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Saints get it right on Goldstones
As St Charles College first XI head coach Lucky Dladla put it, the City Derby always brings excitement and buzz to the KZN capital.
And so it was this past Saturday when the Maritzburg College first XI hosted Saints in a 50-over match on Goldstones, an intense, absorbing cricket contest in which the Saints prevailed by 28 runs.
They certainly had to work hard for it, as the boys in Red Black and White hooped caps were handily placed at times.
Feature photo: Saints skipper Jason Muirhead raises his bat for his 50 on the way to a match-defining 88 on Goldstones Saturday. Photo: Justin Waldman Sports Photography
“The morning overhead conditions were conducive for bowling,” said Dladla. “Maritzburg College won the toss, and without any doubt elected to bowl first. Their opening bowlers [Bryn Brokensha and Matthew Ponter] ran in and bowled superbly well, beating the bat on numerous occasions.”
It wasn’t too long before they made in-roads into the Saints batting line-up.
“Daniel Wassenaar, was the first to go, bowled by a brilliant yorker,” said Dladla. “Soon after his dismissal, the second wicket ( Sam Brown) fell.”
With Saints 21 for 2 after 9 overs, the home side were well on top.
The in-form Saints captain Jason Muirhead made his way to the wicket and started to build the Saints innings by rotating the strike and putting away the bad ball to the boundary.
“The 3rd wicket stand between Muirhead and wicketkeeper/batsman Ntando Zuma saw Saints recover considerably and the Saints were 97 for 2 after 25 overs, and morning tea.
“The pair continued steadily and had a 114-run partnership before Zuma was bowled for 54 runs, in the 40th over of the 50.”
Muirhead fell short of what coach Dladla feels would have been a well-deserved 100 when he was bowled on 88 runs. The Saints were a competitive 216 for 6 after 50 overs and had set a defendable total. It was a fine effort after the shaky start.
“Maritzburg College began the chase with intent,” said coach Dladla, himself a Maritzburg College Old Boy and former first XI cricketer.
The Saints Zulu teacher and cricket coach said that the game was in the balance at afternoon tea with Maritzburg College on 97 for 2 after 25 overs.
The home side needed another 120 at just under 5 to the over and were well placed with 8 wickets in hand.
Saints were as well aware as their opponents that the last session of the day was key to both sides.
“The battle continued, and disciplined bowling by Saints tightened the screws,” said Dladla. “The pressure mounted, and College wickets started to fall.”
The Saints coach added: “A brilliant spell by Tahir Khonat (match figures of three for 48) sealed the victory for Saints. Maritzburg College were eventually restricted to 188 all out, St Charles College winning by 28 runs.”
# For the St Charles College first XI to claim victory over the Maritzburg College first XI on Goldstones is certainly a feather in the cap of the current side captained by Jason Muirhead.
Prior to Saturday, of the nine matches since 2016, Saints had won three and College had won three, with three matches ending in draws or being abandoned due to the weather. Saturday’s win is Saints’ first on Goldstones during this time period.
The three previous Saints first XI victories since 2016 had been on the St Charles College Oval, the PMB Oval in Alexandra Park, and at the main cricket oval of the UKZN Pietermaritzburg campus’s Peter Booysen Sports Park.
Saints’ time at the first-grade Rondebosch Festival during the second week of January, where they lost 5 from 5 to Bishops (3 wickets, declaration game), PBHS (2 wickets, declaration), Affies (6 wickets, 50-over), Rondebosch (12 runs, 50-over) and Wynberg (52 runs, T20) appears to have been time well spent.
The maturity they have exhibited over the past fortnight in beating visitors Glenwood (by 6 wickets) and now Maritzburg College shows that lessons were learned in Cape Town and are being applied in the domestic season.
First XI captain Jason Muirhead has been the outstanding performer over the last two weeks with his 73 against Glenwood on the St Charles College Cricket Oval and now Saturday’s 88 against Maritzburg College on Goldstones.
Jason’s 91 against Rondebosch in Cape Town is regarded by St Charles as his best knock to date.
Jason’s intent, and ability, to occupy the crease and treat each ball on its merits has been the core that has bound the two successful St Charles innings together over the past fortnight.
With the support of Matthew Urquhart’s 39 against Glenwood, Jason has also been instrumental in putting the match-defining partnership together, and then again on Goldstones, this time with wicketkeeper and middle-order batsman Ntando Zuma, who made 54.
The team line-up of Marcel Wellmann, Daniel Wassenaar, Sam Brown, Jason Muirhead, Urquhart, Ntando Zuma, Brendon Sunguro, Nathan Beaumont, Tahir Khonat, Tim Schoeman and Sam Ndlovu has also remained unchanged these past 2 weeks.
