Bryan the hero for Glenwood, Northwood wins, Goldstone’s hosts a draw
Following heavy rain on Thursday and Friday, Saturday’s match between Glenwood High School and Kearsney College was moved from Durban to the AH Smith Oval in Botha’s Hill and reduced to a 40-overs-a-side clash. Not many runs were scored.
The visitors were sent in, to bat, and found the going tough. If it was not for Krian Jugoo, they would have struggled to reach 50.
He stood out with 31 from 38 balls, hitting three fours, while extras’ contribution was the second-highest score for the Green Machine of 12. Olwami Zondi made 10, and the remainder of the batsmen stayed in single figures.
In just 25.4 overs, Glenwood was all out for only 83. The primary reason for that was Rivan Moodley, who captured 4/15 with his leg-spin. Nic Comrie claimed 2/10, while Michael Groom picked up 1/12. Matthew Gorrie returned 1/13 and also ran out Kressan Pillai.
Kearsney was chasing a modest score, but they didn’t come close to overhauling it as they were bundled out for only 47.
Kyle Bryan was sensational for Glenwood, knocking over 6/19 in eight overs, and Akhil Maharaj backed him up superbly, snapping up 3/14 in 5.2 overs. Krian Jugoo added 1/4 in three as Kearsney’s innings lasted just 19.2 overs.
Cole Young scored almost half the home side’s runs, making 22 from 23 balls, with two fours and a six. Asher Hollister struck the only other four for Kearsney in making seven, their second-highest score.
Northwood School vs Westville Boys’ High School
With Bowden’s unfit for play, the match between Northwood and Westville Boys’ High was moved to the Robin Smith Oval at Northwood, and a T20 was played. It was an opportunity for both teams to prepare for the Clifton T20 Tournament, which takes place next week from Friday, 14 February, to Sunday, 16 February, and will be broadcast live on DStv Channel 216.
The visitors chose to bowl after winning the coin flip, but David de Bruyn and Tuswa Phetha made them regret that decision. They tallied 59 runs from only 55 balls for the first wicket before Phetha was caught by Westville skipper Seth Simpson off the bowling of Sean McGough for 22.
Ross McGlashan didn’t last long, and he was soon followed by David de Bruyn and Morgan Jones as Northwood stumbled from 59/0 to 65/4 in the space of 2.1 overs, with Sean McGough and Tristan Delvin picking up two wickets each. De Bruyn’s contribution was a team-best 32 from 28 balls, with three fours and a six.
Knights‘ captain Kyle White and Alistair Duncan halted the slide, adding 17 before Duncan was out. Northwood had 3.5 overs remaining, and they were on 82/5. Enter Connor Leclezio.
He and White gave the home team a strong boost, cracking 25 off 23 balls, to see the Knights to 117/5. Leclezio played a vital knock, smashing three sixes in an unbeaten 24 from 11 deliveries, while White didn’t find the boundary once, but made a valuable 23 from 26.
Sean McGough was the pick of the Westville attack, returning the sparkling figures of 3/9 from four overs, while Tristan Delvin picked up a neat 2/13 from his four.
The visitors needed to bat at 5.9 overs to win, but they didn’t quite manage that, coming up eight runs short, on 109/8. Given the excellent start that Kyle McGough and Sean McGough gave them, they will feel disappointed that they didn’t win.
They powered the Griffin to 72 in the 11th over before Northwood finally tasted success when Connor Leclezio caught Sean McGough off Ben Cilliers for 50 from 41 balls, which had included four fours and a six.
Kyle McGough followed six balls later, for 21. Suddenly, Westville’s run rate fell off a cliff. Seth Simpson and Tristan Delvin mustered only 12 runs from 26 balls. Then, after Delvin departed on 91, the visiting team lost a further three wickets in the space of five balls, with the man of the match, Connor Leclezio, again forcing himself into the middle of the action by removing Bhaskar Sewlal and Dayalan Boyce after Misbah Nair had been run out.
Suddenly, Westville found themselves on the back foot, on 96/8 after 18 overs.
Jordan Matthews did an excellent job under heavy pressure, conceding only six runs off the penultimate over, which left Aidan Bauristhene with 16 runs to defend. He gave up seven but also removed Aarin Rasmussen to see the Knights to victory.
Leclezio picked up 2/23 in four overs, while off-spinner Ben Cilliers clamped down on Westville’s scoring, returning a miserly 1/11 from his four overs, which drained the momentum from Westville’s reply. Northwood also pulled off run outs of three batsmen in the top five in the Westville order, which made all the difference.
Maritzburg College vs Clifton College
On Goldstone’s, Maritzburg College and Clifton College settled for a tame draw.
It was slow going as the Red, Black, and White mustered 156 all out in 46.4 overs after being sent in, to bat. That total looked unlikely at one stage, with College wobbling on 64/6 after seeing four wickets go down while only five runs were added.
Not for the first time, the architect of another team’s downfall was the leg-spinner, Shiraz Perumal. He bowled superbly to claim 4/22 from his 10 overs.
Tian van Niekerk and Sphamandla Dzanibe, though, halted the parade of wickets by combining for a 66-run stand for the seventh wicket. Dzanibe followed Reece Willson, Karl Dedekind, and Luan van der Merwe as victims of Perumal, but not before he had played an invaluable knock, scoring 36 off 46 balls, with three fours and a six.
Van Niekerk held up his end and was there when College’s last wicket went down, unbeaten on 47 from 68, which had included three fours.
Apart from Perumal, Clifton captain and opening bowler, Tim Saulez, enjoyed success, capturing 2/26 in 7.4 overs, while left-arm spinner Blake Johnson took 2/41 in 10, and Caleb Naicker kept it tidy, bowling three maidens in his five-over haul of 1/9.
Clifton’s reply lasted only nine overs before the game was called off. Byron Ward enjoyed his short time at the crease, hitting two fours in an unbeaten 19.
Summarised scorecards
Northwood School 117/5 (David de Bruyn 32, Connor Leclezio 23, Tuswa Phetha 22, Sean McGough 3/9, Tristan Delvin 2/13); Westville Boys’ High 109/8 (Sean McGough 50, Kyle McGough 21, Connor Leclezio 2/23). Northwood won by 8 runs.
Glenwood High School 83/10 (Krian Jugoo 31, Rivan Moodley 4/15, Nic Comrie 2/10); Kearsney College 47/10 (Cole Young 22, Kyle Bryan 6/19, Akhil Maharaj 3/14). Glenwood won by 36 runs.
Maritzburg College 156/10 (Tian van Niekerk 47*, Sphamandla Dzanibe 36, Shiraz Perumal 4/22, Tim Saulez 2/26, Blake Johnson 2/41); Clifton College 26/1 (Byron Ward 19*). Match abandoned.
