Clifton T20: DHS and Westville shine, dramatic Clifton vs College finish
Day one of the Clifton T20 Tournament delivered an overdose of excitement, with the defending champions, Durban High School (DHS), and Westville Boys’ High making their cases as the teams to beat, while Clifton College and Maritzburg College produced a final ball thriller.
On top of that, KZN, at last, saw a century scored at first-team level. It hadn’t happened in 2025 until Friday. Then, it happened twice, and almost three times.
Durban High School vs Glenwood
DHS began their day at home, on the Theobald Oval, with an outing against Glenwood High School. The Green Machine, after winning the toss, chose to field first, and they did a solid job, keeping School to 136/6.
Josh van Biljon led the way for the hosts, hitting a six and four fours in his 39 from 33 balls, while Taine Havermann chipped in with 24, and Bayanda Majola got after the Glenwood bowlers late, launching a six and hitting two fours in a quickfire 21 from 10 deliveries.
Glenwood’s leading spinners enjoyed success, with Akhil Maharaj knocking over 3/16 in four overs, while captain Kyle Bryan picked up 2/18 from his four.
DHS had batted at 6.8 runs per over. While challenging, they had not posted an insurmountable tally, but good bowling and fielding ensured Glenwood didn’t come close to challenging for victory. They were bowled out for 101 in 18.4 overs.
Up front, Kressan Pillai played a good knock, making 30 from 33 before he was run out, which was a big blow to Glenwood’s hopes of victory. Kyle Bryan made 21 and Kamo Moloto 16, but every other batsman finished in single figures.
Bhavesh Naicker sent three batsmen packing, snapping up 3/16 in 2.4 overs, while Dhilan Naraidu claimed 2/9 in three with his left-arm spin.
In the end, DHS won by 35 runs.
Durban High School vs Hoërskool Waterkloof
In the afternoon, they took on Hoërskool Waterkloof in an eagerly anticipated clash. The wicket had played nicely all day long, not offering much to the bowlers, so it was an interesting decision taken by Waterkloof captain Riley Miller to bowl first.
Success was not immediately forthcoming, but Klofies, then, got rid of the openers, Ethan Cooper and Ismaeel Omar, within one run of one another, with Cooper out for an attacking 25 from 15, with three fours and a six.
Josh van Biljon, in at three, and Taine Havermann, batting fourth in the order, stopped Waterkloof from grabbing the momentum with a 36-run partnership, which ended when Havermann was caught by Rico van der Walt off Johan Liebenberg for 25 from 21 balls, which had included five fours.
The remainder of the DHS batsmen didn’t offer much. Lazlo Jooste made a run-a-ball 14, but no one else reached double figures. That didn’t matter. Josh van Biljon took charge and dominated the Waterkloof attack. In just 54 balls, he lashed an unbeaten 103, bashing seven sixes and eight fours to propel the Horseflies to a very challenging 197/6.
It was a tough outing for the Pretoria school’s bowlers. Although he was a trifle expensive, Stefan Stoltz claimed 2/27 in three to finish as the only bowler with more than one wicket.
Waterkloof faced a huge challenge, but, credit to them, they played positively from the outset, and the first five batsmen in the order batted at or better than a run rate of 100. For a long time, they met the required run rate, but the task proved to be too much for their brave effort to sustain.
The skipper, Riley Miller, appeared to have plenty of time to play his shots – the sign of a good player – and he top scored with 47, striking two sixes and four fours in a 30-ball stay. He dominated a useful partnership with Franco Schmidt, which brought 44 runs for the third wicket.
Schmidt was out with the total on 84 and Miller and Juan Swart joined him on the side of the field before Waterkloof reached 100. Coach Cobus Pienaar‘s charges lost momentum and they soon found themselves in serious trouble on 113/7.
Richard Crous stood tall, though, smashing a defiant 30 not out from 18 balls, and he helped advance the total to 153/8 by the time Klofies ran out of overs. DHS, again, had scored a decisive win, taking victory by 44 runs.
Bhavesh Naicker, who shone with the ball against Glenwood, nabbed 2/20 from three to continue his good start to the tournament, while Bonga Maphanga took 2/18.
