Westville top of the pops in KZN Coastal Switch Schools SA20
Westville Boys’ High succeeded Northwood as the KZN Coastal champion of the Switch Schools SA20 – Volume Two competition by beating the Knights by 50 runs in the final on Bowden’s Field, at Westville, on Saturday.
It was an outstanding win for the Griffins, who had staged a superb fightback to edge out Durban High School (DHS) by three wickets, with two balls to spare, in the semi-finals.
Northwood, meanwhile, had everything go their way in a 10-wicket win over Clifton College, which they achieved with a massive 12.3 over to spare.
Westville’s win in the title game was built upon two outstanding partnerships – for the first and second wickets – which produced just one run less than Northwood would go on to total in their innings.
Kai Cotton and Aidan Baudach put on 53 for the opening stand in just over seven overs before Ross McGlashan smartly stumped Cotton for 13 from 21 balls, with two fours, off the bowling of leg spinner Max Nicholson.
Cotton’s exit, however, didn’t ease up the pressure on Northwood, with Westville captain Kyle McGough immediately settling in and taking the attack to the Knights. He and Baudach spent eight overs together and lifted Westville to 107 before Baudach, a ball after reaching his fifty, holed out to Northwood captain Jamie Wimble on the long off boundary.
The Westville wicketkeeper had done a fine job by then, though. He faced 49 balls, dispatched four of them for four, and another for six.
With less than five overs remaining in their innings, and with eight wickets in hand, Westville hit out. Tristin Delvin perished for one, going for a big shot, while Liam de Villiers blasted Hamza Amla for a six, but was bowled the next ball by the left-arm spinner for seven from five.
Misbah Nair launched a sweetly timed six 20 metres over the long on boundary off Thabiso Mtambo, but when he caught an inside edge onto his pads and wasn’t sure where the ball had fallen, Mtambo raced down the pitch, snatched it up, and ran out Nair for eight from four.
Luca Roddan was unfortunate to be run out without scoring. Coming back for a second in pursuit of more runs, he was done in by a direct hit from Wimble, who threw down the wickets from the boundary.
Kyle McGough, though, was still powering along, and he smashed a couple of sixes to help boost his team to 159/6 after their 20 overs. He was 59 not out from just 38 deliveries, with five fours and two sixes. Ewan du Toit finished with two not out.
The Northwood bowlers came in for some stick, but Hamza Amla, with 2/13 in two, slowed the home side’s batsmen a touch. Thabiso Mtambo bowled better than his return of 1/27 from four might suggest.
If the Knights were to challenge Westville, they, like their opponent, would need a good start, but they didn’t get it, with Aarin Rasmussen damaging the visitors’ response early on. He bowled superbly, maintaining an outstanding line and length, which forced the Northwood batsmen to play within a limited arc.
He caught and bowled opener, David de Bruyn for one, and then bowled the dangerous Thomas Oosthuizen for a duck, leaving Northwood on 14/1 in the second over.
Ross McGlashan, meanwhile, gave the Northwood innings a boost, with anything that was bowled onto middle and leg getting the treatment. But he saw his captain and another dangerous hitter, Jamie Wimble, also removed for only a single.
Lwandile Bulose did the trick, having Wimble caught by Rasmussen at extra cover off the first ball he bowled. That left the visitors on 34/3 in the fifth over.
McGlashan and Josh Mills added only four more runs before McGlashan was out for 31 from 16, which featured four well-timed sixes.
Mills and Luc Boyall batted sensibly to restore some stability to Northwood’s innings, sharing a 41-run stand before Mills was run out for 21 from 21. When Boyall followed five runs later, caught and bowled Tristin Delvin for 19, the writing was on the wall.
Hamza Amla hit out, blasting left-arm spinner Ewan du Toit for a six, but Du Toit struck back, having Amla caught for 14 from 15, which reduced Northwood to 104/7. That was the beginning of the end.
Thabiso Mtambo was stumped off the bowling of Du Toit for a single. Then, Misbah Nair wrapped up the innings. He bowled Keegan Reeves for seven and then trapped Max Nicholson LBW for one as Northwood slid to 109 all out. They had lost their last four wickets for only five runs.
Aarin Rasmussen was the pick of the Westville bowlers, snapping up 3/16 in four, while Ewan du Toit returned 2/16 in three, and Misbah Nair put a bow on the Westville win with 2/8 in 1.5 overs.
Both Westville and Northwood will head up to Pietermaritzburg in January to contest phase two of the Switch Schools SA20 – Volume Two competition, also taking on St Charles College and Hilton College for the honour of representing KwaZulu-Natal in the national final.
In 2024, Northwood earned that honour.
Semi-finals
Northwood vs Clifton College
Northwood had their way with Clifton College in the semi-finals, with 18 wides the only blemish in their 10-wicket victory in which they struggled to adjust to the hard pink cricket ball.
The Knights won the toss and chose to field first, and that was the right option.
Keegan Reeves bowled Muhammed Malek in the third over for six before Yusuf Ahmed and Hayden Drieselmann shared a 40-run stand for the second wicket. When Drieselmann was caught by Thomas Oosthuizen off the bowling of Josh Mills for 29, which had featured three fours and six, Clifton’s innings fell apart, with Shiraz Perumal bowled by Mills the very next ball.
