Klinck key to Clifton win, Michaelhouse sprints to victory over St Benedict’s
Clifton College completed their Independent Schools Cricket Festival (ISCF) assignments on Sunday with a comfortable 28-run T20 win over Woodridge College on Cornwall Hill‘s Landsend Oval.
Batting, after winning the toss, Clifton’s innings was built upon a fine knock from opening batsman, Daniyaal Klinck, who gave the Durban school plenty of impetus, smashing 11 fours and a six in a 55-ball stay that brought him 79 runs.
He and Muhammed Malek, who had scored centuries on the previous two days, shared a 70-run stand for the second wicket before Malek fell for 22. Klinck, though, remained on and accelerated the scoring with his captain, Shiraz Perumal.
Eventually, Klinck was out after 17 overs, which left Clifton on 142/3, with three to go. Perumal followed eight runs later, but he had done his job, hitting three fours and two sixes in a rapid 34 from 22 balls.
Clifton added another 27 runs in the last two overs to finish on a challenging 177/5, with Daniel Rea going out off the last ball for 17 from 10.
Opening bowler, Daniel Darlow, led the Woodridge attack, capturing 2/28 in four overs. Stefan Ferreira was a tad expensive, but he also picked up two wickets, with his four overs going for 42 runs.
While Woodridge made a decent enough start to their run chase, left-arm spinner Blake Johnson, who shared the new ball with George Gooch, undermined their efforts.
The Eastern Cape side put up 25 for the first wicket, but they soon slid to 35/3 in the sixth over, with Johnson removing the top three in the order and returning an exceptional 3/6 from four overs.
Jack Feltham provided strong resistance, flaying three sixes and two fours in his 37 from 25 deliveries, but the pressure of the required run rate of 8.9 per over told. Ithi Arosa did well to weigh in with 22 from 15 balls, but Keegan Watson, who dismissed both batsmen, added another two victims, on his way to the match’s best figures of 4/36.
Skipper Shiraz Perumal then provided the coup de grace, claiming 2/33, including the last wicket, Brody McKinnon, for 11, as Woodridge ended on 148/9 in reply.
Michaelhouse vs St Benedict’s College
Michaelhouse finished the ICSF on a high note by scoring an emphatic nine-wicket win over St Benedict’s College, their third victory from four matches.
Bennies batted first on the Temba Bavuma Oval at St David’s Marist Inanda and made a fair start, with Ollie Brown and Keeghan Greensmith taking seven overs to score 45 for the first wicket.
Brown was the first to go, caught by Ben Heuer off Preston Greene for the innings’ highest score of 27, which came off 21 balls and included three fours and a six. His departure, though, signalled the start of a slow collapse.
Greensmith followed seven runs later, for 21, leaving St Benedict’s on 52/2. Only two more batsmen – Tom McArthur (12) and Alex Johnston (14) – made it into double figures.
Liam O’Dwyer was mostly responsible for the Bedfordview boys’ struggles. He tore through the top order, snapping up 4/10 from four overs, and Bennies never recovered. Preston Greene claimed 2/20, also from four, and two run outs further hurt St Benedict’s, who were bowled out for 101 in the last of their 20 overs.
When they replied, Michaelhouse lost Cody Sander to the second ball of the innings, but they didn’t blink. Ben Heuer and Graydon Leslie took it to the Bennies’ bowlers and shared an unbroken 102-run stand, with the scoring split in half exactly, to see their team to victory after 14 overs.
Heuer, at the top of the order, slammed two sixes and a four in his unbeaten 51 off 43 balls. Leslie, the captain, batted slightly faster, taking only 39 deliveries for his 51 not out, which included four fours and a six.
Tlotliso Mhlanga, the lone bowler to take a wicket, finished with a tidy 3/11 from three overs. Credit to Bennies, they didn’t concede a single extra.
Summarised scorecards
Clifton College 177/5 (Daniyaal Klinck 79, Shiraz Perumal 34, Muhammed Malek 22; Daniel Darlow 2/28, Stefan Ferreira 2/42);
Woodridge College 148/9 (Jack Feltham 37, Ithi Arosi 22; Keegan Watson 4/35, Blake Johnson 3/6, Shiraz Perumal 2/33). Clifton College won by 28 runs.
St Benedict’s College 101/10 (Ollie Brown 27, Keeghan Greensmith 21; Liam O’Dwyer 4/10, Preston Greene 2/20); Michaelhouse 102/1 (Ben Heuer 51*, Graydon Leslie 51*; Tlotliso Mhlanga). Michaelhouse won by nine wickets.