Seamers Tim Schoeman (3 for 30 vs Glenwood) and in particular Tahir Khonat (6 wickets for 82 runs over the past 2 matches), have also played significant roles with the ball, as has relatively inexperienced off-spinner Brendon Sunguro.
The other members of the side will have further opportunity come more prominently to the fore in due course.
Of course, much the same applies to all the teams and individuals in KZN.
For further info see also the link below
https://kzn10.com/noteworthy-win-on-goldstones-for-st-charles-first-xi/
Michaelhouse manage to salvage some fixtures from the weather
Only water sports remained afloat in the wake of the deluge on Friday and Saturday, the plug being pulled on 18 basketball and 14 cricket matches slated to be contested between Michaelhouse and hosts DHS on the weekend, It was an unwelcome break in momentum for the boys from Balgowan.
Just two fixtures were salvaged from the wreckage: a 30-10 win for Michaelhouse’s sixth basketball team against Hilton College; and a comfortable 8-wicket win for Michaelhouse’s first cricket XI in Durban.
Feature photo: Michaelhouse’s Jack Shooter, pictured here on Day 2, finished second in the U18 category of the Drak Challenge.
Skipper Jeremy Foss lost another toss and the hosts padded up. In what has become characteristic fashion, House’s seam attack pinned the DHS batsmen down in the muggy conditions.
With wickets falling like the persistent rain and a shower halting play mid-innings, the hosts simply weren’t able to gather any attacking momentum.
House leg spinner Josh Heath waded in after the resumption and helped himself to 4-17. Grade 11 seamer Michael Thornton’s 2-9 in five overs were instrumental in the hosts being all out for 99.
Foss played another innings from the front, but it was Tom McCall’s aggressive 57* which navigated the visitors into port.
Mid-week water polo fixtures against DHS cleared the way for seven matches to be played against Maritzburg College on Saturday. The Michaelhouse water polo club were in buoyant form, coming away from both fixtures with a clean slate of wins, including 16-0 (DHS) and 17-0 (Maritzburg College) wins for the U14A lads.
Weather couldn’t impact the ninth edition of the Michaelhouse U16 Basketball Tournament which was staged in the Indoor Centre on Sunday.
Nine schools and the Libros Northern Combined Development Team were met by the U16A and B teams of hosts, Michaelhouse.
Ten rounds of round-robin matches in the two pools determined the pecking order for the knockouts in the afternoon.
Having missed the opportunity the day before, Michaelhouse relished having a crack at DHS in the quarter final stage (21-15) but stumbled over the semi-final hurdle against Maritzburg College (14-20); but later bobbed back to beat Hilton College (13-12) for third place.
Kearsney College held their course for a tense 29-25 win over Maritzburg College to claim the laurels.
House’s paddlers enjoyed their club’s tradition of good form and the high water levels in the weekend’s Drak Challenge with five boys placing in the top 100.
Jack Shooter finished 28th overall and paddled into second place in the U18 category, with team-mate Aiden Furby coming home in second place in the U16 category.
* Info supplied and compiled by Michaelhouse’s Murray Witherspoon.
Hectic sports weekend at Maritzburg College
It was a jam-packed weekend of sport for Maritzburg College, the Inter-House Athletics Championship setting the tone on Friday, 28 January; four long-standing records tumbling in the 100m and high jump. The school’s team fixtures were mostly against St Charles College.
The cricket summary is here
https://kzn10.com/noteworthy-win-on-goldstones-for-st-charles-first-xi/
Closely contested basketball games were the order of the day, with College winning 15 of their 18 matches, with wins for all the top teams and a 1st team victory of 81-66. In addition, the College U16 side took part in a basketball tournament, going through to the final and finishing in 2nd place overall. College emerged the victors 6-2 in their Top 8 squash encounters against St Charles, and the 1st water polo team enjoyed a 12-2 victory against St Charles in the pool.
Justin Waldman Sports Photography feature photo: Maritzburg College’s Connor Henman in scoring mode during the Red Black and Whites’ 81-66 first team basketball derby win over St Charles College in a busy Alan Paton Hall at Maritzburg College on Saturday afternoon.
In addition, the boys of the RedBlackWhite also took part in Euro Steel Run the River (cross country), the Euro Drak Descent (cycling), and the Drak Challenge (canoeing).
Athletics
Maritzburg College’s 2022 Inter-House Athletics Championship, held at the athletics stadium across the campus in Princess Margaret Drive, saw some long-standing records tumble with outstanding performances from boys who gave their all for their houses.