An over later, Clifton stuttered to 57/4, when Ahmed was LBW to Thabiso Mtambo. Northwood had the bit between their teeth, and they enjoyed consistent success with the ball.
Clifton’s next six wickets generated only 35 runs and after 15.4 overs they were bowled out for a modest 92. Apart from Drieselmann’s 29, only Yusuf Ahmed and Caleb Naicker, who both made 10, reached double figures.
Northwood’s bowlers shared the wickets around. Luc Boyall snared 2/8 in two overs, Keegan Reeves knocked back 2/12 in 2.4, and Josh Mills bagged 2/13 in two.
From the first ball of their innings, the Knights went on the attack, with Ross McGlashan leading the charge. Clifton had no answers to the onslaught. McGlashan and David de Bruyn, with controlled power hitting, took the Clifton attack apart.
McGlashan bashed three sixes and seven fours in his unbeaten 55 from just 29 deliveries, while De Bruyn struck two fours and two sixes in his 31 not out from only 18 balls.
After only 7.3 overs, Northwood had won.
Westville Boys’ High vs Durban High School
On Bowden’s, DHS posted 130/3 after winning the toss and batting first against Westville Boys’ High. Their innings included a 75-run second wicket partnership between opening batsman Sulaimaan Jadwat and number three batsman, Josh van Biljon, in 12.1 overs.
At just better than a run a ball, it was more solid than spectacular, and Westville did a good job of dealing with the pressure of their bowlers going unrewarded for a long time. The stand was eventually ended when Kai Cotton caught Jadwat off the bowling of Liam de Villiers for 40. He had faced 47 deliveries and hit three fours.
The Griffins did a good job of containing Jadwat’s replacement, Taine Havermann, limiting him to only 13 not out from 18 balls, while Van Biljon fell to the last ball of the innings, out for 62 from 50 balls, two of which he had dispatched for six, while he sent another five to the boundary.
Kyle McDowell returned 1/5 from two overs as Westville used nine bowlers. The only other wicket-takers were Liam de Villiers, with 1/19 from three, and Misbah Nair, with 1/23 from three.
Westville’s reply began steadily enough, with Kai Cotton and Aidan Baudach putting on 27 for the first wicket before Baudach was caught by wicketkeeper Van Biljon off of Josh Morley for eight.
The Griffins hit headwinds, however, when leg-spinner, Tristan Quail, was introduced into the DHS attack. He bowled beautifully, exhibiting a good use of flight, along with a tidy line and length, and some turn, which caused the home side all kinds of problems. The next four wickets to fall all went his way.
Kyle McDowell was out for four, trapped in front, Cotton was also LBW, for 22, which included three fours. Misbah Nair was caught by Muhammad Asmall off Quail for two, and Liam de Villiers found Sulaimann Jadwat and was caught for nine, which included a towering six.
Quail’s superb spell put DHS in the driving seat, with Westville on 63/5 after 12.3 overs after De Villiers lost his wicket. The hosts, though, kept their composure and kept fighting, with left-hander Tristin Delvin leading the resistance.
He and Luca Roddan added 19 runs before Roddan was caught by Havermann of Aktar Basha for 13 from just 10 balls. The very next ball, Basha bowled Ewan du Toit, which left Westville floundering on 82/7 with 31 balls remaining in their innings. They needed 49 runs to win.
The fact that they made it with two balls to spare had plenty to do with Delvin, but also with Aarin Rasmussen, who was a fine foil to Delvin’s clean striking. They constructed an unbroken stand of 51 runs to deliver Westville to a thrilling victory in the last over of the contest.
Delvin was the star of the show, cracking four fours and a six in his unbeaten 44 from 33 balls. Rasmussen, meanwhile, chipped in with 17 not out from 15, with two fours.
It had, at one point, appeared likely that Westville would miss out on the final on their home field, but they held it together and pulled through with a courageous, battling effort to make it into the title decider.
Quail captured 4/17 from his four overs, while Aktar Basha claimed 2/11 in two, but Westville enjoyed success against the DHS opening bowlers, Josh Morley and Bonga Maphanga, towards the end of the innings to scramble their way to the win.
Summarised scorecards
Westville Boys’ High 159/6 (Kyle McGough 59*, Aidan Baudach 51; Hamza Amla 2/13); Northwood 109/10 (Ross McGlashan 31, Josh Mills 21; Aarin Rasmussen 3/16, Misbah Nair 2/8, Ewan du Toit 2/16). Westville won by 50 runs.
Clifton College 92/10 (Hayden Drieselmann 29; Luc Boyall 2/8, Keegan Reeves 2/12, Josh Mills 2/13); Northwood 93/0 (Ross McGlashan 55*, David de Bruyn 31*). Northwood won by 10 wickets.
Durban High School 130/3 (Josh van Biljon 62, Sulaimann Jadwat 40); Westville Boys’ High 133/7 (Tristin Delvin 44*, Kai Cotton 22; Tristan Quail 4/17, Aktar Basha 2/11). Westville won by three wickets.
