St Charles into Eston final after thrilling run chase
St Charles College mounted a stunning run chase to beat Westville Boys’ High by five wickets, with only three balls remaining, in their Eston One Insurance T20 Night League match on Thursday.
The victory puts Saints through to the final where they will defend the title against Maritzburg College.
Last season, an extraordinary 5/10 from Nathan Beaumont carried the Pietermaritzburg school to a four-run victory over Hilton College in the final.
It’s not often that a team comes out on top in a T20 after having a batsman score an unbeaten 100 against them off of only 53 balls, but Marcel Wellmann and his side pulled it off against Westville.
Opening batsman Kaeden McAllister was magnificent for the Griffin, blasting the Saints’ bowlers about the field, striking 11 fours and four sixes. In the last over, he smashed three of those sixes and two twos, with the last two coming off the final ball of the innings, to bring up his century.
He and Max Robertson got stuck into the St Charles bowlers early and charged their way to an opening stand of 60 in only 5.4 overs. Brendon Sunguro then had Robertson caught by Rico Honiball in the deep for 37 from 25 deliveries, with six fours and a six.
Skipper Wellman arrested the free-scoring for a brief moment, removing the dangerous Sean McGough and Nicandro Kistna for ducks, as Westville slipped to 61/3.
Kyle McGough steadied the ship with McAllister, however, with their partnership lasting a ball shy of 10 overs and producing 76 runs. Kaiyuran Naidoo, a top performer for Saints at the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, brought it to an end when he trapped McGough in front for 28. His runs had come from 30 balls and included two fours and a six.
Roxton Payne was in and out in short order as McAllister took over, helping Westville to 179/5 in their 20 overs, which left St Charles needing to score at eight runs per over to win.
Wellmann led his side’s bowling attack, picking up 2/23 in four overs of left-arm spin, while Kaiyuran Naidoo chipped in with 1/17 in three. It was a tough outing for the opening bowlers. SA Emerging u19 speedster, Rowen Rajah, went for 51 runs in his four overs, while Tristan Montile lasted only one over, which cost 15 runs.
If they were to have any chance at victory, St Charles would have to score quickly from the start. Luckily for them, they had Cian Fortmann at the top of the order, a man very capable of delivering lots of runs quickly.
The hard-hitting left-hander spent only 5.5 overs at the crease but, by the time he was out, he had already contributed 37 runs from just 21 balls, striking two sixes and five fours. Westville had lost their first wicket after 5.4 overs, with their total on 60. There wasn’t much in it.
Rico Honiball was dismissed 10 runs later for 14, but captain Wellmann, in at three, took over from Fortmann, laying into the Westville attack with relish. He received some support from Brendon Sunguro, Connor Riley, and Covhan Baaitjies, although all three didn’t progress beyond the teens. Wellmann, though, came close to seeing his team across the line.
His was the fifth and last wicket to go down, but he had made a huge impact. He matched Fortmann, also hitting two sixes and five fours, but his stay lasted 40 balls and delivered 67 runs.
It was left to Riley and Baaitjies to finish off the job. They needed 19 runs off the last two overs and it took them nine balls to score them.
The Westville bowlers came in for serious stick. Nicandro Kistna, with 0/18 off three overs, and Roxton Payne, with 1/32 in four, were the best of them. But the day belonged to St Charles, who were rewarded for their courageous approach to a daunting challenge.
Scores
Westville Boys’ High 179/5 (K. McAllister 100*, M. Robertson 37, K. McGough 28, M. Wellmann 2/23, K. Naidoo 1/17, C. Fortmann 1/27); St Charles College 182/5 (M. Wellmann 67, C. Fortmann 37, C. Riley 18*, A. Bulose 1/16, S. Shangase 1/16)
St Charles won by 5 wickets
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