Joe MacRobert fires St John’s to big ISCF win
St John’s College vs Woodridge College
St John’s College cruised to a nine-wicket victory over Woodridge College on day one of the 2024 Independent Schools Cricket Festival (ISCF), being hosted by St Alban’s College, as their captain Joe MacRobert continued his torrid run-scoring form.
Before he did his damage, however, Woodridge posted 150 all out after choosing to bat. They lost an early wicket, but looked to be on course for a good score when Jaydon Damons and Ethan Moothoo took the score to 47.
Malan du Plessis then had Damons caught by Nkosana Sibiya after a very patient 14 from 64 balls. It was his next ball, however, that had a huge impact on the game. Du Plessis had Woodridge captain Randy Syce caught by his counterpart, Joe MacRobert, without scoring.
An accomplished batsman, Syce represented Eastern Province Schools and the Eastern Warriors at the Cubs Week. His dismissal was a big blow to the Eastern Cape side’s batting effort.
Du Plessis added a third wicket when he also accounted for Moothoo, who top scored for Woodridge, spending 111 balls out in the middle for his 50.
Lukhanyo Ndulama helped boost the run rate, hitting four fours in his knock of 41 from 56 deliveries, as he and Moothoo added 75 for the fourth wicket. However, when the pair fell within three runs of one another, the innings lost momentum and wickets fell regularly.
From 122/3, Woodridge crumbled to 150 all out.
David Ireland, who has made impressive progress this season, captured 2/14 from 8.5 overs, while Alec Loveland picked up 2/18 from nine. Two run outs also accelerated Woodridge’s demise.
Then, with MacRobert to the fore, St John’s powered their way to victory in just 18.3 overs. He punished the Woodridge bowlers, smashing an unbeaten 79 from only 50 balls, 12 of which he dispatched for four.
MacRobert and Thomas Ievers, who ended on 52 not out from 48 deliveries, put on an unbroken 127 for the second wicket in only 15 overs to blast St John’s across the line.
St Benedict’s College vs Kearsney College
On a day that was unkind to the KZN teams – they won only one of four games – it was the most consistent side in the province in 2024, Kearsney College, who claimed that win.
Facing St Benedict’s College at Tuks, they sent the Bedfordview boys in, to bat. That was a good decision by Kearsney captain Ross Coetzee as Ryan Browning had two batsmen caught behind by wicketkeeper Matthew De Oliveira with only five runs on the board.
Bennies slumped to 36/4 before Clayton Horlick and Carl Goosen combined for 37 runs to lift the total to 73, which is when Goosen was sent packing for 22 after Jack O’Donovan pouched a catch off Asavela Khambule.
Horlick resolutely kept the Kearsney attack at bay, but he eventually became another victim of Khambule, the eighth man to fall, with the total on 126, for 37 from 88 balls.
The next two wickets followed quickly, and St Benedict’s were dismissed for 127. It was testament to Kearsney’s tight bowling that it took Bennies 45.5 overs to score their runs.
Khambule, who has been in magnificent form, picked up 3/11 with his leg spin, from 7.5 overs, while Browning, with his steep bounce, took 3/16 in eight. His opening partner, Sandiswa Yeni, knocked over 2/30 in 10, and Michael Groom, with 1/8 in seven, kept St Benedict’s on the defensive.
In turn, Bennies battled determinedly to keep Kearsney’s talented batting lineup at bay. They succeeded in keeping the run rate under control – with SA Schools’ spinner Parth Patel returning 1/26 from 10 – but they also they needed wickets and were stymied by Kearsney’s leading run scorers this season, Cameron Veenstra and Ross Coetzee.
Jason de Gryse and Matthew Lamplough gave Kearsney a good start, with an opening stand of 39, but they fell within one run of one another, with De Gryse making 21.
That brought Veenstra and Coetzee together. St Benedict’s did a really good job of keeping them in check – not many have managed that this season – but the pair adapted their games well to the requirements of the contest as they compiled an unbroken stand of 82 to see their side to victory.
Veenstra finished with 50 not out from 82 balls, with one four and one six, while Coetzee, usually a powerful striker of the ball, didn’t reach the boundary once, but his patient 38 from 93 balls demonstrated maturity and a keen understanding of what was needed.
St Stithians College vs Titans XI
Chris Anderson struck the first century of the ISCF, and it was desperately needed by St Stithians College, who totalled only 207 all out against the Titans XI, despite Anderson’s 100 not out, which came at close to a run a ball and included eight fours and two sixes.
