Fixtures for the 2026 Independent Schools Festival
On Thursday, the annual Independent Schools Cricket Festival will mark the beginning of the end of the 2025/26 schools’ cricket season. The festival features 20 teams, with 10 matches played each day across four days.
It also presents an important opportunity for valuable out‑of‑country exposure for the two Zimbabwean outfits, St John’s College and St George’s College, both based in Harare.
Zimbabwe Cricket’s renewed rise, highlighted by qualification for the Super Eight in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, can be traced in part to increased exposure for their feeder pathways.
Days one to three will feature 50‑over matches. On the last day, the teams will enjoy the excitement of a shorter format, T20 cricket, which will serve as a dessert after the three‑course meal offered by the longer fixtures earlier in the festival.
St Alban’s College is the primary host of the event, with the TC Mitchell, Baloyi and Murray Ovals hosting games on all four days.
St Alban’s will play all of their matches on TC Mitchell Oval, beginning with an outing against St Andrew’s College.
The University of Pretoria’s Oval and the Tuks B and C Fields will be used on Thursday and Friday.
Tuks B will host one of the opening day’s headline attractions when St Stithians College squares off against Bishops Diocesan College. On the C Field, Nikhil Sukraj, of St Andrew’s School, will meet Jason Rowles, of St David’s Marist Inanda, with both players expected to be among the standout performers at the festival.
Three fields at Cornwall Hill College will also serve as venues. The Cornwall Hill 1st XI will also enjoy home field advantage for their four matches, with their sternest test likely coming on day four when they face St Andrew’s School, the Central Region’s Switch Schools SA20 champions.
With the University’s fields unavailable over the weekend due to Titans Club League commitments, three fixtures will shift to Johannesburg on Saturday and Sunday. St Stithians College will benefit from home ground advantage as a result, hosting Michaelhouse on Saturday before they face St Andrew’s College on Sunday, on the Dlamini Oval.
Michaelhouse will be one of four big names from KwaZulu-Natal in action, with Hilton College, Kearsney College and Clifton College completing the quartet.
With positive weather forecasts for the four‑day event, and with some of the nation’s finest talent from Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, the Free State, KwaZulu‑Natal, the Western Cape and neighbouring Zimbabwe converging on the Jacaranda City, the festival promises high‑quality, enthralling cricket.
FIXTURES
Thursday, 19 February
St Alban’s College vs St Andrew’s College – TC Mithell Oval
Kingswood College vs Hilton College – Balyoi Oval
Kearsney College vs St John’s College – Murray Oval
Helpemkaar Kollege vs Clifton – Tuks Oval
St Stithians College vs Diocesan College – Tuks B
St Andrew’s School vs St David’s Marist Inanda – Tuks C
Prestige College vs Uplands College – Gijima Oval
Cornall Hill College vs St John’s College (Harare) – Van der Byl Oval
Michaelhouse vs Woodridge College – Parke de Terrace
St Benedict’s College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Landsend Oval
Friday, 20 February
St Alban’s College vs Diocesan College – TC Mitchell Oval
St George’s College (Harare) vs Clifton – Baloyi Oval
St Andrew’s School vs Michaelhouse – Murray Oval
St David’s Marist Inanda vs St Andrew’s College – Tuks Oval
St John’s College vs Hilton College – Tuks B
St Benedict’s College vs Uplands College – Tuks C
Prestige College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Gijima Oval
Cornwall Hill College vs Woodridge College – Van der Byl Oval
St Stithians College vs Kearsney College – Parke de Terrace
Helpmekaar Kollege vs Kingswood College – Landsend Oval
Saturday, 21 February
St Alban’s College vs Kingswood College – TC Mitchell Oval
Helpmekaar Kollege vs Kearsney College – Baloyi Oval
St Andrew’s College vs Diocesan College – Murray Oval
St John’s College vs St Andrew’s School – Mitchell Field
St Stithians College vs Michaelhouse – Dlamini Oval
St David’s Marist Inanda vs Hilton College – La Valla Oval
St Benedict’s College vs Woodridge College – Temba Bavuma Oval
Cornwall Hill College vs Clifton – Van der Byl Oval
Uplands College vs St John’s College (Harare) – Parke de Terrace
Prestige College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Landsend Oval
Sunday, 22 February (T20)
St Alban’s College vs Hilton College – TC Mitchell Oval
Kingswood College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Baloyi Oval
Kearsney College vs St John’s College (Harare) – Murray Oval
St John’s College vs Diocesan College – Mitchell Field
St Stithians College vs St Andrew’s College – Dlamini Oval
St David’s Marist Inanda vs Prestige College – La Valla Oval
St Benedict’s College vs Michaelhouse – Temba Bavuma Oval
Cornwall Hill College vs St Andrew’s School – Van der Byl Oval
Uplands College vs Helpmekaar Kollege – Parke de Terrace
Clifton vs Woodridge College – Landsend Oval