Westville Boys’ High vs St John’s College (Harare)
Westville played the opening game of the day against St John’s College (Harare) and cruised to a convincing eight-wicket win.
Captain Seth Simpson set them up for victory with an outstanding spell of leg-spin bowling, capturing 4/14 in four overs. He received good support from Dayalan Boyce, who returned 2/8 from two.
St John’s skipper, Connor Lovatt, played a typically aggressive innings, smashing seven fours in his 15-ball 32, while Riley Ettlin contributed 29, but no one else exited single figures as the Rams were bowled out for 91.
Westville wasted little time chasing down that modest total, charging their way to 92/2 off only eight overs.
Simpson, once again, set the example, hitting two fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 35 from 20 balls, while Misbah Nair didn’t hang around either, finishing on 25 not out from 16.
Westville Boys’ High vs Hilton College
Later in the day, Simpson continued his dream start to the Clifton T20, bashing an undefeated 102 from only 64 balls, with eight fours and six sixes, to help the Griffin to a big 190/7 against Hilton College.
Support came from Sean McGough, with 28 from 18, and Misbah Nair, with 27 from 17, but the Westville innings was all about Simpson. His partnership with McGough produced 72 runs, and his stand with Nair was worth 48.
Obakeng Motsepa was the best of the Hilton bowlers, taking 2/29 from four.
To challenge Westville’s large total, Hilton needed at least one of their batsmen to go big. Six of their players reached double figures, with David Hill cracking 34 not out from only 16 balls, James Ogilby making 28 from 37, and Simon Steyn 24 from 19, but more was needed.
Hilton was limited to 136/6 in reply, leaving Westville the handsome winners by 54 runs.
Kyle McGough, Sean McGough, and Dayalan Boyce grabbed two sticks each. Seth Simpson, after his superb century, didn’t bowl.
Northwood School vs Hilton College
While Hilton was well beaten by Westville, they had scored a very welcome win over Northwood earlier in the day. After losing three on the trot to the Knights this season, they reversed their fortunes against the Durban school by scoring a 17-run win.
Playing on the Robin Smith Oval, which usually offers something to the bowlers, too, Hilton’s batsmen dug deep to post 146/6, a decent score on Northwood’s main field. Their captain, Ben Hockly, set a fine example, top-scoring with 56 from only 38 balls, dispatching three of those to the boundary and three over the boundary.
David Hill was undefeated, as he was later in the day, contributing a vital 30 not out from 16 balls, while Robert Burman played a key knock, too, making 21 from 12.
Thabiso Mtambo took 2/18 in three for the Knights, who are missing their opening bowler and dangerous hard-hitting batsman, Jamie Wimble, who has a broken finger.
Hilton new ball bowler, Sechaba Gude, struck a big blow for the visitors by dismissing David de Bruyn for a duck. Northwood consolidated, however, through Ross McGlashan and Tuswa Phetha, with McGlashan going on to the home side’s top score of 40. It came from 33 deliveries and included three sixes. Not a single four.
Phetha made 21 and captain Kyle White 19, but Northwood’s challenge slowly slipped away. Gude was the architect of their demise. He knocked over 5/18 in his four overs, which destroyed the Knight’s middle and lower order. They were kept to 129/9 in their reply.
Northwood School vs St John’s College (Harare)
Northwood, the KZN Schools SA20 champions, again found themselves on the wrong end of the result when they hosted St John’s College (Harare) on Friday afternoon. The Knights posted a decent 151/4, but a destructive innings by the Rams’ captain, Connor Lovatt, propelled the Zimbabweans to a seven-wicket win.
Kyle White made 38 from 29 balls, Alistair Duncan 33 not out from 29, and Tuswa Phetha 29 from 27, but those innings paled when compared with Lovatt’s devastating knock. He bludgeoned eight sixes and three fours in a 45-ball stay, which finished with him on 91 not out when victory was secured.
Riley Ettlin played his part, too, making 39 before being run out. It was all about Lovatt, though. He and Khulekani Nduku shared an unbroken 57-run partnership for the fourth wicket to see the Harare school to victory. Nduku’s contribution was five runs.
