Gordon, McQuinn, and Casais lead Joburg Invitational to Rams T20 title
Troy Gordon, Wade McQuinn, and Lincoln Casais produced clutch performances to guide the Johannesburg Schools Invitational XI to the title at the annual St John’s College (Harare) Rams T20 Tournament on Sunday.
The Invitational XI faced Clifton College on Fisher Field in the final and defeated the KwaZulu-Natal side by 39 runs to lay claim to the trophy.
The composite side, made up of players from St John’s College (Johannesburg), Jeppe High School for Boys, Queens High School, and King Edward VII (KES), and coached by Bongani Ntini, won the toss, chose to bat first, and tallied a challenging 179/6 before restricting Clifton to 140/9.
Ntini, the St John’s College Director of Cricket, was assisted by Sharmin Naidoo, the Director of Cricket at KES, and Casey Arnold, the Director of Cricket at Jeppe.
“I had a really good group of boys. We’ve gelled so well together, and that made my job as captain really easy because the guys knew what they needed to do. My job was just about putting the guys in the right place,” captain Wade McQuinn told SuperSport Schools Plus after his team had lifted the trophy.
The Gauteng side went unbeaten on their march to the title. They thumped Prince Edward by 128 runs in their first match, spanked Christian Brothers College – Bulawayo (CBC) by 55 runs, and then clinched a last-ball victory over St John’s College (Harare) in their third pool match.
Those three wins earned them a semifinal spot, where they overran Wise Owl High School by 117 runs.
“I was glad I could execute my skill set in the semifinal and really put the team in a good position to get to that final,” said Tiago Dias after scoring a 43-ball 74, which earned the opener the Player of the Match Award.
Clifton, on their way to the title decider, pounded Wise Owl by nine wickets, charged to an eight-wicket win over Churchill Boys’ High, and outplayed Peterhouse by six wickets to qualify for the semifinals.
The Durban school won all three of their group matches comfortably when chasing, so Falcon College asked them to bat in their semifinal showdown. The KZN side made light work of the Falcon College bowling and marched to 172/8, setting the stage for a 39-run triumph.
The final was clearly a clash between the two best teams of the tournament.
The Invitational XI’s victory in the title game was powered by Gordon’s outstanding half-century, with the KES learner flaying seven fours and a six in his 41-ball 54. It was his third half-century of the tournament, and it helped him to finish the event as its top scorer. He totalled 242 runs from five innings at an average of 60.50, while scoring at a healthy run rate of 155.13.
“I think T20 cricket’s a game of momentum. It’s about understanding when those moments come. I think I did really well in that in that sense. When we lost a few wickets, I was able to slow the game down a bit, rotate the strike and then pick it up later,” Gordon, who was named the Batsman of the Tournament, said.
His knock laid the foundation for his KES teammate, McQuinn, to express himself. The Invitational XI’s skipper put on a masterclass of batting at the death, plundering 38 runs from 17 deliveries to catapult his side to 179.
McQuinn batted only four times in the tournament, and when he did, late in his side’s innings, he performed exceptionally well, providing the team with valuable boosts. Overall, he tallied 120 runs an average of 60.00, with a superb strike rate of 184.62.
“I’m very grateful that my coaches gave me a clear role, so I knew exactly what I had to do,” McQuinn said. “My job was to mainly finish off games, and I felt like I was able to execute that.”
Casais, who is more renowned for his batting, took the new ball against Clifton. He hadn’t bowled all tournament, and his first two deliveries, looseners, were pounced on by Byron Ward, who sent them to the boundary.
However, with his third delivery, the off spinner showed why McQuinn entrusted him with the ball when he outfoxed the Clifton opener. Then he bamboozled the dangerous Tim Saulez three balls later. That double-blow was the beginning of a four-wicket collapse.
It included Tiago Dias executing a brilliant run out to see off Cohen Naidoo in the second over, before Casais claimed a third victim, to reduce Clifton to 12/4 after 2.4 overs.
That match-defining spell, which brought him 3/12 from two overs and undermined Clifton’s run chase from the start, led to Casais being named the Player of the Match.
