Hilton College and Chatsworth Hub are KZN Switch Schools SA20 champs
Hilton College produced an outstanding performance in the field to set themselves up for a win over Westville Boys’ High in the boys’ final of the KZN region’s Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two competition on the Pietermaritzburg Oval on Friday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Hilton rested their frontline strike bowlers, Sechaba Gude and Sange Qangule, for their clash against St Charles College in a rematch of the Tusker’s final; Hilton had already qualified for the final, while St Charles was out of the running.
Playing at home, though, Saints produced a strong all-round performance to cruise to a nine-wicket win with 3.4 overs to spare. It wasn’t that Hilton didn’t try hard. They did, but they played within themselves in preparation for the title game.
Northwood, the defending KZN champions, meanwhile, engaged in a tightly contested clash with Westville for a place in Friday’s final. There was little to separate them on this occasion on Goldstone’s, at Maritzburg College, but the Griffins just held off the Knights, winning by a nail-biter by a mere two runs to secure their place in the main match.
The toss in the title game went Westville skipper Kyle McGough‘s way, and he elected to bat first, something which Hilton captain Robert Burman had been hoping to do. “We weren’t too unhappy to lose the toss,” he admitted to SuperSport Schools Plus. “There had been a few low scores on this field, so we didn’t mind bowling first.”
That decision worked out very well for Hilton, who quickly put the skids under Westville’s batting effort, led by the fresh fast bowling duo of Gude and Qangule. Just six overs into their innings, Westville found themselves five wickets down, battling to keep their heads above water, on 24/5.
They couldn’t put a partnership together, and a pivot to the spin of Benoit Rey paid immediate dividends for Hilton College as he captured two wickets in his first over to leave the Griffins in a spin on 47/8 after 11.5 overs.
At last, though, Westville found a response of sorts, with Jamie Hasselbach and Ewan du Toit adding 20 for the ninth wicket before Hasselbach was bowled by Qangule for 17, the highest score of the innings.
Du Toit went on to finish on 16 not out, but a run out of Michael Hopkins, after a direct hit from close range from Gude, was a further tough blow for the Dolphins’ champs, who were all out for 73 in 18 overs.
Both Benoit Rey and Luke Wilson claimed 2/11 in three overs, while Gude returned 2/15 from four, and Qangule 2/17 from three.
Hilton’s bowlers had done a fine job. Now, though, their batsmen needed to come through. They did. They didn’t need to score many runs.
An opening partnership of 39 in seven overs got Hilton more than halfway to the victory target before Barack Munawa was caught by Jamie Hasselbach while driving on the up off Misbah Nair. He had hit four fours in his 22 from 25 balls, which turned out to be the highest individual score of the game.
The captain, Robert Burman, followed Munawa back to the pavilion in the ninth over for 16, with the total on 52.
Westville realised they were going to lose, but they embraced the situation, showing one another strong support while playing the game with a smile and staying loose, and that fun-filled approach brought them success, with paceman Michael Hopkins to the fore.
He dismissed three batsmen within the space of six runs, but Ben Wilson, batting third in the order, was still there, and, when the fifth wicket went down, Hilton was on 72/5, only two runs shy of victory. With the field up to prevent singles, Wilson went over the top, hitting a four, to seal the win for his side. He was unbeaten on 19 from 20 balls.
Michael Hopkins, who took the new ball, bowled a fantastic second spell for Westville and was rewarded with the game’s best bowling figures of 3/12 from four overs. Misbah Nair utilised changes of pace effectively to capture 2/22 from four. But the day belonged to Hilton College.
Reflecting on his team and how they have started the year, Hilton skipper, Robert Burman, said: “While our batters haven’t been at their best, our bowlers have been so good.” Hilton’s top-order batting, though, has started the season with far greater consistency than the side showed in 2025.
“The top three – Barack, Ben, and I – have been good and consistent. That has worked well for us,” he said with a smile.
Burman also credited Greg Miller, Hilton’s Director of Rugby, for doing an outstanding job of working on the players’ mental approach to the game. “We’ve learnt a lot from him,” he said, “and mentally, we are tougher than we were last year.”
The skipper played a big role in his team’s four wins over the two days of the Switch Schools SA20 regional final, with a half-century and a splendid century on Friday. “You’re always waiting for that next big score. Last year, I struggled with the bat, but Mr Miller has helped me to improve my game so much from the mental side of things,” Burman said.
“Valuing your wicket is so important,” he added. “In the first game of the SA20 (a 33-run win over Northwood), it was a tricky wicket, and I struggled, thinking I had to hit a boundary, but if you just keep on batting and value your wicket, you manage to score runs.”
Sweetwaters Hub vs Chatsworth Hub – KZN Girls’ final
In the girls’ final, Shreya Subbiah, played a starring role for the Chatsworth Hub with both bat and ball, leading them to an emphatic 10-wicket win over the Sweetwaters Hub.
The local side, Sweetwaters, batted first and received a good innings from Kirsten Kaltwasser at the top of the order. She scored 29 from 31 balls, striking four fours, before she became one of five Subbiah victims.
Unfortunately, for Kaltwasser, only Lego Motsepa, besides her, reached double figures, and she just made it, being dismissed for 10 exactly. Between them, the rest of the batters contributed only three runs, with six players losing their wickets without scoring. But 12 extras helped.
Subbiah, the fifth bowler used, tore through the Sweetwaters’ batting, knocking over 5/4 in 3.2 overs. Aadya Mohun excelled, too, snagging 3/16 from four and, after 15.4 overs, the Sweetwaters Hub was all out for only 55.
It took Chatsworth’s opening batting pair, Subbiah and Sinothando Matamela, nine overs to seal the win.
Subbiah finished with an unbeaten 27 from 21 balls, with four fours, while Matamela hit the only six of the match and also added two fours in her 23 not out from 19 deliveries.
Summarised scorecards
Boys’ final
Westville Boys’ High 73/10 (Jamie Hasselbach 17; Luke Wilson 2/11, Benoit Rey 2/11, Sechaba Gude 2/15, Sange Qangule 2/17); Hilton College 76/5 (Barack Munawa 22; Michael Hopkins 3/12, Misbah Nair 2/22).
Hilton College won by five wickets.
Round-robin games
Westville Boys’ High 142/9 (Kyle McGough 46, Misbah Nair 21; Luc Boyall 2/27, Thabiso Mtambo 2/31); Northwood 140/7 (Thomas Oosthuizen 33, Luc Boyall 27, David de Bruyn 27; Misbah Nair 3/22). Westville Boys’ High won by two runs.
Hilton College 113/6 (Ben Wilson 38*; Relebogile Mokoena 3/14); St Charles College 115/1 (Matthew Weightman 39*, Thandolwethu Zama 38, Keegan Vermaak 22; Daniel Christie 1/18). St Charles College won by nine wickets.
Girls’ final
Sweetwaters Hub 55/10 (Kirsten Kaltwesser 29; Shreya Subbiah 5/4, Aadya Mohun 3/16); Chatsworth Hub 56/0 (Shreya Subbiah 27*, Sinothando Matamela 23*). Chatsworth Hub won by 10 wickets.