One of the top performances came from Neo Mosebi, who Peter Kyle’s record (1974) of 10.60 secs in the U19 100m, with a time of 10.22 secs. Ilunga Kayembe, won the U17 100m record in a time of 10.84 secs. The previous record was 10.90 sec set by Peter Kyle (1974) and matched by N Ndlovu in 2019.
Records also fell in the field events as Ryan Stockhil cleared an outstanding 2.10 m in the U19 high jump, breaking the record of 2.00m set by Brett Balmer in 1984. Luyanda Kunene won the U17 high jump clearing 1.92m and breaking the long-standing record set by J Pienaar of 1.90m in 1997.
Cross Country/ Trail Running
The Euro Steel Run the Rivers 2022 was a muddy affair; however, the beautiful trails of the KZN Drakensberg foothills did not disappoint. Three College boys took part in the two-day event, participating in the junior male category; 14.5km on Saturday and 8km on Sunday – the latter became 10km for many of the runners as there was some confusion on the track.
Results:
Scot Arnold – 2nd in category/ 6th overall
Riley Kleinhans – 4th in category/ 21st overall
Neil Deyzel – 5th in category/ 34th overall
Basketball
Saturday’s games at Maritzburg College were fiercely contested encounters, mostly against St Charles College. College’s teams did very well to win 15 of the 18 matches, losing just 3, with wins for all the top teams and a 1st team victory of 81-66. In addition, the College U16 side took part in the Michaelhouse basketball tournament, finishing in 2nd place overall to winners Kearsney College.
1st team report (by Maritzburg College’s Zinhle Cele)
College’s 1st team came out with a lot to prove. St Charles is always a festive fixture, and this day was no different, with parents and fellow students out in numbers, the 1st team had a loud and lively support system. The first half of the game was a bit of a roller coaster with the lead changing hands between the two teams a few times. The team talk at half time seemed to unlock a renewed drive in the College boys which we hadn’t seen so far in the game. They played with urgency and gusto and quickly started to push a win further and further from St Charles’ view.
Caleb Janse Van Rensburg and Connor Henman both proved to be a problem for St Charles, dropping 12 points each. Onlookers were also treated to a superior performance from Mkhize who contributed the most points (16) to his side, as well as exemplary defence from Mthimkhulu. In the end, synergy and team spirit clenched the win for College.
Summary of Basketball Scores vs SCC:
1st won 81-66
2nd lost 17-25
3rd won 31-30
4th lost 23-29
5th lost 11-13
U16A won 32-12
U16B won 22-17
U16C won 26-18
U16D won 29-5
U15A won 33-21
U15B won 27-12
U15C won 28-4
U15D won 30-0
U14A won 45-7
U14B won 29-19
U14C won 37-2
U14D won 13-3
U14E won 28-0
U16 Basketball Tournament
College’s U16 team won all but one of their pool games in the U16 tournament.
College vs SCC won 21-11
College vs Kearsney drew 23-23
College vs Michaelhouse won 21-11
College vs Invitational Team won 105-6
College vs DHS won 32-23
In the quarter finals they beat Westville 20-12 and emerged the winners against Michaelhouse 20-14 in the semi-final. In the final, they faced Kearsney and lost narrowly 25-29.
Canoeing
Several Maritzburg College boys took part in the 2-day Drak Challenge, well supported by College’s new coach and Olympic star, Bridgitte Hartley.
Results
U18
Joshua Glyn Cuthbert 7th
Ian Hemmingway 12th
James Goble 13th
Kent Rhodes 14th
James Sharpe 16th
Chris Adam 22nd
Ross Finnie 25th
K2
James Odell 15th
Ladies
Bridgitte Hartley finished in 4th place in the ladies’ race and was the first sub-vet lady home.
Squash
Match Report (by Alan McGuigan – MIC Squash at Maritzburg College)
College came out the victors 6-2 in their Top 8 squash encounters against St Charles. There were several strong performances from the College boys; in particular Matt Mason (College’s no.2) & Shrivar Maharaj (no.1) who fought back from 1-2 & 0-2 respectively in their matches to both win 3-2.
In the KZN Junior Squash Tournament (individual event) held at Westville Country Club from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 January, College boys were placed in all three age categories:
U/19 Division:
Shrivar Maharaj – 3rd
Matthew Mason – 4th
Nikhiel Moodley – 8th
U/16 Division:
William Galliers – 9th
Veer Premchund – 13th
U/14 Division:
Talik Nana – 1st
Swimming
In the Hilton Invitational Gala, College’s A squad came 2nd to Kearsney by 3 points, while the B squad won their section of the gala.
Tennis
College’s tennis teams had mid-week fixtures against Hilton College and Michaelhouse.
