Kearsney decimates St John’s (Harare), wins for St Andrew’s and Kingswood
Kearsney College wrapped up their Independent Schools Cricket Festival (ISCF) campaign with an action-packed big T20 win over St John’s College (Harare) behind an astonishing batting onslaught from Luke Grobbelaar.
The Makhanda duo of St Andrew’s College and Kingswood College also ended on a winning note, defeating St Stithians College and St George’s College (Harare), respectively.
On the Murray Oval, at St Alban’s College, Blake Pugh‘s all-round skills played a key role in Kearsney College’s comfortable 88-run win over St John’s (Harare).
The Botha’s Hill school batted first after winning the toss and put the St John’s bowling attack to the sword, powering to 210/6 in their 20 overs. A sound performance in the field then saw the Zimbabweans dismissed for 122 in reply.
Luke Grobbelaar, who blitzed an electrifying 82 from only 39 balls, clubbing eight sixes and three fours, provided Kearsney with a sound footing by sharing in a 48-run opening stand with Asher Hollister (18).
Keegan de Jager made eight and didn’t stay around for long, but when Grobbelaar and Pugh got together, they lit up the St John’s attack, advancing the Kearsney total by 108 runs in only 9.3 overs.
Pugh held Kearsney’s innings together after Grobbelaar’s dismissal and finished with an unbeaten 61 from 49 balls. He next added a haul of 2/23 in four overs to help the KZN side to an emphatic victory.
Pugh’s figures were the second-best among Kearsney’s bowlers. Matthew Rice, with 3/11, was the pick of their attack, while Keegan de Jager and Daniel Miskey also claimed two wickets each.
James Manning led the St John’s reply with a well-made 71 from 45 balls, but he was short of support. Noah Mitchell (18) and Shivaan Chouhan (11) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.
St Andrew’s College vs St Stithians College
St Andrew’s College enjoyed a rewarding visit to St Stithians College, where they overpowered the hosts and cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket win on the Dlamini Oval.
The visitors were asked to field first after they lost the toss, but they turned that into a good toss to lose, staging a relentless attack to skittle Saints for 69 in only 16.3 overs. The St Andrew’s batsmen wasted little time in chasing down that small total and cantered to 70/2 and victory in 13.5 overs.
St Andrew’s bowler Will Stevens created a domino effect when he claimed a wicket in the second over. That wobbled the home team, and they were unable to settle after that blow, losing wickets at regular intervals thereafter.
Akhil Challa (24*) and Matthew Katzenstein (17) halted the procession of wickets with a 34-run fifth-wicket partnership that was broken by Rhys Wiblin in the ninth over. Katzenstein was the second of three scalps the St Andrew’s captain claimed, with his return of 3/13 from four overs an excellent example of leading from the front.
James Bronkhorst supported his skipper with a neat 2/12 from three overs, while Stevens, Thomas Bussiahn, and Adrian Gaunt contributed a wicket each.
After his heroics with the ball, Wiblin led the visitors’ run chase with an unbeaten 29 from 38 balls. He also shared a match-winning 52-run second-wicket partnership with Benjamin Scharges (25) before seeing his team home in Connor Holder‘s (12*) company.
Kingswood College vs St George’s College
Kingswood College put their T20 skills on display with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over St George’s when they duelled on the Baloyi Oval at St Alban’s College.
The Kingswood bowlers hardly put a foot wrong as they bundled out St George’s for only 79 runs in 18 overs. Then, their top three batsmen made light work of the run pursuit, racing to 80/1 in just 7.3 overs.
Edwin Geldenhuys was the pick of the Kingswood bowlers with 3/9 in two overs. He enjoyed sound support from Daniel Jakins and David Loudon, who each claimed a brace of wickets, while Sinawo Bukula, Rogan Goliath, and Simon Sheard finished with a wicket each.
St George’s had only three batsmen – Michael Mukori (14), Munashe Muchatukwa (12), and Allen Masiya (11) – who made it beyond single figures, but that was never going to be enough to challenge Kingswood.
Christopher Zimmerman led the Makhanda boys’ chase with an unbeaten 35 from 19 balls. He and Chad Roodt (22*) also shared an unbroken 51-run second wicket partnership, while Daniel Jakins contributed 16 runs from 11 balls to the chase.
Summarised Scorecards
Kearsney College 210/6 (Luke Grobbelaar 82, Blake Pugh 61*; Sean Riley 4/23, Luca Spagnuolo 1/32). St John’s College (Harare) 122/10 (James Manning 71, Noah Mitchell 11; Matthew Rice 3/11, Blake Pugh 2/23). Kearsney won by 88 runs.
St Stithians College 69/10 (Akhil Challa 24*, Matthew Katzenstein 17; Rhys Wiblin 3/14, James Bronkhorst 2/12, Adrian Gaunt 1/1). St Andrew’s College 70/2 (Rhys Wiblin 29*, Benjamin Scharges 25, Connor Holder 12*; Thomas Collins 1/8, Tendai Kadyamadare 1/9). St Andrew’s College won by eight wickets.
St George’s College 79/10 (Michael Mukori 14, Munashe Muchatukwa 12; Edwin Geldenhuys 3/9, Daniel Jakins 2/13). Kingswood 80/1 (Christopher Zimmerman 35*, Chad Roodt 22*; Seth Machiya 1/13, Kundanashe Mushonga 0/25). Kingswood won by nine wickets.