Lawson Dinsdale and Zach Williamson stabilised the innings for Clifton with a 78-run fifth-wicket partnership. Dinsdale was the aggressor, carving 48 runs from 27 balls, while Williamson anchored the innings as he accumulated 39 runs from 43 deliveries. Unfortunately for Clifton, those hammer blows they had suffered in the early going took a toll and they didn’t have the batsmen or wickets in hand to properly challenge the Johannesburg Invitational XI’s total.
It also didn’t help Clifton’s cause when McQuinn unleashed his frontline bowlers in the second half of the innings. The Johannesburg side’s main strike bowler, Lebone Ramedupe, came on in the 11th over, while McQuinn, Uthman Khan, and Luke Clarke followed him. Between them, the quartet gave little away and were rewarded for their disciplined lines with five wickets in eight overs between them.
“The team comes first, so I’m really glad that we won the trophy,” Gordon said. “I am also happy that I am taking home the Batter of the Tournament. I will be looking to come back and defend that one. I hope I get chosen for next year’s team.”
SCORES
Final
Johannesburg Invitational XI 179/6 (Troy Gordon 54, Wade McQuinn 38, Bafana Mthunzi 33, Lincoln Casais 27; Eliah van Jaarsveld 3/28); Clifton College 140/9 (Lawson Dinsdale 47, Zach Williamson 39; Lincoln Casais 3/12, Uthman Khan 2/21).
Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 39 runs.
Semi-finals
Clifton College 172/8 (Tim Saulez 43, Lawson Dinsdale 38, Zach Williamson 37, Hayden Drieselmann 30; Reed Merick 2/18, Zach Gover 2/42); Falcon College 133/10 (Neil Rosenfels 66; Blake Johnson 5/26, Shiraz Perumal 2/10, Tim Saulez 2/29).
Clifton College won by 39 runs.
Johannesburg Invitational XI 198/3 (Tiago Dias 74, Troy Gordon 43, Joshua Hall 30, Wade McQuinn 24*); Wise Owl 81/10 (Tapiwa Chikwava 3/11, Lebone Ramedupe 2/11).
Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 117 runs.
Eliminators
St John’s College 144/8 (Hayden Croxford 38, Connor Lovatt 24, Khulekani Nduku 21; Darren Ncube 2/15, Dmitry Fatch 2/31, Liam Nel 2/40); Falcon College 146/8 (Liam Nel 35, Brandon Ndiweni 27, Alastair Carle 24; Tawana Nyandoro 2/23; Khulekani Nduku 2/27, Hayden Saunders 2/30).
Falcon College won by two wickets.
Kearsney College 128/8 (Michael Groom 30*; Panashe Mazai 3/32, Tatenda Chimugoro 2/14, Simbarashe Mudzengere 2/29); Wise Owl 130/1 (Panashe Gwatiringa 57, Anesuishe Taru 52*).
Wise Owl won by nine wickets.
Seventh place playoff
Hellenic Academy 163/8 (Michael Blignaut 51, Dhruv Patel 21, Kirby Madaramete 20; Nicholas Orphanides 2/14); Peterhouse 164/3 (Luke Marillier 57*, Tyler Chapman 46, Cameron Rae 28*, Victor Watama 23).
Peterhouse won by seven wickets.
Ninth place playoff
St George’s College 153/5 (Abhira Singh 87; Tawana Ratisai 2/14, Rowyn Konson 2/24); CBC Bulawayo 154/6 (Joshua Armstrong 51*, Kelebokile Moyo 32, Ryan Winterboer 24; Tysawn Zuze 2/13, Ethan Zhou 2/33).
CBC Bulawayo won by four wickets.
Eleventh place playoff
Churchill 128/7 (Cole Mukoko 30*, Wessly Maramwidze 30, Zvikomborero Masango 29; Donell Madango 4/25); Prince Edward 101/10 (Takunda Garwe 49; Blessing Mangove 3/7, Wessly Maramwidze 2/22).
Churchill won by 27 runs.