U19 College A vs MHS B won 8-4; U19 College B vs HC A lost 0-12
U15 College A vs MHS A won 7-5; U15 College B vs HC B drew 6-6
Water polo
College fielded 7 teams against St Charles and Michaelhouse over the weekend; the 1st team secure a 12-2 win.
1st team report (Darren Sherriff – Maritzburg College director of aquatics)
The 1st team game against St Charles started in a competitive fashion and College had a small lead of 2 goals at the end of the 1st chukka. St Charles got onto the score board with a penalty in the 2nd chukka, but College then extended their lead to 6-1. In the 3rd chukka, College managed 1 goal and St Charles pulled 1 back as well to bring the score 7-2. College came out firing in the last chukka and scored 5 goals bringing the final score to 12-2 in College’s favour.
Summary of scores:
1st vs SCC won 12-2
2nd VS MHS lost 5-9
3rd vs SCC 2nd won 8-5
U15A vs SCC won 12-0
U15B vs MHS lost 0-14
U14A vs MHS lost 0-14
U14B vs MHS lost 0-15
Noteworthy win on Goldstones for St Charles first XI
The St Charles College first XI built on their four-wicket victory over Glenwood the previous week to record a meritorious 28-run win over the Maritzburg College first XI on Goldstones Saturday.
College won 7 of their 9 completed matches against Saints and overall won 9 of their 14 matches over the course of Saturday.
Feature photo: The victorious St Charles College first XI on Goldstones Saturday.
The St Charles College first XI did very well to consolidate and build a defendable total after being put in to bat on a grassy Goldstones pitch that assisted the quicker bowlers in the morning session. Saints were 17 for two after 8 overs with College opening bowlers Bryn Brokensha and Matthew Ponter asking plenty of questions of the batsmen.
Saints captain Jason Muirhead continued his excellent run with the bat, scoring 88 on Goldstones Saturday to go with his unbeaten 73 in the win over Glenwood. N. Zuma scored 54 as the third-wicket Saints partnership proved to be a decisive factor in the match.
The Saints innings closed at 216 for six at the conclusion of their 50 overs, Ponter and Cayden Hohls getting 2 wickets apiece.
Creedon Smith (36) and Caleb Thomas (44) had done much of the work in getting College to a handily-placed 97 for two at afternoon tea. Needing 116 to win off the remaining 25 overs with 8 wickets still intact, College were in a strong position.
St Charles, to their credit, managed to restrict the run rate and the pressure built on the College batsmen. A key phase of the match saw College’s total of 144 for 3 descend to 152 for 6 and ultimately to 188 all out in the 50th over. Bryn Brokensha (34) was the other College batsman to get more than 30. Saints’ T. Khonat again picked up 3 wickets (3 for 48) to add to his 3-34 against Glenwood the previous Saturday.
1st Team in brief: St Charles College 216/6 (J Muirhead 88 N Zuma 54, C Hohls 2-36, M Ponter 2-43) Maritzburg College 188 all out (C Smith 36, C Thomas 44, B Brokensha 34, T Khonat 3-48). SCC won by 28 runs.
Maritzburg College’s Summary of Cricket Results
| Team | Opposition | Summary |
| 1st | SCC | SCC 216 for 6.
College 188 all out. College lost by 28 runs |
| 2nd | SCC | SCC 165 all out; Armstrong 4/51 in 9, Nkabinde 3/26
College 166 for 7 in 38.2; Currie 73, Khumalo 27, Thomson 23 College won by 3 wickets |
| 3rd | SCC | College 102 all out.
SCC 123/7. College lost by 21 runs |
| 4th | SCC | Match abandoned |
| 5th | SCC | SCC 68 all out;
College 71/5 in 17.3 overs. College won by 5 wickets |
| U16A | SCC | SCC 90 all out; Gibson 4/11
College 91 for 5, College won by 5 wickets |
| U16B | SCC | SCC 124 all out; Armstrong 4/14
College 125/3; Erasmus 32, Warren 33 n/o College won by 7 wickets |
| U16C | Howick | Howick 16A 95/6;
College 96/8. College won by 2 wickets |
| U15C | Howick | College & Howick 73 all out.
Tie |
| U15D | SCC | SCC 161 all out, College 85 all out
College lost by 76 runs |
| U14A | SCC | College 219 all out. De Bruyn 60, Fabre 29
SCC 195/10; Gasa 4/28, Naidoo 2/19 College won by 24 runs |
| U14B | SCC | SCC 145 all out; Francis 2/12
College 149/6; Thompson 37, Cook 36 College won by 4 wickets |
| U14C | SCC | SCC 50 all out;
College 55/1; College won by 9 wickets |
| U14D | HUB | HUB 148 for 5
College 77 all out College lost by 71 runs |
| U14F | Merchiston
U14 8th |
College 132/3; Dickason 46
Merchiston 82/4 College won by 48 runs |
Successes for Kearsney College sport
It has been a busy few days for Kearsney College sport with notable successes.
