Hilton in the pink after big win over Michaelhouse
In a telling exchange, before a ball had been bowled in the Pink Day clash on Saturday, SuperSport Schools’ commentator Spoed Smith asked Hilton College captain Ethan van Heerden what he would have done if he had won the toss.
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Michaelhouse‘s Sebastian Hofmeyr had elected to bat first, but Van Heerden said he would have preferred to bowl on the Hart-Davis Oval. He was gifted his preference and it worked in Hilton’s favour.
The venue made for a pretty picture, with the trees surrounding the field decorated in pink, while supporters also wore the colour, in support of the PinkDrive and its promotion of the awareness and early detection of cancer.
However, after a couple of tight T20 contests earlier in the term, matters didn’t look that pretty for Michaelhouse. Hilton enjoyed much the better of their limited-overs showdown, bowling out Michaelhouse for 146 before replying with 147/3 to record a seven-wicket victory with 16.4 overs to spare.
While the loss of the toss still gave Hilton skipper Ethan van Heerden what he wanted, his bowlers needed to do their bit to back up their leader’s assessment of the pitch. They did, and it began with opening bowler Netanzi Denenga.
He struck early, removing the in-form Graydon Leslie, who was caught off a thick edge by Jayden Roux, without scoring.
‘House captain Seb Hofmeyr, then, fell victim to his counterpart, Ethan van Heerden, caught behind by Ben Hockly for six, and when Hockly pulled off a superb one-handed diving catch to his right off Denenga to remove Ethan Muir for nine, Michaelhouse was in trouble on 24/3.
Ben Heuer and Cival Rugbar dug in, though, and set about repairing the early damage, adding 43 for the fourth wicket before Stewart Falconer ended Heuer’s resistance, caught by Jayden Roux for 25 from 26 balls, which included four fours.
Rugbar hung tough, not scoring quickly, but keeping Hilton at bay. He, however, became the third of three batsmen to fall victim to Luke Campbell, with the spinner removing Radhesh Jhilmeet and Hayden Hewlett cheaply before he claimed the wicket of Rugbar for the innings’ top score of 43. His knock had come from 94 balls and included two fours.
Jean-Luc Rey blasted two sixes in an innings of 13 from 25, but Denenga cleaned up the tail as Michaelhouse finished on 146 all out, aided by 26 extras, after 46.2 overs.
Denenga, who generated good pace and bounce, produced the sparkling figures of 4/22 from 9.2 overs, while Luke Campbell clamped down on the Michaelhouse middle-order, snaring 3/25 from 10.
Stewart Falconer bowled a disciplined line and length to tighten the screws on the ‘House batsmen, capturing 1/11 from five, while Benoit Rey was also tidy, claiming 1/29 in 10.
Defending a moderate total, Michaelhouse needed to emulate their opponents and take wickets early, but that never happened. In fact, Hilton’s opening pair of Ben Hockly and Alex Pitman pretty much sealed the deal for the hosts.
Together, they shared an opening stand of 108, which, when it was broken, meant Hilton needed only 39 runs to win. Pitman was the batsman to depart, caught off the bowling of Ben Heuer after a fluent and attractive 66 from 71 balls, which included nine fours.
Radhesh Jhilmeet removed Robert Burman after a brief visit to the middle, but Ben Hockly and Charles Swart took the home side to within sight of victory before Jhilmeet struck again, claiming the wicket of Hockly for 62 from 93 balls, which featured five fours and two sixes.
Only eight runs were needed for the win and it was soon achieved. Swart was unbeaten on nine and Roux had two.
Jhilmeet was the pick of the Michaelhouse bowlers, delivering a fine return of 2/19 from eight overs, while Heuer was the only other bowler to enjoy success, picking up 1/7 from two. Ross Moller was his usual tight self, but he went unrewarded, finishing with 0/20 from six.
Summarised Scorecards
Michaelhouse 146/10 (Cival Rugbar 43, Ben Heuer 25, Netanzi Denenga 4/22, Luke Campbell 3/25); Hilton College 147/3 (Alex Pitman 66, Ben Hockly 62, Radhesh Jhilmeet 2/19).
Hilton College won by 7 wickets.
