Westville reverses loss to Hilton, Michaelhouse too much for St Charles
Westville Boys’ High vs Hilton College
Beaten by Hilton College in the title game of the Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two KZN Regional Final, Westville Boys’ High exacted a measure of revenge with a hard-fought three-wicket win over Hilton on Bowden’s Field on Saturday in a limited-overs match.
Hilton captain Robert Burman won the coin flip and chose to bat. At first, the visitors fared well, with Barack Munawa and Ben Wilson, who have formed a dependable opening pair this season, making 26 for the first wicket before Wilson, for once, was out cheaply. James Peattie, Hilton’s top scorer against Durban High School (DHS) last week, followed soon after.
A decisive passage of play followed when three wickets went down in the space of 10 balls, with Ewan du Toit having Burman caught for six before dislodging the gritty Munawa for 32. Those wickets sandwiched a run out of Obakeng Motsepa, and that meant Hilton had lost half their wickets with only 54 runs on the board.
Matters improved for the visitors, though, when Luke Wilson and Sange Qangule joined forces for the sixth wicket, adding 71 runs before Qangule’s knock came to an end for 39, with Ewan du Toit doing the trick for Westville once again. Sean Burman then became the batsman to be run out in the innings, leaving Hilton on 131/7.
Wilson stayed on, though, to advance the score by another 23 runs with Benoit Rey. Wilson was out just two runs shy of a fifty, having faced 83 deliveries and struck four fours and a six. Once he departed – the eighth wicket to go down, on 154 – the last two wickets followed quickly and Hilton College was all out for 162 in 49.2 overs.
Ewan du Toit led Westville’s attack, snaring 3/30 in 10 overs with his left-arm spin. Jamie Hasselbach chipped in with 2/20 from five as the home side’s bowlers performed a tidy job.
Aidan Baudach and Ewan du Toit then gave the Griffins a good start, with their 58-run first-wicket stand lasting into the 13th over of the innings before Du Toit was caught by Sange Qangule off Benoit Rey for 19.
After the skipper, Kyle McGough, fell for four, Baudach and Liam de Villiers lifted Westville into triple figures, adding 45 runs in 38 balls before the clean-striking De Villiers was run out by Motsepa for 22. He had blasted two fours and two sixes.
Baudach was the fifth man to lose his wicket, but not before he had scored a half-century. He was bowled by Rey for 52 after a 64-ball innings that included three fours and two sixes.
Hilton added the wickets of Kai Cotton and Misbah Nair at the cost of a further 12 runs, which left Westville on 137/7, still needing 26 to win with 22.4 overs in hand. They made it with 14.1 to spare.
Nair, with 19, Aarin Rasmussen, with 13 not out, and Jamie Hasselbach, with 12 not out, ensured the Griffins made it across the line.
Rey made it tough on Westville, sending down 10 overs and knocking over 4/29, but it was Westville’s day.
Michaelhouse vs St Charles College
Michaelhouse‘s strong season continued with a comfortable eight-wicket win over St Charles College on the Roy Gathorne Oval, where the visitors chose to bat first. In hindsight, bowling first might have been a better call.
Within the first four overs, Saints‘ openers, Keegan Vermaak and Caleb Sharp, were out, both to Thandanani Zuma. When Ryan Clarke, a centurion last weekend against Maritzburg College, fell to Zuma’s new ball partner, Rendani Nonge, St Charles was on 19/3 in the sixth over and in trouble.
Captain Thando Zama and Owen Widdows held up ‘House‘s charge momentarily, adding 36 for the fourth wicket before Zama was caught by Jack Campbell off Preston Greene for 34, the joint-highest score of the innings. He shared that distinction with Connor Simpson, while Widdows finished with the third-best score of 18.
It was an all-out team effort from the Michaelhouse bowling unit that did St Charles in for only 120 runs. Thandanani Zuma grabbed 2/13 in eight overs, Liam O’Dwyer ratcheted up the pressure with 2/23 in 10, and Preston Greene nabbed 2/18 in 5.1. Each of the other three bowlers – Rendani Nonge, Rex Wardlaw, and Ben Heuer – picked up a wicket.
Wardlaw next turned his hand to batting and, it seemed, took it on himself to drive Michaelhouse to victory. He opened the innings with captain Graydon Leslie, who made a modest 14. But Wardlaw kept rolling, partnering with Riley Muir for a 76-run stand for the second wicket. Muir exited with Michaelhouse on 107/2 and with victory in sight. He had made a circumspect 25.
Wardlaw was the engine that powered ‘House, though. He made an undefeated 76 on his own, facing 94 balls, seven of which he dispatched for four, and another for six.
After 30.1 overs, Michaelhouse reached 123/2, and the contest was over.
Summarised scorecards
Hilton College 162/10 (Luke Wilson 48, Sange Qangule 39, Marack Munawa 32; Ewan du Toit 3/30, Jamie Hasselbach 2/20); Westville Boys’ High 163/7 (Aidan Baudach 52, Liam de Villiers 27; Benoit Rey 4/29). Westville Boys’ High won by three wickets.
St Charles College 120/10 (Thando Zama 34, Connor Simpson 34; Thandanani Zuma 2/13, Preston Greene 2/18, Liam O’Dwyer 2/23); Michaelhouse 123/2 (Rex Wardlaw 76*, Riley Muir 25). Michaelhouse won by eight wickets.