On the cricket front, the Kearsney first XI beat DHS by 50 runs in the T20 format and went down by 33 runs to Glenwood in the longer version of the game. Kearsney U16A beat Glenwood U16A by 6 wickets, the U15A’s won by 48 runs while the U14A’s won by 5 wickets.
The Kearsney U16 basketball team went unbeaten at the Michaelhouse tournament, improving on a 23-23 tie in the Pool stage against Maritzburg College to win 29-25 against the same team in the final.
The Kearsney first basketball team had a close-run three-point defeat at the hands of the Kearsney Old Boys team on Saturday afternoon, the final score 61-58 to the Old Boys. The Kearsney first team basketballers under the guidance of coaches Myles Delport and Mr. K Nzama who took on the Old Boys were: Njabulo Ngcobo, Matthew Campbell (capt), Iviwe Shongwe, Matthew Damons, Lathi Sali, Jamol Langeni, Luca Borrageiro, Robbie Jorgensen, Oliver Brazier, Gregor Campbell, Lehumo Mahlabana and Ayanda Jackson.
The Kearsney second team basketballers beat an Old Boys combination 44-17. The Kearsney third basketball team lost to a KwaMashu U18 selection by 52 points to 35 while the fourths went down 32-14 to the Liv Village U18A side.
The Kearsney swimming team won the Hilton Gala, three points ahead of second-placed Maritzburg College.
The Tennis Doubles League saw victory come the way of both the Kearsney first and second teams. There was also success for the Kearsney first golf and squash teams, a Vodacom Origins golf title for Kearsney College Old Boy Martin Rohwer and an impressive showing by canoeist Ben van Herzeele in the Drak Challenge.
Possibly the performance of the weekend was that of grade 10 boy Bryce Blomquist, who beat a KZN U19 opponent on the squash court.
SELECTED RESULTS IN BRIEF
CRICKET
Kearsney 1st X1 161/3 (Zeiler 35, Coetzee 54)
DHS 1st X1 111/5
Kearsney won by 50 runs in the T20 format
Glenwood 1st X1 201/6
Kearsney 1st X1 168/9 (Bishop 56*, Zeiler 41)
Kearsney lost by 33 runs
BASKETBALL
Kearsney’s U16 basketball team won the Michaelhouse tournament at the weekend without losing a match. They beat DHS 21-18, Michaelhouse B 29-13, St Charles 28-9 and drew with Maritzburg College 23-23 in the play-offs. In the quarter final they beat Northwood 23-15, beat Hilton 25-12 in the semis and beat Maritzburg College 29-25 in the final.
SWIMMING
Kearsney swimmers won the Hilton Gala. Points were Kearsney College 98 points, Maritzburg College 95, Hilton College 87, St Charles 61, Michaelhouse 49.
TENNIS
Kearsney 1st tennis team beat Westville 1st team 3-1 and Kearsney 2nd team beat St Charles 1st team 3-1 in the Tennis Doubles League.
GOLF
Kearsney 1st golf team beat Clifton 1st team 4,5-3,5.
Meanwhile, the weekend’s Vodacom Origins golf final at the Gary Player Country Club was won by Kearsney old boy Martin Rohwer by two strokes. It was his second Sunshine Tour title.
SQUASH
Despite missing two first team players, Kearsney’s 1st squash team beat Glenwood 7-1. Bryce Blomquist, an U16 Grade 10 who stepped up to the 1st position, scored a memorable victory over his experienced and fancied U19 KZN counterpart.
CANOEING
Kearsney’s Ben van Herzeele placed third in the K2 category and 31st overall in the two-day Drak Challenge over the weekend.
Derby Day in PMB between Maritzburg College and St Charles College
The two Pietermaritzburg boys’ high schools dating back to 1863 and 1875 respectively meet on the cricket fields and basketball courts plus the water polo pool Saturday, 29 January.
Maritzburg College (1863) and St Charles College (1875) have a longstanding association in the KZN capital and those ties are sure to be strengthened on the playing fields tomorrow.
The first XI cricket match at Maritzburg College’s premier Goldstones ground starts at 9am. The 50-over format is the order of play. Derby matches can throw up the unexpected and it may well be that cometh the hour cometh the cricketer to tilt the odds one way or another.
The longstanding basketball rivalry continues unabated and the 1.30pm first team clash in Maritzburg College’s cavernous Alan Paton Hall will provoke much interest.
The 2021 fourth term “stayers” match at St Charles went College’s way but St Charles will reflect on many a points-scoring basket that went astray.
