Sunguro lifts St Charles to win over Hilton
In Pietermaritzburg, on Saturday, on the St Charles College Oval, the home side recorded a hard-fought three-wicket win over Hilton College in a match that mostly favoured the bowlers.
Batting first after winning the toss, Hilton made a bright start, with Robert Burman and Ben Hockly putting on 47 for the first wicket in 9.5 overs. Cian Fortmann, then, ended their burgeoning partnership, having Hockly caught by the Hilton opener’s SA u19 Emerging team-mate Rowen Rajah for 27 from 33, with three fours.
Matters went quickly south for Hilton after Hockly’s departure as they slipped to 59/5 after 17.2 overs. Fortmann and Brendon Sunguro did the damage, with Fortmann picking up three sticks and Sunguro a pair.
Fortmann would go on to finish with an outstanding haul of 3/21 from 10 overs, while Sunguro continued his wonderful run of all-round form by picking up 2/36 in 10.
Ethan van Heerden and Jayden Roux halted the Saints’ bowlers for a while, spending 13 overs together while adding 55 runs. Van Heerden then fell victim to St Charles’ captain Marcell Wellmann, who spun a web around Hilton. The left-armer claimed four of the last five wickets to fall – the other was a run out – to finish with a magnificent 4/25 from nine.
Van Heerden, meanwhile, made 19, Hilton’s third-highest individual score. Roux led the way with a patient 39 from 76 balls, with five fours.
After 44.1 overs, the visitors were dismissed for 148.
St Charles lost the dangerous Cian Fortmann three balls into their reply, caught by Hockly off the bowling of Netanzi Denenga for a duck. In response, Connor Riley and Marcell Wellmann dug in. Their run rate was, for a while, less than 10, but they performed a vital job in blunting the attack of Denenga and Ethan van Heerden.
When Riley fell for 16 from 43 balls, St Charles had crawled their way to 28/2 after 12.4 overs, but his contribution could be measured in more than runs. Wellman followed five runs later for a pedestrian 12 from 41.
Rico Honiball didn’t last long and, when he fell victim to a combination of Jayden Roux and Luke Campbell, Saints appeared to be in serious trouble on 46/4 after 16.5 overs. That, however, brought Brendon Sunguro to the wicket. The Zimbabwean international has enjoyed an outstanding all-round season and he, once again, demonstrated his value to the St Charles side, wresting the initiative away from Hilton.
Taking the attack to the visitors, he hit four fours in a valuable knock of 45 from 35 balls, which turned the tide of the contest. He was finally removed in the 26th over, caught by Roux off Denenga, which left Saints on 93/5, but there was still some work to do.
The home side needed another batsman or two to meet the challenge and Thando Zama was up to the task. He saw a couple of team-mates come and go, including Rowen Rajah for an important 18 runs, but he was there at the end when St Charles passed Hilton’s total. Zama finished unbeaten on 31 from 51 balls with a single.
New ball bowler Netanzi Denenga did a superb job for Hilton, knocking over 2/19 in 10, while Luke Campbell was not as economical, but he was penetrative, capturing 4/51 from his 10. In the end, though, the day belonged to St Charles.
Unfortunately, at Westville Boys’ High, the big showdown between the Griffins and Clifton College was called off due to a wet pitch.
Summarised scorecards
Hilton College 148/10 (Jayden Roux 39, Ben Hockly 27, Marcell Wellmann 4/25, Cian Fortmann 3/21, Brendon Sunguro 2/36); St Charles College 149/7 (Brendon Sunguro 45, Thando Zama 31*, Luke Campbell 4/51, Netanzi Denenga 2/19).
St Charles College won by 3 wickets.
