Records shattered as Manack brothers lead St David’s trouncing of Northcliff
Morteza Manack smashed his way into the record books as he led St David’s Marist Inanda to an incredible 222-run victory over Northcliff when the two sides met on Saturday.
Manack was in imperious form, carving 32 fours and eight sixes in his school record-setting 226 off 128 deliveries.
The middle-order batsman’s tally of fours was just one less than the number scored by the entire Northcliff batting line-up. With his inspired knock leading the way, St David’s posted a massive 505/4, their highest total yet in limited-overs cricket.
His 226 also eclipsed the previous individual best set by Armaan Manack, his twin brother, who scored a fluent 174 against St Alban’s in February.
Northcliff had little chance of chasing down that total, and even though they mustered 283/8 in their 50 overs, they were still well over 200 runs short of the St David’s total.
Manack joined his twin brother, Armaan, in the 10th over after two batsmen had departed in two balls. St David’s needed a partnership that would consolidate their innings and set them up for a big finish in their final 10 overs. The Manack twins achieved far more than that.
The pair shared an incredible 309-run third-wicket stand, the highest St David’s partnership ever in limited-overs cricket. The brothers spent only 29.5 overs together, but they were brutal and relentless on the Northcliff bowlers and fielders, who were made to chase leather.
Their outstanding partnership ended when Armaan was dismissed after scoring a brilliant 167 from 108 deliveries. His knock, which featured 24 fours and two sixes, highlighted why he was the previous record holder for the highest individual score by a St David’s batsman.
Morteza Manack batted until the 49th over, by which time he had also shared a 100-run fourth-wicket partnership with Kamogelo Phiri (41*), which left St David’s on 489.
Only Oliver Vermaak, among the Northcliff bowlers, returned a respectable economy rate of 6.75 from eight overs. The rest of the bowlers went for over eight runs an over, with Reaal Harriam, who picked up a five-for for the Lions Invitational side against high-flying Waterkloof in the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, suffering the most and conceding 13.33 runs an over.
Alexander West‘s century, 102 runs from 90 balls, with 12 fours and a six, good innings that it was, wasn’t enough to help Northcliff mount a challenge to St David’s sensational outing with the bat.
The game was already out of Northcliff’s reach when West arrived at the crease in the 14th over. They had lost three wickets to good bowling from Hayden Campbell and Christopher Emslie and had only 47 runs on the board.
Besides West, Cade Bradley was the other bright spark in Northcliff’s vain run chase. He struck a commendable unbeaten 80 off 66 deliveries and shared a 149-run sixth-wicket partnership with West, the highest of Northcliff’s innings.
Hayden Campbell was the pick of the bowlers for St David’s with two wickets for 20 runs in five overs. Christopher Emslie and Shaiyen Desai also bagged a brace each. Jason Rowles chipped in with a single wicket.
Summarised Scorecard:
St David’s Marist 505/4 (Morteza Manack 226, Armaan Manack 167; Alexander West 2/67, Jack Woolard 1/42); Northcliff 283/8 (Alexander West 102, Cade Bailey 80; Hayden Campbell 2/20, Christopher Emslie 2/26). St David’s Marist won by 222 runs.
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