Same scores, but DHS beaten this time
Kearsney College ran out comfortable four-wicket winners over a young Durban High School (DHS) 1st XI at home, in Botha’s Hill, on Saturday
In a strange twist, the scorecard mirrored the Horseflies’ win over Maritzburg College the previous weekend, except that DHS was on the wrong end of the result on this occasion.
They were bowled out for 158, which is what College posted against them a week earlier. And Kearsney then reached the required target, tallying 159 for 6, which was the DHS total when they passed College on Van Heerden Field on the previous Saturday.
Batting first, DHS were dismissed just shy of their 50 overs, with Semal Pillay‘s 50, leading the way. He spent 75 balls out in the middle and struck four fours.
Unfortunately for DHS, he was the second of their top order batsmen to be run out. After laying into a cover drive, he thought he had beaten the inner ring. But the AH Smith Oval’s outfield is lush, and the rolling ball quickly lost momentum, resulting in Pillay being caught well shy of his ground.
Earlier, opener Ethan Cooper, whose 20 ended up as the third highest score of the DHS innings, also lost his wicket to a run out.
Eduan van der Heever (feature photo), who recently made the move to DHS from Saint Andrew’s School (Bloemfontein), came in at eight and immediately took the attack to the Kearsney bowlers. It worked.
It wasn’t an easy surface to score on, but Van den Heever sent four deliveries to the boundary and made 28 from the 26 balls he faced.
Kearsney captain Hayden Bishop removed the left-hander and added another two victims to lead the home team’s attack, finishing with a fine return of 3 for 24 from his 10 overs.
Opening bowler Ryan Browning bowled a challenging line and length and was rewarded with 2 for 12 from his seven, while Dylan Wiggett picked up 2 for 34 from 7.2.
Wiggett then played a vital knock at the top of the Kearsney order. His 76-ball stay produced 54 runs, including four fours, and was the key to their successful run chase.
Michael de Beer, with 25, was the only other batsman to make it into the twenties, but four other batsmen made contributions in the teens, and that was enough for Kearsney, chasing a low total, to claim victory in the 35th over.
Jared Haverman made the hosts’ batsmen work hard, capturing 3 for 27 from his 10 overs, but Kearsney got over the line with 93 balls to spare.
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Summarised Scorecard:
DHS 158/10 (Semal Pillay 50, Eduan van den Heever 28, Hayden Bishop 3/24, Ryan Browning 2/12, Dylan Wiggett 2/34); Kearsney 159/6 (Dylan Wiggett 54, Michael de Beer 25, Jared Haverman 3/27)
Kearsney won by 4 wickets
