Michaelhouse wins at Kearsney, Clifton victorious at St Charles
Neither team came close to batting out their 50 overs when Kearsney College hosted Michaelhouse on the AH Smith Oval in Botha’s Hill on Saturday in hot and humid conditions.
‘House visited the middle first and put up 144 all out, with the middle to lower order stabilising their innings after the Michaelhouse top order went down cheaply in the face of Kearsney’s opening bowlers, Litha Gonya and Michael Broom. By the eighth over, with the top four out, Michaelhouse was in trouble on 33/4.
Hayden Hewlett came to the visitors’ rescue, however, with an aggressive knock of 32 from only 24 balls, with six fours. He and Michael Blignaut added 39 for the fifth wicket, with only nine of those runs belonging to Blignaut.
Radhesh Jhilmeet and Jean-Luc Rey boosted the Michaelhouse innings with a seventh-wicket partnership of 44, which lifted the ‘House total to 120 before Jhilmeet was trapped in front by Daniel Miskey for 16.
Rey went on to match Hewlett’s 32 as Michaelhouse tallied 144 all out in 32.2 overs.
Left-arm paceman Litha Gonya performed superbly for Kearsney, knocking over 6/37 in 8.2 overs
Kearsney’s reply began relatively smoothly, but they lost Jonty Wiggett in the fifth over, caught by Harry Vickery off Thandanani Zuma for 14. That left the home team on 19/1.
When Luke Mitchell accounted for Riven Moodley, Kearsney was on 27/2 and that soon became 27/3 as Zuma struck again. One run later, Luke Mitchell, who had dismissed Moodley, added Aaron Blackburn and Kearsney was in trouble on 28/4.
Asher Hollister and Cole Young stopped the slide momentarily, adding 18 from 26 balls, but Young’s departure triggered another collapse. From 46/4, Kearsney tumbled to 47/8. They weren’t done fighting, however.
Michael Groom and Matthew Gorie stonewalled the Michaelhouse attack, partnering for 56 runs for the ninth wicket. Luke Mitchell, at last, separated the pair, when he had Gorie caught by Ethan Muir for 14.
Gorie had helped Kearsney past the 100-run mark, but Litha Gonya and Michael Groom added only three more runs, taking Kearsney to 106 before their innings was ended by the outstanding Thandanani Zuma, who secured his five-for by trapping Gonya in front.
Zuma finished with a fantastic 5/23 from 9.4 overs, while his new ball partner, Luke Mitchell, captured 3/29 from 10. Jean-Luc Rey made an impact, too, knocking over 2/16 in seven.
Despite the excellence of those Michaelhouse bowlers, they were unable to get the better of Michael Groom. He finished with an unbeaten 39 from 68 balls, which included two sixes and four fours.
St Charles College vs Clifton College
In Pietermaritzburg, Caleb Naicker produced an outstanding all-round performance to steer Clifton College to a four-wicket victory over St Charles College, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025.
Clifton captain Tim Saulez, in an interesting decision, chose to bowl first after winning the toss and, for the most part, his bowlers ensured that his decision was a good one.
With Naicker leading the way, Clifton quickly took charge. He removed the top three in the Saints’ batting order – Thandolwethu Zama, Covhan Baatjies, and Andre Bosman – before St Charles had moved into double figures. Captain Rico Honiball and Caleb Sharp, then, stopped the rot.
They put together a 73-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Honiball was caught and bowled by Blake Johnson after scoring 44 from 60 balls, with four fours.
Ryan Clarke‘s stay was brief, but Caleb Sharp continued to keep Clifton’s attack at bay. Eventually, though, after advancing the total to 117, he was the sixth man out, bowled by Caleb Naicker for 50 from 87 deliveries, which included four fours.
Following his departure, the Saints’ innings immediately lost its impetus. Rowen Rajah also departed on 117 and three runs later Connor Simpson was out. Keegan Vermaak offered some resistance, with 11, while batting tenth in the order, but St Charles was all out for 137 after 43 overs.
Caleb Naicker returned a sparkling 4/30 from eight overs, while Muhammed Malek wrecked the Saints’ lower order, snapping up 3/15 in four. Shiraz Perumal bowled tidily to snare 2/25 in 10, and Blake Johnson also turned the screws on the home team to pick up 1/20 in 10.
Clifton’s response suffered an early blow when the speedy Rowen Rajah trapped Muhammed Malek in front, and Hayden Drieselmann followed for 13, bowled by Rajah, as the Durban side slipped to 19/2.
Naicker and the skipper, Tim Saulez, advanced the Clifton total to 43. Then, Dylan Leppan caught Saulez off the bowling of Connor Simpson for 14.
With Naicker holding down one end, Clifton moved on to 75 before Zach Williamson was out for 10. Cristiano Borrageiro contributed 14, while Naicker continued to defy the Saints’ attack. By the time Borrageiro departed, Clifton had moved on to 107/5.
Lawson Dinsdale, the wicketkeeper, chipped in with nine. All the while, though, Naicker continued to graft hard for his runs. Together with Dinsdale, he added 24 runs for the sixth wicket before Dinsdale was lost with only seven more runs required. Naicker and Shiraz Perumal, then, saw Clifton to victory.
Naicker finished with a crucial 48 not out from 134 balls, which included only a single four. In stifling conditions, his contributions to Clifton’s victory were massive.
Rowen Rajah led the Saints’ attack with 2/25 from 9.5 overs, while Keegan Vermaak bowled well, too, claiming 2/28 from 10. Caleb Sharp was miserly, returning 1/16 from his 10 overs.
Summarised scorecards
Michaelhouse 144/10 (Hayden Hewlett 32, Jean-Luc Rey 32, Litha Gonya 6/37); Kearsney College 106/10 (Michael Groom 39*, Thandanani Zuma 5/23, Luke Mitchell 3/29, Jean-Luc Rey 2/16). Michaelhouse won by 38 runs.
St Charles College 137/10 (Caleb Sharp 50, Rico Honiball 44, Caleb Naicker 4/30, Muhammed Malek 3/15, Shiraz Perumal 2/25); Clifton College 137/6 (Caleb Naicker 48*, Rowen Rajah 2/25, Keegan Vermaak 2/28). Clifton College won by four wickets.
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