Northwood downs Hilton in a thriller to claim KZN Schools SA20 title
Northwood School became the inaugural champion of the Schools SA20 in KwaZulu-Natal after edging out Hilton College on the Pietermaritzburg Oval on Friday afternoon is a roller-coaster ride of a final that delivered thrills and some fine cricket from both teams.
After day one, Maritzburg College was in the driving seat, having won both of their matches on Thursday, but both Northwood and Hilton were one and one and in with a shot at making the title decider. The Knights had beaten Hilton but gone down to College, while Hilton beat Glenwood in their second game.
On Friday, though, Hilton outplayed College, bagging two bonus points after bowling out the Red, Black, and White for just 55 to win by 46 runs. Northwood, meanwhile, comfortably handled Glenwood, winning by six wickets with 32 balls to spare.
That set up a rematch of the finalists’ opening game, which had also been played on the Pietermaritzburg Oval, with Northwood winning by five wickets, with only three balls in hand on that occasion. This time it was for the title.
After winning the toss, Hilton captain Ben Hockly, elected to bat. He and his opening partner Alex Pitman turned that decision into a very good one. They looked comfortable from ball one.
Hockly played the shot of the match in the early going, sending a half-volley from Thabiso Mtambo over extra cover for six with a beautiful flourish of the bat. At the other end, Alex Pitman produced a gem of an innings. He kept the Northwood bowlers off balance with innovative shot-making and clever judgement, sometimes hitting out and at others playing with soft hands to steal quick singles. It was a knock of the highest class.
Together, Hockly and Pitman raced to 57 in the seventh over before the skipper was bowled by left-arm spinner Jordan Matthews for 21 from 15 deliveries.
With Pitman dominating, he and Robert Burman added 34 for the second wicket before Matthews struck again, castling Burman for 12 from 16.
Pitman fell in the 14th over, which reduced Hilton to 97/3, when he offered Ben Cilliers a simple caught and bowled chance. The opening batsman was disappointed to provide a tame dismissal after an excellent innings.
Northwood captain Kyle White spread his field to prevent Hilton’s batsmen from going for the big shot and that worked to bring the Knights two wickets as both Simon Steyn and Stewart Falconer holed out in the deep. Jayden Roux chipped in with 12, but Hilton, after a superb start, lost some momentum and finished with 131/6. It was a solid total, but they will know it could have been better.
Matthews finished with 2/21 from his four overs, while White bagged 2/26, also from four. Off-spinner Ben Cilliers snapped up 1/21 from four, as the spinners pulled the Knights back into the contest after Hilton’s fast start.
If they were going to challenge, Hockly and company, Northwood needed a good start. They got it. Although not quite as rapid as Hilton’s, it was, nonetheless, exactly what the doctor ordered.
David de Bruyn and Ross McGlashan started off manipulating the ball off the bat to get the scoreboard rolling. Later, though, when opportunities arose, they were not afraid to hit out, and that brought McGlashan a couple of sixes.
He and De Bruyn shared an opening stand of 66 before McGlashan was removed, LBW to Simon Steyn for 40 from 31, with a four and those aforementioned sixes. Northwood was on 66/1 after 10 overs.
“They stuck to their game plan, which was almost to play tip ‘n run cricket, and I think they did that superbly,” Northwood captain Kyle White said afterwards.
“When we needed to go, we went, and that’s what paid off. As soon as we got out of the power play, and the field was spread, hitting out is usually not really what you do, but as soon as the fielders were out it was almost as if we had been freed up a bit.”
Five runs after McGlashan’s departure, De Bruyn was caught by Obakeng Motsepa off the bowling of Simon Steyn for 29 from 34. The fact that he didn’t hit a single boundary reflected how well the opening pair had run between the wickets. Tuswa Phetha followed that playbook, contributing a vital 23 not out from 26 balls, without the aid of a boundary.
The balance of the contest swayed as the remaining balls diminished. Hilton did a good job of restricting boundaries, but Northwood kept the scoreboard ticking over, scrambling for every run, while Hilton missed out on two decent run out opportunities.
The Midlands’ school worked hard to tighten the screws on the Knights, but, with one massive blow, Northwood’s captain Kyle White turned the tide with a timely six. He led from the front, cracking 28 from 21 balls before being caught by Jayden Roux off the bowling of Sechaba Gude when the total was 120. Victory, though, was in sight.
Once again, as they had done on Thursday against Hilton, Northwood made it with three balls to spare, but this time they had seven wickets in hand.
It was a contest worthy of a final and the result was in the balance until the end.
“All credit to the guys for their guts and, especially to Hilton. They played very well,” Knights’ skipper Kyle White said.
“We knew they’re very strong up front. They have two classy openers. But we backed our spinners through the middle overs and then we produced good death bowling.”
“We’ve had a slow start in the past couple of games, but it’s about sticking to the processes, which is good for us.”
After underperforming in the early part of 2024’s fourth term, Northwood has turned a corner and they’re a team that returns a lot of players, which makes them dangerous.
“The way we ended off last year, in terms of the Schools SA20 KZN Dolphins’ competition, and then going to Bloemfontein (to the Grey College Cricket Festival), our process has been really good, and we have stuck to it, and we have understood the game plan,” White said.
“We’re looking to make a big statement this year.”
Summarised scorecards
Glenwood 109/7 (Karabo Ntsieng 23, Kamogelo Moloto 23, Kenzo Mchunu 21, Jamie Wimble 3/15); Northwood 110/4 (Ross McGlashan 42, Jamie Wimble 31*, Kyle White 21, Akhil Maharaj 3/21). Northwood won by six wickets.
Hilton College 101/8 (Ben Hockly 25, Alex Pitman 22, Daniel Nadasan 3/8, Karl Dedekind 2/24); Maritzburg College 55/10 (Dominic du Toit 15, Luke Campbell 3/9, Obakeng Motsepa 3/15, Jayden Roux 2/8). Hilton College won by 46 runs.
Final
Hilton College 131/6 (Alex Pitman 58, Ben Hockly 21, Jordan Matthews 2/21, Kyle White 2/26); Northwood 132/3 (Ross McGlashan 40, David de Bruyn 29, Kyle White 28, Tuswa Phetha 23*, Simon Steyn 2/21). Northwood won by seven wickets.
