KZN cricket derbies back in full swing
While some provinces take a definitive swing towards the winter season this weekend, KwaZulu-Natal continues with its summer derbies and there are some fantastic matches scheduled, including Hilton College hosting Michaelhouse on the Hart-Davis Oval.
It’s interesting not just because it is a traditional rivalry, it’s also because both teams’ fortunes have been trending in the right direction in recent weeks.
While Hilton got the better of Michaelhouse at the Clifton T20 Tournament in an eliminator game for a place in the semi-finals, Michaelhouse impressed at the past weekend’s Independent Schools Cricket Festival (ISCF), scoring three wins from three matches, taking down St Andrew’s College, St John’s College, and St John’s College (Harare).
The key to Michaelhouse’s renaissance has been much better batting, led by opening batsman and captain, Ethan Muir. He strikes the ball hard and sets the tone. It has been, pretty much, a case of a good start equalling good batting from Michaelhouse. If they don’t start well, they have been, at times, somewhat fragile. Right now, though, they’re playing confidently.
Hilton, too, has had some issues on the batting front. However, much like Michaelhouse’s Ethan Muir, their captain, Ben Hockly, has led from the front and he top-scored in wins over St Benedict’s College and Woodridge College at the ISCF.
While Hilton features a versatile spin attack, they will look to their opening bowler, Sechaba Gude, to make an impact up front. He was the Bowler of the Tournament at the Clifton T20, and if he makes early inroads against ‘House, that could set the hosts up for another win over their archrivals on the Hart-Davis Oval.
Durban High School vs Clifton College
Clifton College and Durban High School tangle on the weekend on the Theobald Oval. Recent matches between the schools have been absorbing. Clifton won at DHS in late 2024 in a T20 while School won at the Riverside Sports Club shortly after that in a limited-overs game.
After successfully defending the Clifton T20 Tournament title, DHS will be full of confidence. Clifton, meanwhile, heads into the game after delivering one of their better performances of the season last time out, when they beat St Benedict’s College by 41 runs in a T20.
Encouragingly for Clifton, they had four batsmen make significant runs in that win. Too often this season, they’ve had one batsman produce but without enough support. However, captain Tim Saulez, openers Byron Ward and Hayden Drieselmann, and middle-order batsmen, Zach Williamson and Lawson Dinsdale, have all played important knocks, so they have the ability to go big.
The rise of DHS’s fortunes this season has coincided with a return to form from opener, Ismaeel Omar. He started slowly but made a century in the semi-finals of the Clifton T20 and top-scored for School in the final.
Josh van Biljon played a magnificent knock, scoring 103 not out in a key win over Waterkloof at the Clifton T20, and he is the wicket every team wants and needs.
Taine Havermann is an outstanding all-rounder. It’s hard to keep him quiet. He and captain, Bayanda Majola, will lead the DHS seam attack. Majola’s pace up front is what won DHS the Clifton T20 final. Watch out, too, for Dhilan Naraidu. The left-arm spinner almost always makes his mark.
If it’s bowling that one’s talking about, though, Clifton’s leg-spinner Shiraz Perumal is a dangerman. He excelled at the ISCF, picking up three wickets in the T20 win over St Benedict’s and four in a hard-fought loss to Helpmekaar Kollege, the newly-crowned Johnny Waite champions, in a limited-overs clash. Left-arm spinner Blake Johnson provides a nice contrast to Perumal’s wristy trickery.
The skipper, Tim Saulez, will lead Clifton’s seam attack, with Regan Radley and Caleb Naicker also two players who could make some noise with the ball.
Kearsney College vs St Charles College
Kearsney College welcomes St Charles College to the AH Smith Oval on Saturday and theirs is a sneaky-good showdown. It brings together two very young sides, which both boast intriguing talents. Some of the players have already made a mark in 2025 and will surely become even more regular contributors in the seasons to come.
The sides met in an eliminator at the Clifton T20 Tournament and delivered a fascinating game. It came down to the last over, with Saints needing only six runs to win, but left-arm paceman, Litha Gonya, a star performer for Kearsney this season, delivered when it mattered to see his side to a three-run victory.
What has been interesting from Kearsney in 2025 is that no one player has carried the team on his back. They’ve been unpredictable in the sense that one never knows where the next big contribution is going to come from.