If it wasn’t for Anderson’s fine innings, and 30 from opener, Pranav Raichetti, the Saints’ innings wouldn’t have looked very good.
Mohammed Barabat, with an impressive 2/29 from 10 overs, and Ditebogo Chauke, with 2/31 from eight, led the Titans XI’s bowling, while two run outs ended any resistance the Saints’ lower order may have offered.
In reply, Tshepang Laka produced a solid knock at the top of the Titans XI’s batting order, making 28, but he fought a lone fight as the highest score of any of the next six batsmen was only four.
Eventually, Neylo Sanna stopped the rot, making 21 from 28. But when he was the ninth man out, only one run was added, and it was all over as the Titans XI folded for 78.
The Saints’ bowlers spread the wickets around, with Cayden Sunker snaring 3/14 in six, Tahseen Hanslo taking 3/22 in 10, and Ethan Jacobs claiming 2/19 in six.
They didn’t find it easy when batting, but Saints, ultimately, romped to victory by 129 runs.
St Andrew’s School vs Uplands College
Playing on the beautifully named Land’s End at Cornwall Hill College, St Andrew’s School made short work of Uplands College with their 50-overs-a-side match lasting only 44.5 overs in total.
Sent in, to bat, Uplands mustered only 84 all out, thanks to Benji Loon, who played an outstanding innings, making 47 from 76 balls, which included four fours and two sixes, while the rest of the batsmen managed only one four between them.
Off-spinner Dakalo Leketa was the destroyer-in-chief for the Bloemfontein boys, sending down nine overs and returning figures of 5/17.
Opening bowler JC Young did a good job up front, removing both openers, as he picked up 2/12 from six overs.
St Andrew’s then needed only 14.5 overs to overhaul the Uplands’ total as Naudé Botha led the charge with an unbeaten 53 from 54 balls, with eight fours and a six.
St David’s Marist Inanda vs Kingswood College
St David’s Marist Inanda have put up some huge scores since the start of the 2023/24 season, but they didn’t need to do that against Kingswood College, thanks to a strong outing in the field.
They followed through on their decision to put Kingswood in to bat by dismissing the boys from Makhanda for only 90, with the St David’s fielders doing a fine job by effecting two run outs, including number four batsman Josh Loon and Kingswood’s top scorer, Daniel Jakins, who made 23.
Jason Rowles hurt Kingswood with an outstanding return of 4/13 from 10 overs, six of which were maidens, while opening bowler Oliver Botha struck early to claim 2/10 from five.
St David’s lost their bowling hero Jason Rowles in the first over of their reply, but they didn’t blink and went hard after the modest total.
It took them just 17 overs to pass it as an unbeaten 39 from Matthew West, 24 not out from Morteza Manack, and 25 from Armaan Manack, saw them to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.
Summarised scores
Woodridge College 150/10 (Ethan Moothoo 50, Lukhanyo Nudlama 41; Malan du Plessis 3/38, David Ireland 2/14, Alec Loveland 2/18); St John’s College 151/1 (Joe MacRobert 79*, Thomas Ievers 52*) St John’s College won by 9 wickets.
St Benedict’s College 127/10 (Clayton Horlick 37, Carl Goosen 22; Asavela Khambule 3/11, Ryan Browning 3/16, Sandiswa Yeni 2/30); Kearsney College 132/2 (Cameron Veenstra 50*, Ross Coetzee 36*, Jason De Gryse 21) Kearsney College won by 8 wickets.
St Stithians College 207/10 (Chris Anderson 100*, Pranav Raichetti 30; Mohammed Barabat 2/29, Ditebogo Chauke 2/31); Titans XI 78/10 (Tshepang Laka 28, Neylo Sanna 21; Cayde Sunker 3/14, Tahseen Hanslo 3/22, Ethan Jacobs 2/19) St Stithians College won by 129 runs.
Uplands College 84/10 (Benji Loon 47; Dakalo Leketa 5/17, JC Young 2/12); St Andrew’s School 87/1 (Naudé Botha 53*) St Andrew’s School won by 9 wickets.
Kingswood College 90/10 (Daniel Jakins 23; Jason Rowles 4/13, Oliver Botha 2/10); St David’s Marist Inanda 91/2 (Matthew West 39*, Armaan Manack 25, Morteza Manack 24*) St David’s Marist Inanda won by 8 wickets.
