Sharp and Simpson steer St Charles to Eston T20 win over Westville
After four days of cricket on the trot at the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, St Charles College had only one day off before being taking to the field again. This time, they faced Westville Boys’ High on Tuesday in an Eston One Insurance T20 Night League match at the Beaumont Farmers Club.
Saints, though, made a superb transition from the challenge of the long game to the short one and scored a four-wicket win over Westville with seven balls to spare.
The toss went Westville’s way and captain Seth Simpson chose to bat. That decision delivered moderate results and, unfortunately for the skipper, a second-ball duck for him.
Kyle McGough and Aarin Rasmussen gave Westville an okay start, putting up 20 runs for the first wicket before McGough was caught by Rowen Rajah off the bowling of Connor Simpson for 12. Simpson, then, struck a hammer blow for Saints when he removed his Westville namesake, Seth, without scoring.
Tristan Delvin, in at four, added 18 runs with Aarin Rasmussen he saw the opener depart for 15. Only three runs later, Misbah Nair was on his way, a third victim of Connor Simpson, who returned a hugely impactful 3/11 from three overs.
Delvin batted well and dominated a 49-run fifth-wicket partnership with Jamie Hasselbach, who was dismissed off the last ball of the 15th over for 12.
While Delvin played his part, he received no significant support and Westville’s innings lost steam. Delvin eventually departed in the 18th over for 49 from 43 balls, which had included three fours. Heath Stott, though, provided a gentle boost, cracking a six and a four in six balls, which produced 12 runs.
After 20 overs, Westville had tallied 135/8.
Simpson led the St Charles bowling attack with his three-wicket haul, while fast bowler, Rowen Rajah, knocked over 2/21 in four. Caleb Sharp did a tidy job up front, returning 1/16 from three.
In their reply, Saints lost their captain, Rico Honiball, in the third over for six, which left them on 21/1.
That brought Caleb Sharp to the crease. He had batted lower down the order at the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, but he had excelled there, with scores of four and 84 against King Edward VII (KES), and 76 not out and 32 not out against St John’s College. He continued his good form on Tuesday night.
He and Thandolwethu Zama added 38 for the second wicket before Zama was caught by Jamie Hasselbach off Tristan Delvin’s bowling for 21 from 20 deliveries.
When Westville sent two more batsmen packing in the 70s, they had found a purchase in the game, and the removal of Sharp for 37 from 37, with three fours, in the 14th over, reduced St Charles to 88/5.
That, though, was when Saints seized the match by the scruff of the neck, thanks to the efforts of Rowen Rajah and Ryan Clarke. They added 43 in only 4.1 overs to take the Pietermaritzburg school to the brink of victory. When Rajah was bowled by Dayalan Boyce for 29 from 24 balls, four of which he had hit for four, Saints was just four runs shy of the Westville total.
Five balls later, Clarke and Covhan Baaitjies saw St Charles to victory. Clarke finished with a decisive 22 not out from only 12 balls, which included four fours, while Baaitjies was unbeaten on one.
The left-arm spinners, Tristan Delvin and Ewan du Toit, both performed well, with Delvin returning 2/21 from four overs and Du Toit snaring 2/18 from his four.
Westville’s batting effort, though, let the side down and they fell to a second defeat in the competition, having previously gone down to Durban High School by 23 runs. In their only other outing, Westville beat the Tuskers Hub XI by eight wickets.
Scores
Westville Boys’ High 135/8 (Tristan Delvin 49, Aarin Rasmussen 15, Connor Simpson 3/11, Rowen Rajah 2/21); St Charles College 137/6 (Caleb Sharp 37, Rowen Rajah 29, Ryan Clarke 22*, Ewan du Toit 2/18, Tristan Delvin 2/21).
St Charles won by four wickets.
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