Grey High ends Grey Festival with perfect win record
Grey High vs St Andrew’s School
The hosts, Grey High, and St Andrew’s School were both undefeated heading into their third and final fixture of the 2026 Grey Festival.
Playing on the Pollock Oval, the Bloemfontein outfit won the toss and elected to bat first.
That was a misstep, however. Matthew Marshbank threw a spanner into the works when he dismissed three of Saints’ first four batsmen for ducks. His return of 3/11 in four overs left the opposition between a rock and a hard place.
The fifth and sixth men to the crease, Schalk van Rensburg and Grové du Preez, threatened to get a decent partnership going. But it was simply not the visitors’ day, with both succumbing to run outs, for 12 and 22 respectively.
After 19.3 overs, St Andrew’s was all out for 92.
The Bloemfontein boys had fared well with the ball during the festival, and Erhard Barends and Nikhil Sukraj were again on song, claiming 3/9 and 2/19 respectively in their four-over spells, but given the meagre total they had to defend, even those returns were not enough.
Grey High was made to battle, but they eventually claimed a hard-fought three-wicket victory with only four balls to spare. Connor Parry‘s contribution of 29 was the highest score of the match.
Grey College vs Namibia Invitational
Victoria Park High saw an intense “mano a mano” T20 contest between Grey College and the Namibia Invitational XI.
Contrary to the festival’s trend, Namibia opted to field rather than bat after winning the toss.
Aiden Dodd, in at four, led Grey College’s batting effort, smashing six fours in his 53 runs off 46 deliveries, while Dan Brassell was the best of the Namibian bowlers, capturing 2/17 in three overs.
After 20 overs, the Bloemfontein locals had accumulated a solid total of 153/7.
The Namibians’ reply was headlined by their captain and opener, Adriaan Coetzee, who cracked three fours and fours sixes in an aggressive 54 off 40 deliveries.
Grey College, meanwhile, received two-wicket contributions from three bowlers, with Bergh Vorster‘s 2/24 from 3.5 overs being the tidiest of them.
The contest came to an end seven balls before its scheduled completion when the Namibia Invitational XI lost their last wicket on 144, leaving Grey College the winners by a slim nine-run margin.
Pearson High vs Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom
Just like the Namibia Invitational outfit had done, Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom ignored the trend of batting first after winning the toss and sent Pearson High in to bat.
Volkies made good use of that decision, ripping into the home side’s batting to leave them punch drunk on 47/8 after 11.3 overs. At last, though, Pearson found their footing, with tailenders, Connor Thomas and Jayden Warden, putting on an unbeaten 52-run, ninth wicket partnership.
Both batsmen faced 26 deliveries, with Thomas making 18 and Warden top scoring with three fours and two maximums in his heroic 30.
Despite that rearguard action, Volkies restricted the hosts to 99/8 after their 20 overs. AW van der Merwe shone, snapping up 3/15 in four overs, while Johandré Jacobs and Andries Venter both removed two batsmen in their four overs.
The run chase was nail-biting. Volkskool lent on number four batsman Schalk Pienaar‘s hasty 28 from 18 balls, which included six fours, to get them going, but Sulaymaan Gangat made it an arduous journey for the visitors, snaring 3/5 in four overs.
Despite some setbacks, Volkies survived the storm and reached 100/9 after 19.4 overs to win the contest with just one wicket and two balls to spare.
Selborne College vs Northwood School
Northwood and Selborne College met on the Old Grey Oval, with the Knights visiting the crease first.
They posted a solid 145/5 from their 20 overs, with Luc Boyall, batting at four, just missing out on a fifty, losing his wicket two runs shy of the milestone, while opening batsman, Ross McGlashan, racked up 41 before he was run out.
Selborne’s reply started well enough, with openers Josh Wilkie and Thomas Lyon both making scores in the twenties and putting on 40 for the first wicket. Unfortunately for the East London school, no one else made it to 20.
Wilkie hammered three fours in his 24 off 25, while Lyon clobbered a four and six in his 21 from 23 deliveries. But Selborne was limited to just 97 all out in 18.2 overs.
Trevor van Vollenstee impressed for Northwood with his 3/5 in 2.2 overs, while three of his teammates chipped in with two wickets each as the Durban boys won by 48 runs.
Summarised Scorecards
St. Andrew’s School 92/10 (Grové du Preez 22; Matthew Marshbank 3/11); Grey High 93/7 (Connor Parry 29; Erhard Barends 3/9, Nikhil Sukraj 2/19). Grey High won by three wickets.
Grey College 153/7 (Aiden Dodd 53, Daniel Hattingh 27, Extras 23, Bergh Vorster 21*; Dan Brassell 2/17, Waldo Smith 2/27); Namibia Invitational 144/10 (Adriaan Coetzee 54, Luca Micillo 30, Extras 20; Bergh Vorster 2/24, Christoph Bronn 2/27, Danny Hayidakis 2/28). Grey College won by nine runs.
Pearson High 99/8 (Jayden Warden 30*; AW van der Merwe 3/15, Johandré Jacobs 2/12, Andries Venter 2/18); Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom 100/9 (Schalk Pienaar 28; Sulaymaan Gangat 3/5). Volkies won by one wicket.
Northwood School 145/5 (Luc Boyall 48, Ross McGlashan 41, Extras 21); Selborne College 97/10 (Josh Wilkie 24, Thomas Lyon 21; Trevor van Vollenstee 3/5, Thabiso Mtambo 2/9, David de Bruyn 2/10, Max Nicholson 2/19). Northwood won by 48 runs.