The first team water polo match is at 10.30 in the Maritzburg College pool.
The Maritzburg College website has all the fixture details.
Durban north cricket derby: Clifton vs Northwood
The Clifton School first XI under the leadership of captain Ross Montgomery and coach Brandon Scullard are at the Robin Smith Oval this Saturday 29 January for the 9am starting time 50-over match against hosts Northwood.
Clifton vs Northwood: Ben McElligott, Camden Riley, Mitchell Tillard, Keaton Murray, Matthew Gore, Mohamed Taqvi, Ross Montgomery (capt), Tristan Naicker, Ryan Jairaj, Dario Reddy, Nathan Armitage-Graves. Coach: Brandon Scullard
Photo caption: The Captain’s Blazer tradition at Clifton has been updated and handed on with Ross Montgomery the new incumbent.
In the last 7 first XI matches between the near-neighbours Clifton have won 4 and Northwood 2 with 1 match abandoned.
Northwood first XI to play Clifton: Evan Fouche, Muhammad Karodia, James Nielsen, Bradley Bumberry, Adam Chislett (capt), Matthew Anderssen, Ethan Grace, Jason Pearce, Reinhardt Nel, plus 2 players still to be confirmed. Coach: Khalipha Cele
So far this year Clifton have played 6 matches won 3 lost 2 and had one match abandoned. And the matches have either been decisively won or lost, a trend that seems prevalent among the schools this year.
For info on the Northwood first XI year so far go to
Clifton: at the Kearsney festival earlier this month:
10 Jan vs Futura Academy: no play possible due to weather.
11 Jan vs Michaelhouse: Clifton 253/8 and Michaelhouse 109 all out leaving Clifton 144-run winners.
12 Jan vs KZN Coastal Invitational XI: Clifton 270 all out beat Coastal 140 all out by 130 runs.
13 Jan vs Kearsney: lost by 5 wickets in Kearsney reaching 130 for 5 chasing Clifton’s 129 all out.
At Durban High School on 22 Jan:
Clifton 235 for 8 in 50 overs (McElligott 31, Montgomery 30, Riley 35, Naicker 39, Jairaj 39) DHS 59 all out (Jairaj 3-22, Armitage-Graves 4 for 1 (including a memorable hat-trick))
Clifton won by 176 runs.
Michaelhouse first XI in convincing win
It was certainly a feather in the cap for the Michaelhouse first XI on the Roy Gathorne Oval in Balgowan last Saturday (22 January) after earning a meritorious victory over Northwood.
Michaelhouse compiled a match-winning 305 for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Northwood’s reply of 174 all out left the Men of House 131-run winners.
Northwood put Michaelhouse in to bat and a measured start by openers Murray Baker (57) and James Kennedy set the ideal platform for House, the first wicket falling in the 16th of the allotted 50 overs with the total at 96.
And that ideal platform was not undone as House captain Jeremy Foss (71), Thomas McCall (48) plus the contributions of Joshua Heath (25) and Robbie Lawrence (27) took the home side to a formidable 305.
When it was Northwood’s turn to bat the Michaelhouse bowlers were backed by excellent support in the field. The spin of Joshua Heath (3 for 14 in 5 overs) and the seam of Michael Thornton (2 for 14 in 6 overs) did much of the damage.
In the last 8 matches between the two schools’ premier cricket sides, House have won 5 and Northwood 1 while 2 matches had to be abandoned.
In the festival at Kearsney during the second week of this month, the Michaelhouse first XI’s opening match of the year was against the host school, which was abandoned due to the adverse weather conditions.
Michaelhouse had been bowled out for 226 and in reply Kearsney were handily placed at 145 for 2 before the curtains came down.
The Michaelhouse first XI coaching staff of Ian Crawford and Darryn Mortimer and the team captained by Jeremy Foss took on Clifton the next day and it was another tough encounter, House all out for 106 in pursuit of the excellent 253 for 7 compiled by the Clifton lads.
A 147-run loss is not easy to recover from but this Michaelhouse duly did, winning their next three matches, including the abovementioned defeat of Northwood this past Saturday.
Chasing the Futura Academy’s impressive 303 all out the Men of House contributed 304 for the loss of 8 wickets to record a heartening 2-wicket win.
A seven-wicket victory over Maritzburg College in the T20 match the following day, the last outing of the Kearsney festival, added further value to the Michaelhouse cause. In reply to Maritzburg College’s 121 for 7 in their 20 overs, Michaelhouse went past the winning post at 123 for 3.
This Saturday (29 January) the Michaelhouse first XI are scheduled to visit Durban High School (DHS) and will no doubt be looking to maintain their momentum.
