O’Dwyer bowls Michaelhouse to victory over Maritzburg College
When Michaelhouse hosted Maritzburg College on the Roy Gathorne Oval for a two-innings showdown on Saturday and Sunday, there was next to nothing to separate the sides after the bowlers dominated the first innings, but, when College’s batting failed to fire for a second time, thanks mostly to an exceptional spell from Liam O’Dwyer, Michaelhouse came through with a four-wicket win.
On Saturday, 281 runs were scored, and 24 wickets went down.
College captain Reece Willson won the toss and decided his team would bat first. His openers, Akhil Bharath and Kyle de Bruyn, provided the desired response with a 47-run first-wicket partnership, which Ben Heuer ended when he had De Bruyn caught by ‘House skipper, Graydon Leslie, for 26. From that point on, the visitors regularly lost wickets.
Run scoring was not easy, and the Michaelhouse bowlers’ successes kept College in check. Bharath was the third man out for 21, with his being one of two wickets going down on 58 as Heuer, Rex Wardlaw, and Liam O’Dwyer kept denting the visitors’ batting efforts, reducing them to 94/8 in the 34th over.
A defiant ninth-wicket partnership of 25 between Dom du Toit and Greg Hosking gave College’s innings a needed boost, and they went on to 121 all out. Du Toit, the last man out, top scored with 27, striking three fours and a six in a 57-ball stay.
O’Dwyer bowled beautifully and claimed 3/18 from 10 overs, Wardlaw knocked over 2/10 in six, and Heuer’s contribution was 2/19 in seven. Preston Greene chipped in with two late wickets, ending with 2/20 from 6.2.
When Michaelhouse replied, College captain Reece Willson led from the front, removing the top three in the batting order – Graydon Leslie, Cody Sander, and Riley Muir – before Matt Bisset bowled Thandanani Zuma to leave the home team deep in the mire on 25/4.
Ben Heuer and Rex Wardlaw halted the College march, adding 33 runs before Willson made Heuer his fourth victim when he trapped him in front for 20. Wardlaw followed soon after, run out for 20.
When Luke Venter claimed the wickets of Jack Campbell and Victor North shortly after that, Michaelhouse slumped to 81/8. Much like College, though, an eighth-wicket partnership revived their innings.
Preston Greene and Rendani Nonge spent 36 balls together and added 33 runs before Nonge also fell to Venter after making 22, the highest score of the innings. Two runs later, Venter claimed his fourth wicket, and Michaelhouse was all out for 116, just five runs short of the Maritzburg College total. Greene was not out with 16.
Venter, with 4/21 from 6.4 overs, and Willson, with 4/23 from nine, led the way for the College bowling attack.
When Maritzburg College returned to the crease on Saturday afternoon, it was slow going. In 25.5 overs, they batted at only two runs per over, compiling 53/5 before the day’s play concluded. Dax Jursa, with 22, was their leading scorer.
On Sunday, when play resumed, Rendani Nonge struck early, bowling Luan van der Merwe, to reduce College to 55/6. He went on to finish with 2/20 from seven.
Preston Greene chipped in with a tidy 2/25 from 16 overs, but it was Liam O’Dwyer, who, once again, had the visiting batsmen’s number. He snared a miserly 5/19 in 15.3 overs as Maritzburg College fell to 98 all out. Jursa’s 22 remained their highest score, and while five other batsmen made it into double figures, none made it beyond the teens.
O’Dywer was the primary reason for that. He finished with the magnificent match figures of 8/37 from 25.3 overs.
Michaelhouse lost an early wicket in their second innings, but captain Graydon Leslie set a solid foundation with an aggressive knock of 39 from only 26 balls, slamming six fours as he went hard at College’s bowlers.
When Leslie exited after eight overs, his side had reached 51/2. Only 52 more runs were needed to win.
The skipper’s departure slowed the run-scoring rate, and it took them another 15.5 overs to reach 103/6. But victory belonged to Michaelhouse by four wickets.
College captain Reece Willson did his utmost to stop the home side, knocking over 3/27 in nine overs, but Ben Heuer, with an unbeaten 35, shepherded Michaelhouse across the line.
Summarised scorecard
Maritzburg College 121/10 (Dom du Toit 27, Kyle de Bruyn 26, Akhil Bharath 21; Liam O’Dwyer 3/18, Rex Wardlaw 2/10, Ben Heuer 2/19, Preston Greene 2/20); Michaelhouse 116/10 (Rendani Nonge 22, Ben Heuer 20; Luke Venter 4/21, Reece Willson 4/23)
Maritzburg College 98/10 (Dax Jursa 22; Liam O’Dwyer 5/19, Rendani Nonge 2/20, Preston Greene 2/25); Michaelhouse 103/6 (Graydon Leslie 39, Ben Heuer 35*; Reece Willson 3/27). Michaelhouse won by four wickets.
