Maritzburg College, KES romp to victory, St Stithians and DHS clinch thrillers
Maritzburg College and King Edward VII (KES) unleashed the full might of their batting lineups to record comprehensive victories over St John’s College and St Charles College in their Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week matches on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Durban High School (DHS) and St Stithians College claimed nail-biting wins over St David’s Marist Inanda and Clifton College.
After Maritzburg College welcomed St John’s onto Goldstone’s, the pleasantries stopped following the coin clip. Given the call, College captain Daniel Nadasan elected to bat first.
The Red, Black, and White, then, put up 245 all out in 49 overs before bundling St John’s out for 204 in 44.5 to claim a 41-run triumph.
The hosts stumbled out of the blocks, but Akhil Bharath (52) corrected the hosts’ radar and set them on course with a well-played half-century, while Daniel Nadasan (30), and Luka Puddu (39) added a vital combined 69 runs.
Things took a turn for the worse for St John’s when the Player of the Match, Joseph Currie, arrived at the crease at the start of the 35th over. The number seven batsman unfurled his full range of shots, delivering a blistering 34-ball 61 that featured seven fours and a pair of sixes. He was particularly severe on Ethan Robinson, bludgeoning 22 runs off him in the 42nd over.
When they took to the crease, St John’s struggled to get their run chase going. It was only when Connor van der Walt (50) came in eighth in the order that one of their batsmen recorded a significant score.
KES arrived at St Charles College, in Pietermaritzburg, keen to build on their victory over Kearsney College on Saturday, and they did so with panache. Batting first, KES put 317/3 on the board before restricting Saints to 273/9 in their 50 overs to register a 44-run win.
Tiago Dias (51) and Urav Mukhija (85) created a concrete platform for KES with a 98-run opening stand that set the Johannesburg school on the right course.
Matthew Bromley added impetus to their innings with a 51-ball 50 before Troy Gordon and Steele Grooteman carted the St Charles’ bowlers all over the park. Gordon blasted a swift, unbeaten 29-ball 61, while Grooteman was not out on 48 from 28 deliveries.
Grooteman, who collected the Player of the Match award, was not done yet. He delivered the full quota of 10 overs and bagged three wickets for 42 runs. Connor Simpson put up a good fight with a 79-ball 87. However, his strong effort wasn’t enough to save the game for St Charles.
At Collegians, captain Bayanda Majola and the rest of the DHS bowling attack were well backed by their fielders when they met St David’s.
The Horseflies lost the toss and were asked to bowl first. Kamogelo Phiri (82) and Jason Rowles‘s (68) scored half-centuries to take St David’s to 270/9 in 50 overs, but a run out of Rowles, one of two pulled off by DHS, proved to be pivotal to the outcome of the contest.
Joshua van Biljon (82) and Taine Havemann (79) took control of the chase and shared a 126-run third-wicket partnership that gave School a shot at victory. A rapid 27 off 18 from Majola, then, took them to within reach of the St David’s score and DHS kept their cool to slide over the line off the last ball to claim a two-wicket win.
St Stithians crossed swords with Clifton at the MP Oval and sneaked a tight one-wicket win. Coach Lazarus Mokoena’s charges won the toss, elected to bowl first, and unleashed Nqaba Matunda on their opposition. The pacer wreaked havoc, knocking over 5/31 in 10 overs as Saints bowled Clifton out for 147 in 39.4 overs.
The Johannesburg side’s reply was anything but smooth, however. They lost their first wicket in the third over, which brought Thomas Collins to the crease, and he steadied the ship with a well-paced 52 off 73 balls. Tahseen Hanslo supported him before Shiraz Perumal ripped through the Saints’ middle order to give Clifton a chance.
St Stithians was in trouble on 97/8, but, unfortunately for Clifton, Tendai Kadyamadare stopped the collapse, steering the Gauteng side to 150/9 and a one-wicket triumph. He finished unbeaten on 33 off 43 balls.
Scorecards
Maritzburg College 245/10 (Joe Currie 61, Akhil Bharath 52, Luka Puddu 39, Daniel Nadasan 30; Ethan Robinson 3/38, David Ireland 3/45); St John’s College 204/10 (Connor van der Walt 50, Herman Basson 36, Michael Stubbs 30, Lwazi Khupe 26; Sam Hughes 3/37, Nathan Pembridge 2/61). Maritzburg College won by 41 runs.
KES 317/3 (Urav Mukhija 85, Troy Gordon 61*, Tiago Dias 51, Matthew Bromley 50; Jayden Saville 2/48, Keegan Vermaak 1/50). St Charles 273/9 (Connor Simpson 87, Relebogile Mokoena 39*; Steele Grooteman 3/42, Connor Kuijers 2/38). KES won by 44 runs.
St David’s 270/9 (Kamogelo Phiri 82, Jason Rowles 68; Ethan Cooper 2/48, Bayanda Majola 1/37). DHS 271/8 (Joshua van Biljon 82, Taine Havemann 79; Jared Stern 3/43, Morteza Manack 2/43). DHS won by two wickets.
Clifton 147/10 (Lawson Dinsdale 34, Hayden Drieselmann 22; Nqaba Matunda 5/31, Zaakir Hanslo 2/31). St Stithians 150/9 (Thomas Collins 52, Tendai Kadyamadare 33*; Shiraz Perumal 5/32, Blake Johnson 2/25). St Stithians won by one wicket.
