Michaelhouse and St George’s College power to victories on day three of ISCF
Michaelhouse produced a solid team performance to register their second win in as many games at the Standard Bank Independent Schools Cricket Festival (ISCF) on Saturday.
Playing on Mitchell Field, in Johannesburg, ‘House scored a hard-fought 10-run victory over St John’s College in a low-scoring clash.
At St Alban’s College, St George’s bounced back from a 48-run defeat at the hands of Kingswood on Friday to record an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Woodridge, also in a 50-over game.
At St John’s, the home team won the toss and elected to field first. Their bowlers did a commendable job, bowling Michaelhouse out for 117 in 46.2 overs. However, their batsmen struggled and St John’s was dismissed for 107 in 42.2 overs.
Michaelhouse had a shaky start to their innings, losing two early wickets, which left them on 13/2 after five overs. Graydon Leslie and Kian Blignaut tried to pull off a repair job, but they added only 17 runs for the third wicket.
Leslie, then, shared a 32-run fourth-wicket stand with Michael Blignaut, which proved to be their best partnership and the boost that their innings needed.
Leslie stuck around for 42 balls and struck two fours in his 26, which was his team’s best individual effort with the bat. Only four others – Kian and Michael Blignaut, Victor North, and Radhesh Jhilmeet – reached double figures but failed to kick on.
Captain Alec Loveland led with the ball for St John’s, grabbing three wickets for 25 runs in 10 overs, while Herman Basson, Ethan Robinson, and Malan du Plessis picked up two apiece.
Unfortunately for St John’s, their top order failed to fire, with three of the top seven being dismissed without scoring, and another making only two.
Opener Nkosana Sibiya scored a good 21 off 25, while Joshua Hall showed commendable commitment, facing 84 balls for his 20. Together, they scored 31 runs for the second wicket.
Hall and Aiden Barberrini put on 32 for the fifth wicket, but only those two stands were more than single-figure affairs.
Ethan Robinson, batting ninth in the order, played a belligerent knock, scoring a run-a-ball 20 that gave the home side hope. However, that hope perished when he was the ninth man to be dismissed in the 41st over.
Radhesh Jhilmeet was the pick of the bowlers for Michaelhouse with two wickets for nine runs in 4.1 overs. Jean-Luc Rey and Luke Mitchell also bagged a brace each at higher economy rates.
At St Alban’s, the toss went Woodridge’s way and they opted to bat first. They didn’t start well and that was merely the prelude to the innings in its entirety.
In just 19.2 overs, they were skittled for 80. St George’s didn’t make a meal of things and they completed the run chase in 17 overs, finishing on 82/3 to clinch victory.
Woodridge’s innings was a trainwreck from the outset. They lost Ethan Moothoo in the first over before scoring a few runs at a slow pace thereafter. However, Jay-Reece Madatt was the only Woodridge batsman to build up any sort of momentum. He contributed a decent 37 off 46 deliveries, but his was a lone, effective batting effort.
Sonwabise Gotyana was the only other Woodridge batsman to reach double figures, contributing 11 after a 23-ball stay.
Benjamin Muzanago was the pick of the bowlers for St George’s, capturing three wickets for 17 runs in four overs. Tichaona Mharadze conceded three runs from wides but picked up two wickets with his only other deliveries.
Woodridge thought they were in the contest when Ethan Moothoo dismissed Michael Mukori for a two-ball duck in the first over of the St George’s innings. However, Jayden Petersen performed the anchor role well, scoring a patient 27 off 35 deliveries, which gave the school from Harare a solid platform for their run chase.
He was also part of two decent partnerships. The first was a 22-run second-wicket stand with Munesu Chitongo, and the second, with Tyshawn Zuze, for the third wicket, was worth 33 runs.
After Petersen’s departure, Zuze and Abhiraj Singh saw St George’s to a comfortable win with an unbroken 27-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Ethan Moothoo and Daniel Darlow were the only wicket-takers for Woodridge. Moothoo snagged two wickets for 12 runs and Darlow claimed one for 15 runs in two overs.
Scorecards
Michaelhouse 117/10 (Gradon Leslie 26, Radhesh Jhilmeet 16, Alec Loveland 3/25, Herman Basson 2/5). St John’s College 107/9 (Aiden Barberrini 30, Nkosana Sibiya 21, Radhesh Jhilmeet 2/9, Herman Basson 2/5). Michaelhouse won by 10 runs.
Woodridge College 80/10 (Jay Reece Madatt 37, Sonwabiso Gotyana 11, Benjamin Muzanago 3/17, Tichaona Mharadze 2/3). St George’s College 82/3 (Jayden Petersen 27, Tyshawn Zuze 26*, Ethan Moothoo 2/12, Daniel Darlow 1/15). St George’s won by seven wickets.
