Wins for Northwood and Maritzburg College in KZN Schools SA20 openers


The Goldstone’s pitch offered a little bit of extra juice on Thursday morning as the KZN finals of the Schools SA20 got underway.
Maritzburg College vs Glenwood High School
Maritzburg College made full use of the favourable bowling conditions to restrict Glenwood to only 87/8. That was, very nearly, enough for the Durban school to pull off a victory.
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It was a good toss to win, and College struck early and often to have Glenwood wobbling on 19/4 after seven overs. Opening bowler Reece Willson was at the forefront of their challenge, removing three of the top four batsmen in the order, on his way to a superb return of 3/9 from his four overs.
Glenwood scrambled and added 21 for the fifth wicket, which went down with the total on 40. Unfortunately, for the Green Machine, 40/5 soon became 42/7.
At last, though, they found some traction when Rehaan Jhungbathur and Mishael Gunawardana joined forces. Together, they added 45 from 47 deliveries before Gunawardana was run out for 26 from 28 at the end of the Glenwood innings. Jhungbathur finished with 14 not out from 22.
Gunawardena made batting look a lot easier than his teammates had made it, finishing with an unbeaten 25 from 28 deliveries.
Willson’s outstanding spell was well supported by Karl Dedekind, who returned a miserly 1/10 from four, while Dom du Toit picked up 2/7 in two, and Sphamandla Dzanibe 1/19 from four.
While College might have had their eyes on a bonus point win, it quickly became a matter of survival as their innings spluttered from the start. It began with Ewald Bester being run out and soon the Red, Black, and White found themselves on 18/4.
Then, Karl Dedekind’s first scoring shot was a six, but it went through the hands of a fielder before clearing the boundary. That was one of three catches that Glenwood put down, and they also made a mess of a run out; they had more than enough chances to win the game.
Dedekind, meanwhile, went on to score 22 from 20 before he holed out to Kressan Pillai off the bowling of Akhil Maharaj. However, he and Luan van der Merwe had changed the momentum of the contest, sharing a stand of 41 for the fifth wicket in 46 balls.

Van der Merwe had played well for his runs, but he needed a partner to help him see College home. Kyle de Bruin duly played his part. The pair added 30 from 34 balls to take their side to victory with three overs and five wickets to spare.
Van der Merwe made 31 from 43, while De Bruin chipped in with 19 from 20.
Gunawardana sparkled for Glenwood, capturing 2/12 in three overs, while Kyle Bryan kept College in check, snaring 1/12 in four. Maharaj’s return was 1/16 in 3.
Hilton College vs Northwood School
On the Pietermaritzburg Oval, Hilton College started strongly against Northwood but lost momentum midway through their innings. That came back to bite them, with the Knights winning by five wickets, with three balls in hand.
Batting first, Hilton lost their openers by the time they had 30 runs on the board in the fifth over. Then, three batsmen – Robert Burman (25), Simon Steyn (27), and Jayden Roux (22*) – got in but didn’t make it out of the twenties.
Steyn delivered a dash of excitement, smashing a six and two fours in a 19-ball stay, while, at the end of the innings, Obakeng Motsepa weighed in with an unbeaten 22 from 23 as Hilton finished with 117/7 from their 20 overs, which included Motsepa and Roux combining for an unbroken partnership of 40.
Jordan Matthews was the pick of the Northwood bowlers, claiming 3/23 from his four overs. Ben Cilliers, meanwhile, heaped pressure on Hilton with his tight bowling, which earned him 1/12 from four.
Northwood’s successful reply owed plenty to opening batsman, David de Bruyn, who did a fine job anchoring the Durban side’s innings. He contributed 45 from 41 balls, striking two fours and a six, which made up 38 percent of their runs.
The Knights found their reply hamstrung by two run outs, but Alistair Duncan helped stabilise the innings with 20 not out from 25 balls, with a six. Jamie Wimble also cracked a six in a useful 17 from 13 before he departed with the total on 105.
Connor Leclezio then partnered with Alistair Duncan to take Northwood to victory.
Luke Campbell led the Hilton attack with a return of 1/18 from four, while David Hill bagged 1/21 from four, too.
Summarised scorecards
Glenwood 87/8 (Mishael Gunawardene 25*, Reece Willson 3/9); Maritzburg College 88/5 (Luan van der Merwe 29*, Karl Dedekind 23, Mishael Gunawardena 2/12). Maritzburg College won by 5 wickets.
Hilton College 117/7 (Simon Steyn 27, Robert Burman 25, Jayden Roux 22*, Obakeng Motsepa 22*, Jordan Matthews 3/23); Northwood 118/5 (David de Bruyn 45, Alistair Duncan 20*, Luke Campbell 1/18). Northwood won by 5 wickets.