on the Crusaders Main Oval at 14:30 on Friday will be the showdown between DHS and Hoërskool Waterkloof, the Wildeklawer T20 title holder.
In the 2025 tournament, Josh van Biljon, now the captain of DHS, delivered one of the highlights of the event, scoring a magnificent 103 not out against Klofies in only 54 balls to help School to 197/6. They went on to win by 44 runs after restricting Waterkloof to 153/8 in reply. Van Biljon was one of six centurions during the event.
Last year, though, Waterkloof was not quite at full strength – they were close to it, but not quite there – as captain Franco Schmidt pointed out when asked about that during a Q-and-A session on Thursday evening. “Last year, we had a league game at school on the Saturday, so one of our main spinners and one of our main pace bowlers played the league match in Pretoria. That game was to decide if our final would be at home or away.”
Picking a favourite to go all the way would be foolish, but there are plenty of teams that have put together strong seasons thus far.
In Group A, the hosts, Clifton College, have been on a strong run in the W100 competition, winning three of their four matches, including wins over DHS, Westville Boys’ High, and Kearsney College.
Kearsney has been in good recent form and is playing confidently. Hilton College, meanwhile, won the Switch Schools SA20 KZN Regional title, while St John’s College (Harare) has a young and unpredictable line-up, led by Luca Spagnualo, who will be playing in the Clifton T20 for a third time.
Group B features last year’s runner-up, Westville Boys’ High, which is another team in good form. They lost in the final of the Switch Schools SA20, but recently avenged that defeat to Hilton in a limited-overs clash.
The group opens with Westville facing Northwood, one of the dark horses in some people’s minds, while Maritzburg College and St Charles face off in a Pietermaritzburg derby. Of the four, Saints has been the least consistent, but there appears to be some consistency in many people’s assessment of them, that they, too, are a dark horse side.
Group C features the defending champion, DHS, who’ve played some impressive cricket this season, led by a top-order that leans heavily on the skipper, Josh van Biljon, and left-handed opener, Ismaeel Omar, who was also one of last year’s six centurions.
They’re far from a two-man team, though, and, among others, their bowling attack features the in-form Bonga Maphanga, who turned out for the Dolphins at the Khaya Majola Week, and leg-spinner, Tristan Quail, who is capable of stopping a team dead in its tracks with his accuracy.
They’re going to be pressed hard by another team playing excellent cricket in 2025, Michaelhouse, whose spinners have been one of their strengths. Those bowlers have succeeded in putting their opposition under pressure, but they will be challenged from the very first game when they take on Waterkloof, who will go hard at ‘House. It should be a fascinating contest and will reveal a lot about both sides.
Glenwood completes the line-up. They’ve had a tough time this season thus far. However, they’re always a well-drilled team in the field, and that can carry a team far in the T20 format. They’ll look to their talented skipper, Kreesan Pillai, for inspiration as they attempt to pull off an upset or two.
Rain could impact Saturday’s fixtures, according to weather reports. That will make winning on Friday, while producing strong net run rates, vital.
FIXTURES
Group A
Friday, 13 February
11:30 – Clifton vs Hilton, Crusaders Main
14:30 – St John’s vs Kearsney, Riverside
Saturday, 14 February
08:30 – Clifton vs St John’s, Crusaders Main
08:30 – Kearsney vs Hilton, Crusaders 2
14:30 – Clifton vs Kearsney, Crusaders Main
14:30 – St John’s vs Hilton, Riverside
Group B
Friday, 13 February
08:30 – Maritzburg College vs St Charles, Crusaders Main
08:30 – Northwood vs Westville, Riverside
14:00 – St Charles vs Northwood, DHS
14:00 – Westville vs Maritzburg College, Northwood
Saturday, 14 February
08:30 – Northwood vs Maritzburg College, Riverside
14:00 – St Charles vs Westville, Northwood
Group C
Friday, 13 February
08:30 – Michaelhouse vs Waterkloof, DHS
08:30 – Glenwood vs DHS, Northwood
14:30 – DHS vs Waterkloof, Crusaders Main
Saturday, 14 February
08:30 – Waterkloof vs Glenwood, DHS
08:30 – DHS vs Michaelhouse, Northwood
14:00 – Glenwood vs Michaelhouse, DHS
Sunday, 15 February
08:30 – Eliminator 1, Crusaders Main
08:30 – Eliminator 2, Crusaders 2
09:00 – 7th place, DHS
09:00 – 9th place, Northwood
09:00 – 11th place, Kingsmead Oval
11:30 – Semi-final 1, Crusaders Main
11:30 – Semi-final 2, Crusaders 2
14:30 – Final, Crusaders Main
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