Hilton rolls at Clifton, Kearsney scrapes past St Charles
Clifton College vs Hilton College
Fresh off of winning the KZN Region’s Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two title on Friday, Hilton College took on Clifton College at the Riverside Sports Club on Saturday and continued their strong form, romping to an emphatic eight-wicket win over the home side.
The biggest difference between the teams was what had happened before Saturday’s match. Hilton had contested the Peninsula Cricket Festival and the Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two KZN Regional final, giving them nine testing games before Saturday’s clash. Clifton, by contrast, had played a couple of low-key warm-ups, and the difference in preparation showed.
The toss, at least, went Clifton’s way, and they opted to bat first. Much like Westville did in the Switch Schools SA20 final, they lived to regret that decision because one of Hilton’s strengths is their seam attack, and they quickly made inroads into the Clifton batting order.
Clifton kept the on-song Sechaba Gude at bay, but his new ball partner, Sange Qangule, captured 2/11 in five overs, and Luke Wilson kept it tight, conceding only six runs from his four overs while also removing opener, Matthias Samuel.
Obakeng Motsepa and Benoit Rey, then, accelerated Clifton’s batting downfall, with Motsepa knocking over 3/19 in six overs, while Rey kept the batsmen pinned in their crease, snaring 3/6 from 4.4 overs.
When the home side lost their first wicket on 16, it was the trigger for a further slide, with wickets tumbling with almost monotonous regularity. Some of the Clifton batsmen did themselves no favours with their shot selection, but Hilton bowled well, too, and Clifton was all out for a meagre 51 after only 24.4 overs.
Only the captain, Shiraz Perumal made it into double figures. He was not out on 13 at the end.
All Hilton needed to set up a victory was a reasonable partnership. The openers delivered it, with Barack Munawa and Ben Wilson combining for 44 for the first wicket.
Daniel Rea then got rid of Ben Wilson for 10 and Luke Wilson for a duck three balls later, but Hilton still had eight wickets in hand and needed only eight runs to win. Nine balls later, they sealed the victory.
Munawa finished with 21 not out, while Rea bagged 2/12 in 3.3 overs for Clifton.
St Charles College vs Kearsney College
Kearsney College travelled to Pietermaritzburg on Saturday to tackle St Charles College in a contest between two sides who displayed inconsistent form in pre-season festivals. They delivered a cracking game in a contest dominated by the bowlers, with Kearsney taking a tight and tense nine-run win.
They batted first after captain Keegan de Jager called the toss incorrectly and soon found themselves on the back foot on 19/2 after Ryan Clarke accounted for Gary Verbaan and Aaron Blackburn cheaply. De Jager followed for nine, caught and bowled Kaiyuran Naidoo, which left Kearsney on 41/3 in the fourteenth over.
Opener, Rivaan Moodley, though, stood firm. He was, eventually, the sixth man out with the total on 87, caught by Clarke off the bowling of Keegan Vermaak for a gritty 40 from 85 balls.
Luke Grobbelaar and Michael Groom added a vital 23 for the eighth wicket, which fell on 114. Further fighting batting from the lower order, which included 13 from Groom and 16 not out from James Bishop, helped Kearsney to 139 all out after 46.3 overs.
Clarke, with a miserly 3/17 from 10 overs, caused the visitors problems, while his fellow seamer, Jayden Saville, captured 3/21 from 7.3. Keegan Vermaak bowled well, too, snaring 2/24 from his seven overs.
Saints made a better start to their innings than Kearsney, with Christiaan Prinsloo and Keegan Vermaak putting on 29 for the first wicket. Prinsloo and Thando Zama, then, added 30 for the second wicket before Prinsloo exited for 27, caught by De Jager off Moodley. On 59/2 after 16.2 overs, the St Charles’ run chase was in a healthy state, nonetheless.
However, with Ryan Clarke and Thando Zama following Prinsloo within the space of two overs, both victims of the excellent Rivaan Moodley, the balance of the contest began to shift Kearsney’s way. Saints had 66/4 after 18.3 overs, and the match was delicately poised.
Connor Simpson and Caleb Sharp helped to snatch back some momentum for the home side, with a 21-run stand for the fifth wicket, but Simpson’s departure for 14 triggered another collapse. From 87/4, Saints crashed to 97/8, and the pressure on the lower order ramped up.
Connor Vogt and Relebogile Mokoena pushed back, partnering for 16, before Moodley added the wicket of Vogt, taking his haul to four.
Kaiyuran Naidoo and Mokoena took over with the total on 113/9. Defiantly, they tacked on another 22 runs, but vice-captain Michael Groom ended the Saints’ resistance when he had Naidoo caught behind by wicketkeeper, Asher Hollister, for six.
St Charles was all out for 130. Close, but no cigar.
Moodley’s leg spin brought him a superb 4/30 from 10 overs, giving him the best performance for a Kearsney player with both the bat and ball, while the skipper, Keegan de Jager, contributed 2/15 and Matthew Gorrie a tight 2/23 from eight overs.
Summarised scorecards
Clifton College 51/10 (Shiraz Perumal 13*; Benoit Rey 3/6, Obakeng Motsepa 3/10, Sange Qangule 2/11); Hilton College 52/2 (Barack Munawa 21*; Daniel Rea 2/12). Hilton College won by eight wickets.
Kearsney College 139/10 (Rivaan Moodley 40,; Ryan Clarke 3/17, Jayden Saville 3/21, Keegan Vermaak 2/24); St Charles College 130/10 (Christiaan Prinsloo 27; Rivaan Moodley 4/30, Keegan de Jager 2/15, Matthew Gorrie 223). Kearsney won by nine runs.
