Maritzburg College holds off ‘House in Eston T20 Night League
Maritzburg College halted Michaelhouse‘s strong run in the Eston One Insurance T20 Night League at the Beaumont Eston Farmers Club on Monday evening, holding on for a tight six-run win, which was the difference between the extras conceded by both sides.
Batting first, College put up 149/7, and while that was a step up from the 115/8 they produced in an 11-run win over Glenwood, it was still a somewhat stop/start effort.
Dom du Toit led the Red, Black, and White batting effort, cracking three fours in a hasty 42 from 32 balls, while Karl Dedekind weighed in with 38 from 31, which included five fours. The next best, though, was just 19 from Kyle de Bruyn.
Opening bowler Thandanani Zuma did a good job, snapping up 2/23 in his four overs, while his new ball partner, Rex Wardlaw, struck twice, too, although he was a touch on the expensive side of things, going for 38 runs.
Ben Heuer went wicketless, but his return of 0/17 in four was tidy and put the College batsmen under pressure. Liam O’Dwyer‘s 1/9 in two was also useful.
Michaelhouse lost Cody Sander and Riley Muir early in their run chase to the bowling of Sam Hughes, but Graydon Leslie and Ben Heuer set them on track with a stand of 43 for the third wicket before Leslie was caught by Deolyn Naidoo off of Luke Venter for 41 from 33 deliveries, which had featured four fours and a six.
Heuer and Hayden Hewlett then combined for 38 runs for the fourth wicket before Heuer departed, bowled by College captain Daniel Nadasan for 32 from 26. He’d struck three fours and a six. That left ‘House on 97/4 after 13.2 overs, still well in the fight.
Maritzburg College, though, did well to keep Michaelhouse under pressure, and that brought them two run outs – of Rex Wardlaw, for 17 from 17, and of Preston Greene, for three from two – which undermined ‘House’s run chase.
In the end, they came up six runs short of the College total, on 143/6, with Hewlett unbeaten on 35 from 33.
Opening bowler Sam Hughes finished with 2/34 from four. Daniel Nadasan picked up 1/10 in two, and Luke Venter 1/27 from four, but Reece Willson’s 0/17 in four proved to be a vital contribution, too.
On Wednesday evening, Michaelhouse will be back in action, facing the high-flying Durban High School, who have been the dominant team in the Eston One Insurance T20 Night League thus far.
SCORES
Maritzburg College 149/7 (Dom du Toit 42, Karl Dedekind 38, Kyle de Bruyn 19; Thandanani Zuma 2/23, Rex Wardlaw 2/38); Michaelhouse 143/6 (Graydon Leslie 41, Hayden Hewlett 35*, Ben Heuer 32; Sam Hughes 2/34, Daniel Nadasan 1/10).
Maritzburg College won by six runs.