Their spin bowling attack, behind Gonya’s pace, has reduced a number of teams to a snail’s pace. Leg-spinner Rivan Moodley, who has also done well with the bat, enjoyed an outstanding ISCF, capturing 5/25 against St John’s College (Harare) and 4/15 against Kingswood College.
Openers, Thando Zama and Rico Honiball, the Saints’ skipper, set the tone for their side with their batting, but others, including Caleb Sharp and Connor Simpson, have had their moments this season.
St Charles has enjoyed more consistency from their bowling attack, though, with fast bowler Rowen Rajah taking the new ball. Fellow seamer, Ryan Clarke, has been very good. His season has included 6/24, including a hat-trick, in a win over Michaelhouse. Kaiyuran Naidoo offers an effective spin option, too, and Caleb Sharp has proven his all-round worth.
Maritzburg College vs Northwood School
Maritzburg College hosts Northwood on Goldstone’s on Saturday. They’ve met there once this season already, in a Schools SA20 clash, which College won by 12 runs. The Knights, though, went on to be crowned the KZN Schools SA20 champions.
Goldstone’s has played tough for the batsmen in 2025. There are seldom easy runs to come by and it has required focused application from batsmen to make important runs. That’s where College skipper Daniel Nadasan shines. If he can settle at the crease, he could have a big say in the outcome of the game.
Northwood has enjoyed a good season but they have, at times, endured batting struggles. Much will depend on their top four – David de Bruyn, Ross McGlashan, Tuswa Phetha, and captain Kyle White – who, if they play themselves in are solid. They have done much of the heavy lifting for the Knights.
College’s strength this season has been their bowling, and they have more seam options than most, but just who will step up on Saturday is anyone’s guess. They’ve enjoyed decisive returns from many sources in 2025.
Northwood will miss all-rounder and opening bowler Jamie Wimble, who is out with injury, and they will look to left-arm spinner Jordan Matthews to continue to build on a strong season, supported by off-spinner Ben Cilliers and the skipper, Kyle White.
Westville Boys’ High vs Glenwood High School
Westville Boys’ High and Glenwood meet in the weekend’s other game. The Griffin played very good cricket at the Clifton T20 Tournament and reached the final, but came up short against DHS.
That contest turned when Westville skipper Seth Simpson was struck by fast bowler Bayanda Majola and the ball then trickled onto his stumps and dislodged the bails. Simpson has, hopefully, fully recovered because he was outstanding for his side with both bat and ball throughout the event, scoring a century against Hilton College and snapping up 4/14 in a win over St John’s College (Harare).
Incidentally, Westville will have another shot at a title against DHS on Thursday evening when they meet in the W100 final at Kingsmead. It should be a cracking game.
Glenwood struggled at the Clifton T20. All season long, their challenge has been putting together an innings of substance and that issue hurt them in the T20 tournament.
There have been glimmers here and there, however, with Krian Jugoo, Kressan Pillai, Karabo Ntsieng, and Kyle Bryan contributing some decent knocks. They’ll need to put it together as a team against Westville, though, because Westville’s batting has, generally, been solid.
The Green Machine is good in the field. Seldom does an opponent’s scorecard not feature a run out, and their captain Kyle Bryan, with his accurate off-spin, is a good match for his side’s strong performances in the field.
Bandile Mbatha does it all, spearheading their bowling attack and providing a strong presence in the batting order, but he’s missed plenty of time while representing SAu19, and that, too, has impacted Glenwood’s performances.
Westville lost Tristan Delvin to injury just before the Clifton T20 and that, likewise, hit hard. He’s enjoyed a good season with the bat and an even better one with his left-arm spin. Ewan du Toit, though, still gives Westville a good left-arm spin option. (Update: Westville confirmed on Thursday evening that Tristan Delvin has recovered after hyperbaric treatment, passed a fitness test, and will be fit to play).
Dayalan Boyce leads the Westville attack. Sometimes a bit loose, he often produces wicket-taking balls, no matter how he is bowling. Opposite him, Lwandile Bulose‘s nagging left-arm seam presents opposing batsmen with a good challenge.
FIXTURES
Hilton College vs Michaelhouse
Durban High School vs Clifton College
Kearsney College vs St Charles College
Maritzburg College vs Northwood School
Westville Boys’ High vs Glenwood High