After the DHS trip the Men of House are scheduled to host Clifton on the Roy Gathorne on February 5 before facing Glenwood (away) on February 12.
According to the fixtures I have seen, the first round of the Michaelhouse cricket year ends with the first XI taking on St Charles College on February 26 before the much-anticipated visit to the Hart-Davis Oval at Hilton College on Saturday, March 5.
The Northwood Knights’ 2022 cricket journey
The trip to Balgowan and the Roy Gathorne Oval last Saturday (22 January) turned out to be a tough one for the Northwood first XI.
Michaelhouse compiled a match-winning 305 for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 50 overs and Northwood’s reply was a modest 174 all out, which left the Men of House 131-run winners.
Northwood put Michaelhouse in and a measured start by openers Murray Baker (57) and James Kennedy set the ideal platform for House, the first wicket falling in the 16th of the allotted 50 overs with the total at 96.
And that ideal platform was not undone as House captain Jeremy Foss (71), Thomas McCall (48) plus the contributions of Joshua Heath (25) and Robbie Lawrence (27) took the home side to a formidable 305.
When it was Northwood’s turn to bat the Michaelhouse bowlers were backed by excellent support in the field with the spin of Joshua Heath (3 for 14 in 5 overs) and seam of Michael Thornton (2 for 14 in 6 overs) doing much of the damage.
In the last 8 matches between the two schools’ premier cricket sides, House have won 5 and Northwood 1 while 2 matches had to be abandoned.
After action satisfaction: The Northwood Knights reflect on a meritorious win over one of SA’s cricketing heavyweights, KES.
I have no information on yesterday’s 100-balls per innings contest between Northwood and hosts Glenwood. Evidence suggests that Northwood coach Khalipha Cele’s boys have demonstrated that they are able to bounce back.
Feature photo: Best wishes to the Northwood coaches for the 2022 year. Former Proteas pace bowler Mornantau (Nantie) Hayward has been in the director of cricket position since October 1 and is also the U16A coach. Nantie obviously also works with first XI coach Khalipa Cele while the second XI (the Brown caps) are piloted by Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Brian Gow, with Alex van der Merwe (U15A) and Sam Mofokeng (U14A) completing the group.
Northwood had put together a good set of results going into the Michaelhouse fixture, having won 4 and lost 1 of their matches at the Grey High School festival in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
First up was a T20 match against the hosts, Grey High, and the outcome did not favour the Knights, as the Northwood first XI is known. Despite getting off to a brisk start with James Nielsen’s 32 off 18 balls leading the way, Grey managed to pin the Northwood batsmen in their creases.
Not being allowed to rotate the strike put the Northwood batsmen under pressure and it took a 24 off 15 balls from captain Adam Chislett – the skipper came in with 3 overs to go – to push the Durban north lads to a total of 159.
The Grey opening batsmen took their time in establishing the platform for what would be a winning partnership and duly hauled in the run target with three overs in hand.
The Knights bounced back from the 10-wicket loss to earn an emphatic 92-run win over local side and match hosts Framesby High the next day before reeling off three closely-fought wins on the trot in their remaining festival games.
Northwood director of cricket Nantie Hayward in his Proteas fast bowler heyday.
The Framesby match had to be reduced to a 45-over match due to rain. Having been put in, Northwood compiled a solid total of 199 with the main contributors being James Nielsen (40 off 70 balls), Ethan Grace (71 off 80) and captain Adam Chislett (29 off 29).
Chislett and Grace then opened the bowling and were able to contain the Framesby run chase. The pressure reaped its due reward with leg-spinner Saurav Matai taking 3 wickets in 4 balls in his eventual 3 for 18 from his maximum 9 overs. Ethan Grace completed a productive match in returning bowling figures of 2 for 15 in his 9 overs.
Adam Chislett opened the bowling with Ethan Grace restricting Framesby in the first 10 overs. Saurav Matai channelled his inner Shane Warne as the leg-spinner took 3 wickets in 4 balls. Matai finished with figures of 3/18 in 9 overs. Ethan Grace also contributed with the ball taking 2/15 in his 9 overs. Framesby all out for 107 to leave Northwood 92-run winners.
The 2022 Northwood first XI after beating noted cricket nursery St Andrews School of Bloemfontein.
Next up for the Northwood Knights was a 50-over match against St Andrews School of Bloemfontein. Saints won the toss and got off to a good start, earning 54 runs before the opening batsmen were separated.
The Knights bowlers were then able to get wickets in clusters, which stymied Saints’ goal of building partnerships. With Adam Chislett picking up 4 wickets for 44 in 9.3 overs and Jason Pearce 3 for 29 in 7 it was a commendable effort to keep the run target below 200 as Saints’ innings folded to 189 all out from 46.3 overs.