While many of the Northwood bowlers came in for stick, Jordan Matthews excelled. The left-arm spinner snapped up 1/14 in four overs. Hayden Saunders led the way for St John’s, claiming 2/19 in four.
Clifton College vs Maritzburg College
In the match of the day, Maritzburg College scored two off the final ball to snatch a five-wicket win from Clifton College.
The hosts batted first and put together a solid 168/5. It was a good total and certainly enough to defend, but Clifton felt they could have done better, and, in the end, they needed to have done a tad better.
Captain Tim Saulez continued his fine season with the bat, top scoring with an enterprising 71 from 39 balls, eight of which went for four, and three for six.
Opener Byron Ward played his part with 39 from 33 and he added 52 for the second wicket with his skipper. Then, Zach Williamson and Saulez put on 50 for the third wicket. Williamson’s contribution was only 12, but he ensured Saulez saw most of the bowling, and that paid off.
Sphamandla Dzanibe picked up 2/20 for College, but it wasn’t a particularly fun day for their bowlers.
The Red, Black, and White made a stuttering start to their run chase, losing their captain Daniel Nadasan for two to Blake Johnson, and Karl Dedekind for six, to Tim Saulez.
Tian van Niekerk and Luka Puddu arrested the slide, batting their team back into the match with a partnership of 62 for the third wicket.
When a team suffers a last-ball defeat, inevitably some will wonder where they might have conceded a run or not scored a run, which might have changed the result. An untidy three or four overs during Van Niekerk’s and Puddu’s partnership was, maybe, where Clifton let the game slip.
Van Niekerk was joined by Sphamandla Dzanibe after Puddu’s departure and Dzanibe showed off his all-round game by sharing a 58-run stand with the opener before he was caught by Gabriel Vermeulen off left-arm spinner Blake Johnson for 38. Van Niekerk followed a run later, run out by Johnson, and College wobbled at 135/5.
Deolyn Naidoo and Reece Willson didn’t blink, however, and they combined for 34 runs to see their side to a heart-stopping win. Naidoo finished with 12 off 10 and Willson with 17 off 15.
Johnson picked up 2/33 from four for Clifton, while Saulez performed well, claiming 1/22 from his four overs.
Glenwood High School vs St Charles College
St Charles College, meanwhile, pretty much ensured that Glenwood, a semi-finalist in 2024, would miss out on the quarterfinals by racing to a seven-wicket win on the Kingsmead Oval, which was Glenwood’s second loss.
Glenwood’s batting has been somewhat inconsistent this season and it didn’t bring them enough runs when they batted first against Saints. They mustered 121/9 on the moderately sized field, with two players making it into the thirties, but only one other moving beyond doubles figures.
Glenwood lost two wickets to run outs and, unfortunately for them, that included Krian Jugoo, who fell for 32.
Connor Simpson bagged 2/13 in three. Ryan Clarke returned 2/16 in two, and Kaiyuran Naidoo took 2/17 in three.
St Charles needed only 13.5 overs to secure victory. Their captain Rico Honiball made sure his side would win. He delivered a brutal and efficient innings, spending only 16 balls at the crease, with exactly half of them going for boundaries, four for four and four for six. His effort was worth 45 runs.
Connor Simpson added the needed support, chipping in with 35 from 32 balls while striking one four and three sixes.
Incredibly, Saints finished their innings with 10 sixes and only eight fours.
Kearsney College vs Michaelhouse
In the day’s other match, played at Crusaders, Michaelhouse made a good start by scoring a 31-run win over Kearsney College.
Batting first, ‘House tallied a challenging 169/8, with their captain, Ethan Muir leading from the front. The skippers showing how to do it was a theme of the day. He blasted 55 from 26 balls, with eight fours and three sixes. But his wasn’t a solo effort.
Nicholas Baker also got stuck into the Kearsney attack, smiting four sixes and three fours in his 34-ball 51, while Graydon Leslie took only 25 deliveries for his 33.
Left-arm wrist spinner Matthew Gorrie shone for Kearsney, snaring 3/26 from four, while left-arm quick, Litha Gonya, claimed 2/35. Leg-spinner Rivan Moodley was tidy, returning 1/20 while conceding five runs an over. Michaelhouse batted at 8.52 overall.
