Late fireworks lift Hilton to win over Michaelhouse
Hilton College and Michaelhouse met in a thrilling Eston One Insurance High Schools’ T20 Night League showdown on Monday, with the early season clash being decided in Hilton’s favour by only two wickets, with four balls to spare.
‘House won the toss and opted to bat first, and they made a decent start, with their top four – Ethan Muir, Michael Spencer, Graydon Leslie, and Rex Wardlaw – all making it into double figures. The problem was they didn’t take it far enough.
Wardlaw, in at four, led the way, making an unbeaten 26 from 25 deliveries, with two fours, while Spencer, who opened with Muir, struck 21 from 15, with three fours. Muir weighed in with 18 and Leslie made 11, but it was only Ross Moller, batting tenth, who joined them in double figures, and he made 12.
Michaelhouse’s start was strong, with the openers putting on 45 for the first wicket in just 5.5 overs before Spencer departed. Unfortunately for ‘House, Muir joined him on the same total. Two runs later, the dangerous Dylan Hewlett was gone, out for a single, with the total having slipped to 47/3.
Leslie departed with the total on 63, with another two wickets falling in quick succession a short while later to reduce the Balgowan boys to 79/6. Soon, that became 87/8 as the Michaelhouse innings floundered.
Moller’s 12 helped to give the innings a slight boost at the end, with Michaelhouse finishing on 120/9.
David Hill, with 3/20 from his four overs, and Benoit Rey, with 3/23, which included three of the top five in the order, put the skids under the ‘House batsmen. Simon Steyn also impressed, returning 2/23 from his four. It was, overall, a decent bowling effort, although 16 wides was a bit on the high side.
Hilton’s reply began poorly. They were 10/3 in the fourth over, and in the seventh over their top four were all gone, with Ross Moller doing a superb job with the new ball and getting rid of Robert Burman, Ben Hockly, and Simon Steyn, while Thanadanani Zuma accounted for Charles Swart.
Jayden Roux and Stewart Falconer then joined forces to pull off a critical rescue job. They doubled the score, taking it from 27 to 54, before Roux was caught by Dylan Hewlett off of the bowling of Harry Vickery for the innings’ top score of 26, which came from 30 balls and included four fours.
Falconer went on to make 21 from 20 and helped to advance the total to 71, before he was out. Hewlett then executed a run out on the same total, leaving Hilton on 71/7 after 14.2 overs, and the match very much in the balance. Soon, Hilton was staring down the barrel after Ethan van Heerden was dismissed for five, with the total on 79.
That brought David Hill and Benoit Rey together, and they proceeded to take the contest away from Michaelhouse with some brave hitting. Hill sent two balls to the boundary in an undefeated 19 from only 12 deliveries, while Rey smashed a six, on his way to 14 not out from 12 balls.
They added a match-winning unbroken 42 from only 22 balls in three-and-a-half overs to snatch the game away from their arch-rivals, bringing an exciting contest to a dramatic conclusion.
Scores
Michaelhouse 120/9 (Rex Wardlaw 26*, Michael Spencer 21, David Hill 3/20, Benoit Rey 3/23, Simon Steyn 2/23)
Hilton College 121/8 (Jayden Roux 26*, Stewart Falconer 21, David Hill 19*, Ross Moller 3/10, Harry Vickery 3/23)
Hilton College won by two wickets
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