Wins for DHS and Clifton College in T20s at Kingsmead
The Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium played host to Durban High School (DHS), Clifton College, and Kearsney College on Saturday, with the three 1st XIs in T20 action.
DHS, who’ve made a strong start to the fourth term, continued on their winning ways, scoring a 17-run win over Clifton.
Clifton, though, rebounded with a five-run win over Kearsney, whose win over DHS in a T20 in mid-August is the only loss that School has suffered this term.
Durban High School vs Clifton College
The action got underway early, with DHS choosing to bat against Clifton after winning the toss. They suffered an early setback, though, when the in-form Ethan Cooper was bowled by Tim Saulez for a single.
Lazlo Jooste, batting third in the absence of Josh van Biljon, added 78 runs with Ismaeel Omar, but when Jooste was run out by Cristiano Borrageiro with the total on 90, he had been responsible for only 13 of those runs.
Earlier in the year, at the Clifton T20 Tournament, Omar had shown his ability to take charge at the top of the order when he scored a superb unbeaten 104 against Kearsney. On Saturday, he was at it again, clubbing 109 from only 59 balls, which included 13 fours and five sixes – a total of 82 runs in boundaries.
One of Omar’s strengths is how well he plays the format and the situation. In matches of a longer length, he is often circumspect and a very difficult man to dislodge. In the shorter formats, he has proved he is a potential match-winner.
When the left-hander finally fell after a 62-run stand with Taine Havermann, School had reached 152/3.
Havermann and Bayanda Majola added another 36 runs to see DHS to 188/3 after the completion of their 20 overs, with Havermann finishing on 41 not out from 33 deliveries after striking three fours and a six, while Majola blasted one six in his unbeaten 14.
Tim Saulez accounted for both openers, but he was a touch expensive, going for 46 from his four overs.
Clifton, led by a fine aggressive knock from Cristiano Borrageiro, gave it a good go in pursuit of a daunting victory target, but their response was somewhat patchy, with five players making four runs or less, including, unfortunately for the side, opener Cohen Naidoo being run out for a duck.
Borrageiro, batting at five, smashed five fours and four sixes in a 35-ball stay which produced 60 runs. Up front, Byron Ward, who smashed a superb ton against St John’s College, of Harare, in the Clifton T20 Tournament, did good work, too, cracking five fours and a six in his 30 from 25 deliveries, and Lawson Dinsdale blasted two sixes and a four in an unbeaten 36 from 26, but Clifton came up short, ending on 171/8.
Borrageiro and Dinsdale gave Clifton some hope of pulling off an unlikely run chase with a stand of 103 for the sixth wicket, but Borrageiro’s departure was quickly followed by two more quick wickets as Clifton ran out of overs.
Ethan Cooper might have failed with the bat, but he starred with the ball as the first change bowler, accounting for Byron Ward, Tim Saulez, Cristiano Borrageiro, and Shiraz Perumal in a superb four overs, which brought him 4/19.
Bonga Maphanga was the only other bowler to enjoy success, picking up 2/32 in four, which meant that in the entire match only three bowlers – the other was Tim Saulez – claimed wickets.
Clifton College vs Kearsney College
In a very tight contest, played in the early afternoon, Clifton held on for a nail-biting five-run win over Kearsney College.
Batting first after the toss went their way, Clifton tallied a useful 179/8, with Byron Ward and Lawson Dinsdale starring once again.
Opening, Ward was destructive, sending three deliveries over the boundary and seven into it in a hasty 59 from only 34 balls. Dinsdale, batting at seven, needed only 31 deliveries to add 53 runs to Clifton’s total. He struck six fours and two sixes.
Ward and Cohen Naidoo had given Clifton a good start, putting on 58 for the first wicket before Naidoo was out for 17 from 10 balls to James Bishop. The very next ball, Bishop bowled the dangerous Tim Saulez.
Zach Williamson, with 19 from 15, which included four fours, helped to steady the Clifton innings.
While Bishop picked up 3/40 in four, it was Rivan Moodley who inflicted the most damage on Clifton’s batting effort, snaring 4/16 in four.
Kearsney’s reply was steady, with the top eight players in the order all making it into double figures. The problem was that none of them pressed on to make fifties, like Ward and Dinsdale did for Clifton.
Cole Young, with a hard-hitting 30 from 17, with three fours and two sixes, top-scored for the Botha’s Hill boys, while the openers, Jason De Gryse and Aaron Blackburn, both weighed in with 20 from 13.
Asher Hollister, too, went at better than a run a ball, chipping in with 27 from 21, but Kearsney needed someone to press on, and they didn’t get that.
Leg-spinner Shiraz Perumal undermined their run chase, capturing 3/27 in four, while Tim Saulez nabbed 2/30 in four as Kearsney was restricted to 174/9 in reply.
Scores
Durban High School 188/3 (Ismaeel Omar 109, Taine Havermann 41*; Tim Saulez 2/46); Clifton College 171/8 (Cristian Borrageiro 60, Lawson Dinsdale 36*, Byron Ward 30; Ethan Cooper 4/19, Bonga Maphanga 2/32).
Durban High School won by 17 runs.
Clifton College 179/8 (Byron Ward 59, Lawson Dinsdale 53; Rivan Moodley 4/16, James Bishop 3/40); Kearsney College 174/9 (Cole Young 30, Asher Hollister 27, Jason De Gryse 20, Aaron Blackburn 20; Shiraz Perumal 3/27, Tim Saulez 2/30).
Clifton College won by five runs.
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