Kearsney lost their captain Jason De Gryse early, but Rivan Moodley and Aaron Blackburn took the fight to the boys from Balgowan, scoring at a rapid clip. Moodley made 26 from 14, clubbing three sixes and two fours before he was caught by Ben Heuer off Cameron Jones.
Blackburn went on to top score with 48 from 23, with eight boundaries, equally divided between fours and sixes, while Jonty Wiggett made 25 from 20. Together they put on 37 for the fifth wicket before Wiggett went out. Blackburn followed seven runs later. At 112/6, Kearsney had lost momentum, and Nic Comrie followed after only two more runs were added.
Michael Groom resisted, hitting three fours in his 18, but Graydon Leslie, who was brought into the Michaelhouse attack as the eighth bowler, grabbed his opportunity, capturing 3/17 from 3.2 overs to help his team to a convincing win, with Kearsney being bowled out for 138.
SUMMARISED SCORECARDS
Durban High School 136/6 (Josh van Biljon 39, Taine Havermann 24, Bayanda Majola 21*, Akhil Maharaj 3/16, Kyle Bryan 2/18); Glenwood High School 101/10 (Kressan Pillai 30, Kyle Bryan 21, Bhavesh Naicker 3.16, Dhilan Naraidu 2/9). DHS won by 35 runs.
Durban High School 197/6 (Josh van Biljon 103*, Taine Havermann 25, Ethan Cooper 25, Stefan Stoltz 2/27); Hoërskool Waterkloof 153/8 (Riley Miller 47, Richard Crous 30*, Bonga Maphanga 2/18, Bhavesh Naicker 2/20). DHS won by 44 runs.
Clifton College 168/5 (Tim Saulez 71, Byron Ward 39, Sphamandla Dzanibe 2/30); Maritzburg College 169/5 (Tian van Niekerk 45, Sphamandla Dzanibe 38, Luka Puddu 33, Blake Johnson 2/33). Maritzburg College won by 5 wickets.
St John’s College Harare 90/10 (Connor Lovatt 32, Riley Ettlin 28, Seth Simpson 4/14, Dayalan Boyce 2/8); Westville Boys’ High 91/2 (Seth Simpson 35*, Misbah Nair 24*). Westville Boys’ High won by 8 wickets.
Westville Boys’ High 190/7 (Seth Simpson 102*, Sean McGough 28, Misbah Nair 27, Obakeng Motsepa 2/30, Benoit Rey 2/31, Sechaba Gude 2/38); Hilton College 136/6 (David Hill 34*, James Ogilby 28, Simon Steyn 24, Kyle McGough 2/21, Dayalan Boyce 2/21, Sean McGough 2/22). Westville Boys’ High won by 54 runs.
Northwood School 151/4 (Kyle White 38, Alistair Duncan 33*, Tuswa Phetha 29, Hayden Saunders 2/19, Khulekani Nduku 2/40); St John’s College Harare 153/3 (Connor Lovatt 91*, Riley Ettlin 39, Jordan Matthews 1/14). St John’s won by 7 wickets.
Glenwood High School 121/9 (Elgenio Oerson 35*, Krian Jugoo 32, Connor Simpson 2/13, Ryan Clarke 2/16, Kaiyuran Naidoo 2/17); St Charles College 122/3 (Rico Honiball 45, Connor Simpson 35*, Akhil Maharaj 1/19). St Charles won by 7 wickets.
Michaelhouse 169/8 (Ethan Muir 55, Nicholas Baker 51, Graydon Leslie 33, Matthew Gomrie 3/26, Litha Gonya 2/35); Kearsney College 138/10 (Aaron Blackburn 48, Rivan Moodley 26, Jonty Wiggett 25, Graydon Leslie 3/17, Ben Heuer 2/17, Radhesh Jhilmeet 2/29). Michaelhouse won by 31 runs.
FIXTURES
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
- Bowlers set up DHS for Switch Schools SA 20 win over Kearsney - 2025-10-30
- Clifton wins two KZN Top 10 titles, overall honours to Kearsney - 2025-10-28
- Hockly hauls Hilton to win against DHS - 2025-10-26
