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William Beamish does it all for St Andrew’s College

By CS Chiwanza , in Cricket | Featured Cricket | News , at 2025-01-12 Tags: ,

William Beamish, the 2025 St Andrew's College cricket captain.
William Beamish, the 2025 St Andrew’s College cricket captain.

St Andrew’s College registered a clean sweep of all of their matches at the Makhanda Cricket Festival. The local school was on course to make it five wins from five starts, but persistent rain spoiled the final day of action.

In each of their contests, St Andrew’s had different match-winners. In their victory over Peterhouse, Oliver Johns starred with the bat. Then, Ababalwe Zingela took a hat-trick in his first over and finished the match with four wickets when St Andrew’s locked horns with St David’s Marist Inanda. Zingela’s brilliance with the ball set the stage for Miles Sansom to shine with the bat, and he struck an unbeaten half-century as St Andrew’s cantered to victory.

However, on the healthy list of contributors, one player stood out above the rest: William Beamish.

The opening batsman shared a match-winning partnership with Sansom and missed out on a 50 by a single run in College’s win over St David’s. He bowled tight overs and chipped in with wickets. As the captain of St Andrew’s College, he made on-field decisions that either helped turn the tide or strengthened his team’s position in games.

In addition to all of the above, Beamish produced the second-highest individual score of the festival, an imperious 201, as he laid the platform for an emphatic win over Hellenic Academy. His 319-run opening partnership with Rhys Wiblin (130) tore the life out of the visitors. Beamish crunched 22 fours and seven sixes for his double-century, which set him apart from the rest of the College batsmen.

“William remained positive, putting the disappointment of missing out on the EP Khaya Majola Week side. He has enjoyed a fruitful few weeks,” Ethan O’Reilly, the St Andrew’s first XI coach, commented.

After the setback of omission from the provincial team, the teenager let his bat do the talking. He lent his talents to the EP u17 Rural side and helped them capture the title at the CSA Rural Week in Wellington.

The aggressive opening batsman didn’t just give his side good starts, he also put the game away beyond the opposition’s reach. He wowed the organisers and spectators with his all-round skills. Then, he carried on that form in Makhanda.

“If he (Beamish) didn’t have an impact with the bat, he had an impact with the ball or with his captaincy,” Scott Jackson, St Andrew’s Master in Charge of Cricket, explained.

Beamish was the highest run-scorer for St Andrew’s College at the festival, finishing with 280 runs at an average of 70. He’s one of the players to look out for in 2025, Jackson reckoned.

CS Chiwanza
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.