Chasing 190 off 300 balls, Bradley Bumberry and the aggressive Jason Pearce added a 73-run partnership (Pearce getting 57 of the 73-run partnership) but it was touch and go at the end with 50 still needed to win and just three wickets in hand.
Under pressure, Northwood kept their heads and Evan Fouche alongside Ethan Grace got the Durban lads past the winning post with 1 wicket still intact.
On the same day at the Lance Klusener U15 festival hosted by his alma mater Durban High School (DHS) the Northwood U15A side beat Jeppe by 11 runs.
Northwood U15A made 144 all out in 44.5 overs with Jed Mun-Gavin 34 (43), Kyle White 25 (44) and Connor Leclezio 23 (53) standing out, to which Jeppe responded with 133 all out in 46.5 overs, the chief Northwood U15A wicket protagonists being Ben Cilliers (5/35 from 9.5 overs) and Matthew Norton (2/16 from 7 overs).
Nantie Hayward will be hoping his hard work as director of cricket at Northwood will bring the same reward as his wicket-taking process back in the day.
Next up for the Northwood Knights at the Grey festival was the premier team of one of South Africa’s greatest cricket nurseries, King Edward VII School (KES) of Johannesburg.
The gist of it is that in reply to KES’s 180 all out, Northwood reached 181 for 6 and a four-wicket victory.
Northwood skipper Adam Chislett (2 for 30), Ethan Grace (2 for 15) and Jason Pearce (2 for 26) restricted the KES batsmen to 180 all out before Grace (44), Pearce (32) and Evan Fouche (32) did the bulk of the business in piloting the Northwood ship home.
Just 96 days earlier, at Maritzburg College’s Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week, the KES first XI had beaten Northwood by 7 wickets.
Not exactly the same player personnel without doubt. But I would venture that a fair number of the same players played in both matches, so a Northwood turnaround of great merit.
This especially notable day for Northwood cricket also included the U15A side beating the Maritzburg College U15A team by 4 wickets. Northwood U15A’s successfully chased down the Maritzburg College U15A total of 212 for 7 to end on 213 for 6 with the main batting contributors being Aiden Potgieter (57), Ryan Fisher (46 not out) and Ross McGlashan (38*).
Earlier, two of the Northwood U15A bowlers to do make notable inroads into the Maritzburg College U15A batting attack were Ben Cilliers (2 for 30) and Matthew Norton (2 for 43).
Northwood’s first XI Knights then rounded off a successful festival in the Eastern Cape with a 9-run win over locally-based Pearson High. This high-scoring game saw the Knights compile 288 for 6 in their 50 overs, to which Pearson replied with 279 all out.
Three years prior, almost to the day, when the two schools had last met, Northwood edged home by 2 runs, and this time round the winning margin was also in single figures.
This Saturday, 29 January, Northwood host Clifton School first XI on the Smith Oval.
Ups and downs in the pool for Hilton College firsts water polo
Saturday, 22 January 2022 was the start of this year’s KZN schoolboy water polo season, with an exciting clash between Hilton and Kearsney College.
The hosts, Hilton, have been the more dominant school in water polo over recent years. With this being their 150th anniversary and first home fixture of the year, a tough fixture was expected.
The senior team results were dominated by Hilton College, including an impressive performance by their first team earning an emphatic 19-7 win in the final game of the day.
The junior age groups saw some competitive games, with Kearsney winners in the U14A game (11-7) and a tight win for Hilton in the U15A game (11-9).
This past Tuesday, 25 January (yesterday) the Hilton College first water polo team travelled to play against Westville in the late afternoon at Westville and it was the home side that prevailed to a 10-8 victory.
This Thursday, Friday and Saturday will see the Hilton first team playing in a festival at St Andrews College in Grahamstown.
First team water polo results:
22 Jan (at Ducasse Aquatic Centre, Hilton)
Kearsney 7 Hilton 19
Westville 10 Kearsney 8
The Kearsney water polo first team vs Hilton:
Dimitri Diakogiannis, Blake Kruger, James Pohl, Thomas Godwin, Ryan Sim, James Kewley, Luc Painting(vice-capt), Xavier Andrews (capt), Gary Wood, David Pohl, James Francke, Guy Roberts, Siyen Gounden, Luca Sandri
Coach: P le Roux
The Hilton College first water polo team vs Westville:
Tanner Bailey, Cameron Gray (capt), Oliver Lello, Ross Taylor, Jack Waterhouse (vice-capt), Ben Watt, Jono Bregman-Frangos, Matthew Hayes, Caine Letschert, Dean Macleod-Henderson, Stèfan Swart, Retief Malherbe, Mitchel Wilson
Coach: J Sileno