Established KZN powers cruise to Schools SA20 wins
Grace College visited the St Charles Oval on Tuesday to face Saints in the Schools SA20 competition. It proved to be a tough outing for the Hilton school, who were well beaten in a one-sided contest, which lasted just over 17 overs.
After winning the toss, the home side sent Grace out to bat, and six ducks were testament to the dominance of the St Charles College bowlers. It began with the dismissal of Grace’s dangerman, Wian Oelofsen, to the fifth ball of the innings, bowled by SA u19 Emerging speedster Rowen Rajah.
A 25-run partnership for the second wicket proved to be the prelude to a massive collapse as Grace lost their last nine wickets for the addition of only 19 runs.
Owen Widdows tore through the Grace middle order, capturing 4/17 in four overs, while Matthew Thiselton sent down three overs, struck three times, and conceded only three runs.
After 12.3 overs, Grace College was bowled out for 44. That was never going to challenge St Charles.
Credit to Grace, they picked up a couple of wickets, but Saints cantered across the line after only 5.1 overs, having reached 45/2. Christiaan Prinsloo was the highest scorer in the match, finishing on 22 not out.
Maritzburg College kept a tight rein on the Imbali Hub when they bowled first in their Schools SA20 match. The Hub XI almost saw out their 20 overs, but were dismissed two balls before the end for 77.
College’s bowlers shared the wickets around. Seven were employed and all seven claimed at least one victim, led by Dominic Du Toit, who knocked over 3/7 in two, and Nathan Pembridge, who claimed 2/12 in four.
The Red, Black, and White made light work of their victory target, rocketing to 80/1 after only 5.4 overs to record a convincing nine-wicket win.
Opener Daniel Nadasan made 20 not out off 14 balls, and Tian van Niekerk cracked 26 off 13, with four fours and a six. But it was Luka Puddu who provided the fireworks, exploding for an unbeaten 29 from just seven deliveries, which included three sixes and two fours.
Michaelhouse faced the Sweetwaters Hub and enjoyed their home-ground advantage when they batted first. Henry Love and Hayden Hewlett scored centuries, judging it perfectly so that they both could reach triple figures.
Love finished with an unbeaten 103, scored off of 61 balls, with eight fours and five sixes, while Hewlett ended on 100 not out. He had faced 60 deliveries and sent a quarter of them to the boundary, with 12 bringing him fours and three delivering sixes.
After 20 overs, ‘House had finished on 219 without loss.
The Sweetwaters Hub offered some resistance, losing only five wickets in their innings, but they were unable to make even half of the runs that Michaelhouse had scored.
Jean-Luc Rey kept Sweetwaters quiet with a haul of 2/10 from his four overs, while it was a workmanlike performance from the rest of the host’s attack as Sweetwaters totalled 102/5.
Summarised scorecards
Grace College 44/10 (Owen Widdows 4/17, Matthew Thiselton 3/3); St Charles College 45/2 (Christiaan Prinsloo 22*). St Charles College won by 8 wickets.
Imbali Hub 77/10 (S. Gumede 18, Dominic du Toit 3/7, Nathan Pembridge 2/12); Maritzburg College 80/1 (Luka Puddu 29*, Tian van Niekerk 26, Daniel Nadasan 20*). Maritzburg College won by 9 wickets.
Michaelhouse 219/0 (Henry Love 103*, Hayden Hewlett 100*); Sweetwaters Hub 102/5 (Jean-Luc Rey 2/10). Michaelhouse won by 117 runs.
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