St Charles College powers to KZN Inland Switch Schools SA20 title
In 2024, Hilton College won the KZN Inland Schools SA20 competition, beating Maritzburg College at home in the final. On Saturday, they took on St Charles College at Saints in the final of the KZN Inland Switch Schools SA20 – Volume Two competition, and, once again, it was the home side that won.
St Charles did it in style, with the Pietermaritzburg school becoming the KZN Inland champion by dominating Hilton and racing to an eight-wicket victory with 12 overs to spare.
When Robert Burman, the Hilton captain, called incorrectly, Saints’ captain Thandolwethu Zama opted to bowl first, and the home side made it count. Only one of the first seven Hilton batsmen made it into double figures.
The problem for the visitors was that they lost wickets in clumps.
Their first went down on 12, when Sean Burman was caught by Connor Vogt off the bowling of Ryan Clarke for 10 from nine balls. Unfortunately for Hilton, that contribution was the second largest of their innings alongside Benoit Rey, who came in ninth in the order.
After losing their first wicket on 12, Hilton lost three more for the addition of only 10 runs, leaving them reeling on 22/4.
Barack Munawa was out for two, caught by Caleb Sharp off Vogt’s bowling, while Ben Wilson also made two and became the first of Kaiyuran Naidoo‘s four victims. Sharp, meanwhile, removed Cameron Hargroves for one, caught by Zama.
Luke Wilson and James Peattie lifted the total to 33 before Wilson was caught and bowled by Naidoo for seven. Another mini collapse followed, with Hilton slipping to 38/7 after Naidoo also removed Sange Qangule and James Peattie cheaply.
Robert Burman and Benoit Rey stopped the rot at last, if only temporarily, partnering for 22 runs for the eighth wicket before Rey’s resistance was ended by Zama executing a run out.
Burman stuck it out and helped to advance the total to 76 before he was out for the innings’ highest score of 21, which had included two fours. His brother, Sean, had scored the only other boundary of Hilton’s innings.
The visitors made it through their 20 overs, finishing on 79/9, but a victory target that required St Charles to bat at only four runs per over appeared to be a rather simple task.
Saints’ openers, Thandolwethu Zama and Matthew Weightman, soon made that appraisal appear accurate. They took the attack to the Hilton bowlers, Zama especially, and almost overhauled Hilton’s total all by themselves.
As the victory target of 80 came into view, Zama recognising that he needed only four runs to complete 1 000 for the season, chose to hit out in an effort to reach that massive milestone. It backfired and he was caught off the bowling of Cameron Hargroves for a two-runs-a-ball 46, which had featured four sixes and three fours.
Hargroves, also, removed Keegan Vermaak without scoring, but the game was already pretty much done and dusted and St Charles soon clinched victory.
Weightman was 28 not out, with a six and four fours, while Ryan Clarke was unbeaten on four.
Hargroves, the only Hilton College bowler to enjoy success, finished with 2/17 from two overs. Not only was he the lone bowler to pick up wickets, but he was also Hilton’s most economical bowler, even though he went at 8.5 runs per over.
Both St Charles College and Hilton College will, nonetheless, have a shot at representing KwaZulu-Natal at the national finals of the Switch Schools SA20 – Volume Two competition next year. They’ll take on Westville Boys’ High and Northwood for that honour in Pietermaritzburg in January 2026.
Summarised scorecard
Hilton College 79/9 (Robert Burman 21; Kaiyuran Naidoo 4/11, Caleb Sharp 2/20); St Charles College 81/2 (Thandolwethu Zama 46, Matthew Weightman 28*; Cameron Hargroves 2/17). St Charles College won by eight wickets.
