Ward leads Clifton to win over St Charles
St Charles College visited the Riverside Sports Club on Saturday for a limited overs clash against Clifton College. After a composed performance, the home team came away with a composed four-wicket victory.
Saints won the toss and opted to bat first. They lost Matthew Weightman early, but Christiaan Prinsloo and Caleb Sharp partnered for 51 runs for the second wicket before Sharp was caught and bowled by left-arm spinner Blake Johnson for 31. He had spent 42 balls at the crease and hit four fours.
While Prinsloo played a patient knock, Connor Simpson gave the innings some impetus with his 25, before Prinsloo became the fifth man to fall with the total on 134. He had contributed 40 off 73 deliveries.
A minor collapse followed, with Saints being reduced to 147/7 before Ryan Clarke and Keegan Vermaak put on 25 for the ninth wicket. Clarke was, then, the man to go, caught by Muhammed Malek off of Blake Johnson for the highest score of the innings, 45. It had taken only 40 balls and included six fours.
Vermaak did a good job of leading a 27-run partnership for the last wicket, but he was the last to go, run out by Tim Saulez, for 25. Connor Vogt ended with 10 runs to his name as St Charles totalled 216 all out.
The Clifton attack was, for the most part, tidy. Caleb Naicker returned the best figures of 3/28 from 8.4 overs, which included the wickets of both opening batsmen, while Shiraz Perumal clamped down on the Saints’ batsmen, returning the most economical figures of 2/28 from 10. Blake Johnson also bowled well, picking up 2/34 from his 10.
Needing to bat at 4.34 runs per over to win, Clifton made a good start, with the openers, Muhammed Malek and Cohen Naidoo, making 54 for the first wicket. Malek was then trapped in front by Keegan Vermaak for 15 and five runs later he was followed by Naidoo, caught off the bowling of Ryan Clarke for 28.
Byron Ward and Tim Saulez steadied the innings, though, taking the total to 100 before Saulez became Vermaak’s second victim, out for 17. Ward, meanwhile, was in the groove and, with a useful 14 from Hayden Drieselmann he helped to advance the total by another 49 runs before Drieselmann exited.
Ward fell on 168, the fifth wicket to go down, caught off the bowling of Vermaak for a difference-making 58 from 51 deliveries, which featured three sixes and six fours. During his time at the crease, Clifton had added 109 runs. With Ward’s dismissal, it was important for Clifton to maintain their momentum without losing any more wickets quickly. They aced that test.
Shiraz Perumal and Lawson Dinsdale added 48, which tied the scores. But there was a final twist, with Perumal going out on 216, caught off Rowen Rajah for a run-a-ball 29, which included five fours.
Dinsdale and Caleb Naicker then saw Clifton to victory after 42.3 overs. They had batted at 5.11 per over to get to 217/6, with Dinsdale unbeaten on 19.
Keegan Vermaak, although a touch expensive, was the pick of the St Charles’ bowlers, returning 3/52 from eight overs, while Ryan Clarke kept it tidy, claiming 1/37 from 10.
Saints, though, did themselves no favours by conceding a massive 36 extras, 23 of which were wides. Clifton, by contrast, bowled only nine wides and gave up 12 extras.
Scores
St Charles College 216/10 (Ryan Clarke 45, Christiaan Prinsloo 40, Caleb Sharp 31, Connor Simpson 25, Keegan Vermaak 25; Caleb Naicker 3/28, Shiraz Perumal 2/28, Blake Johnson 2/34); Clifton College 217/6 (Byron Ward 51, Extras 36, Shiraz Perumal 29, Cohen Naidoo 28; Keegan Vermaak 3/52).
Clifton College won by four wickets.
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