An expanded Clifton T20 Tournament – three days of thrills
The countdown is on to the second edition of the Clifton T20 Tournament.
The action gets underway on the morning of Friday, 14 February, Valentine’s Day, and concludes on Sunday with the final, which starts at 14:30.
Matches from the main oval at Crusaders Club, the primary venue for the 2025 event, will be broadcast live on DStv Channel 216 over the three days of competition.
Coverage from the other venues will be available on the SuperSport Schools app.
“It’s crazy how we’ve blinked and now it’s here,” Clifton’s Director of Cricket, Brandon Scullard, told SuperSport Schools Plus.
The event features 12 teams, with each being gifted a unique playing kit for the tournament. “The playing kit is already in production,” Scullard said. “That’s well underway”.
Reflecting on the tournament format, he explained: “It’s a tournament structure I am very used to playing in Zimbabwe [at the St John’s Rams T20], where it is three groups of four, and then the top two [from each group] go through [to the quarterfinals].”
As the organiser of the event, Clifton looks after providing official scorers, umpires, playing kit, and balls.
Scullard said he has also been encouraged by the willingness of sponsors to contribute to the tournament. The tier one sponsor is Bluff Meat Supply, which plays a prominent role in school sports in and around Durban. Others on board include Edgars, RCS Finance, Custom Apparel, Ecko Unltd, and City Logistics.
The event’s official hydration partner, Aquelle, has also returned and will supply all the teams with sports and energy drinks throughout the event.
While the sides will be playing for the honour of lifting the beautiful Centenary Cup, which was won by Durban High School (DHS) last year, individual awards will also be made to the batsman, bowler, fielder, and coach of the tournament. Their prizes will include smartphones.
“We have some nice partners that have come forward and want to be involved, providing vouchers, so that has been good,” Scullard commented.
The Crusaders Club, in the north of Durban, will host matches on two grounds, with DHS, Northwood, and the Kingsmead Oval, just behind the famous home of the Dolphins, also being used.
KZN’s leading 10 boys’ schools – Clifton, DHS, Glenwood, Hilton, Kearsney, Maritzburg College, Michaelhouse, Northwood, St Charles, and Westville – will do battle among themselves and with St John’s College (Harare) and Hoërskool Waterkloof.
Klofies have shown with their success against elite opposition in the Westvaal North/South T20 in recent years, that they are among the top exponents of the T20 game in South Africa. They quickly accepted an invitation to be part of the Clifton T20.
Brandon Scullard said, in a conversation with Waterkloof’s Director of Cricket, Cobus Pienaar, he urged Pienaar to bring his team to Durban to “play in different conditions in a format that very much suits you”.
“They come with a strong reputation for being a T20 powerhouse,” Scullard said. “They align with the quality of the type of school that I want at this tournament.
“I don’t think there are many better schools that you can ask, in terms of T20, to come and play, and they were quite happy to be involved, and they got back to me quite quickly to say that they would be keen.”
When talking about a title favourite, Scullard said: “Based on their reputation, I think everyone is looking at Waterkloof. However, conditions are totally different in Durban. I think they will fancy themselves playing on a wicket like DHS, which suits them. Crusaders is also a very good wicket. However, it is nowhere close to the wickets they play on week in and week out, on the highveld.”
While the Clifton T20 employs a format used very successfully by St John’s College at the St John’s Rams T20 in Harare over many years, that’s going to change, Scullard explained.
“We’re at a stage now to have the 12 schools that are involved coming back. My vision, though, is to go to 16 schools and stay there.
‘The thinking around being live on TV for three days is about creating the hype around the tournament and the product that we are giving the boys and the various schools. We want to create a demand for schools to come to the event.
“We’re trying to match the hype that the winter sports have, and the reach and recognition that they have, their time in the spotlight.”
Furthermore, he added, it’s about boosting cricket and raising the profile of the sport, which has seen its numbers diminishing.
His goal, Scullard said, was to elevate the Clifton T20 Tournament so that it is held in the same regard as the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Week, or, in the pool, the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, which also draws top teams from around South Africa.
Care has been taken to spread opportunities around for the competing schools, he added: “Last year, we had two groups of five. We’ve tried to ensure that teams don’t play all the same teams they played last year.
“They must also share opportunities to play on the main field [where matches will be covered by DStv Channel 216]. All the teams that are not playing on the main field this year, played on the main field or were fixtured to play on the main field, last year.
“I have tried, also, to spread the inland schools across the groups, and the local schools that play each other often, are also spread across the groups.
Group A features Clifton, Kearsney, Maritzburg College, and Michaelhouse. Group B brings together DHS, Glenwood, Waterkloof, and St Charles. Hilton College, Northwood, St John’s (Harare), and Westville Boys’ High make up Group C.
Among the KwaZulu-Natal contingent, Westville has been the most consistent team so far this year. Close behind them is Maritzburg College, while Northwood won the regional Schools SA20 title, so the Knights will be a team to watch, and it will be valuable preparation for them for the national final of the Schools SA20 in March.
The beauty of T20 cricket, though, is that it is unpredictable. There are 12 teams in the field and 12 potential winners.
FIXTURES
Friday, 14 February
08:30 – St John’s vs Westville, Crusaders Main Oval
09:00 – DHS vs Glenwood, DHS
09:00 – Northwood vs Hilton, Northwood
11:30 – Clifton vs Maritzburg College, Crusaders Main Oval
14:00 – Westville vs Hilton, DHS
14:00 – Northwood vs St John’s, Northwood
14:00 – St Charles vs Glenwood, Kingsmead Oval
14:00 – Kearsney vs Michaelhouse, Crusaders 2
14:30 – DHS vs Waterkloof, Crusaders Main Oval
Saturday, 15 February
08:30 – Clifton vs Michaelhouse, Crusaders Main Oval
09:00 – Waterkloof vs St Charles, DHS
09:00 – St John’s vs Hilton, Northwood
09:00 – Maritzburg College vs Kearsney, Kingsmead Oval
11:30 – Northwood vs Westville, Crusaders Main Oval
14:00 – DHS vs St Charles, DHS
14:00 – Maritzburg College vs Michaelhouse, Northwood
14:00 – Waterkloof vs Glenwood, Crusaders 2
14:30 – Clifton vs Kearsney, Crusaders Main Oval
Sunday, 16 February
08:30 – Eliminator 1, Crusaders Main Oval
09:00 – 7th Place, DHS
09:00 – 9th Place, Northwood
09:00 – 11th Place, Kingsmead Oval
11:30 – Semi-final 1, Crusaders Main Oval
11:30 – Semi-final 2, Crusaders 2
14:30 – Final, Crusaders Main Oval
- Clifton wins two KZN Top 10 titles, overall honours to Kearsney - 2025-10-28
- Hockly hauls Hilton to win against DHS - 2025-10-26
- White bats Northwood to win, Kearsney victorous at Glenwood - 2025-10-26
