Author: captainmorgan

Clifton College completed their Independent Schools Cricket Festival (ISCF) assignments on Sunday with a comfortable 28-run T20 win over Woodridge College on Cornwall Hill‘s Landsend Oval.

Batting, after winning the toss, Clifton’s innings was built upon a fine knock from opening batsman, Daniyaal Klinck, who gave the Durban school plenty of impetus, smashing 11 fours and a six in a 55-ball stay that brought him 79 runs.

He and Muhammed Malek, who had scored centuries on the previous two days, shared a 70-run stand for the second wicket before Malek fell for 22. Klinck, though, remained on and accelerated the scoring with his captain, Shiraz Perumal.

Eventually, Klinck was out after 17 overs, which left Clifton on 142/3, with three to go. Perumal followed eight runs later, but he had done his job, hitting three fours and two sixes in a rapid 34 from 22 balls.

Clifton added another 27 runs in the last two overs to finish on a challenging 177/5, with Daniel Rea going out off the last ball for 17 from 10.

Opening bowler, Daniel Darlow, led the Woodridge attack, capturing 2/28 in four overs. Stefan Ferreira was a tad expensive, but he also picked up two wickets, with his four overs going for 42 runs.

While Woodridge made a decent enough start to their run chase, left-arm spinner Blake Johnson, who shared the new ball with George Gooch, undermined their efforts.

The Eastern Cape side put up 25 for the first wicket, but they soon slid to 35/3 in the sixth over, with Johnson removing the top three in the order and returning an exceptional 3/6 from four overs.

Jack Feltham provided strong resistance, flaying three sixes and two fours in his 37 from 25 deliveries, but the pressure of the required run rate of 8.9 per over told. Ithi Arosa did well to weigh in with 22 from 15 balls, but Keegan Watson, who dismissed both batsmen, added another two victims, on his way to the match’s best figures of 4/36.

Skipper Shiraz Perumal then provided the coup de grace, claiming 2/33, including the last wicket, Brody McKinnon, for 11, as Woodridge ended on 148/9 in reply.

Michaelhouse vs St Benedict’s College

Michaelhouse finished the ICSF on a high note by scoring an emphatic nine-wicket win over St Benedict’s College, their third victory from four matches.

Bennies batted first on the Temba Bavuma Oval at St David’s Marist Inanda and made a fair start, with Ollie Brown and Keeghan Greensmith taking seven overs to score 45 for the first wicket.

Brown was the first to go, caught by Ben Heuer off Preston Greene for the innings’ highest score of 27, which came off 21 balls and included three fours and a six. His departure, though, signalled the start of a slow collapse.

Greensmith followed seven runs later, for 21, leaving St Benedict’s on 52/2. Only two more batsmen – Tom McArthur (12) and Alex Johnston (14) – made it into double figures.

Liam O’Dwyer was mostly responsible for the Bedfordview boys’ struggles. He tore through the top order, snapping up 4/10 from four overs, and Bennies never recovered. Preston Greene claimed 2/20, also from four, and two run outs further hurt St Benedict’s, who were bowled out for 101 in the last of their 20 overs.

When they replied, Michaelhouse lost Cody Sander to the second ball of the innings, but they didn’t blink. Ben Heuer and Graydon Leslie took it to the Bennies’ bowlers and shared an unbroken 102-run stand, with the scoring split in half exactly, to see their team to victory after 14 overs.

Heuer, at the top of the order, slammed two sixes and a four in his unbeaten 51 off 43 balls. Leslie, the captain, batted slightly faster, taking only 39 deliveries for his 51 not out, which included four fours and a six.

Tlotliso Mhlanga, the lone bowler to take a wicket, finished with a tidy 3/11 from three overs. Credit to Bennies, they didn’t concede a single extra.

Summarised scorecards

Clifton College 177/5 (Daniyaal Klinck 79, Shiraz Perumal 34, Muhammed Malek 22; Daniel Darlow 2/28, Stefan Ferreira 2/42);
Woodridge College 148/9 (Jack Feltham 37, Ithi Arosi 22; Keegan Watson 4/35, Blake Johnson 3/6, Shiraz Perumal 2/33). Clifton College won by 28 runs.

St Benedict’s College 101/10 (Ollie Brown 27, Keeghan Greensmith 21; Liam O’Dwyer 4/10, Preston Greene 2/20); Michaelhouse 102/1 (Ben Heuer 51*, Graydon Leslie 51*; Tlotliso Mhlanga). Michaelhouse won by nine wickets.

In one of Saturday’s most eagerly awaited contests, Hilton College maintained their clean record at the Independent School Cricket Festival, beating St David’s Marist Inanda by 17 runs to finish the 50-over part of their schedule with three wins from three matches.

Playing on St David’s La Valla Oval, Hilton captain Rob Burman elected to bat when he called the coin flip right. Openers, Barack Munawa and Ben Wilson, made him look good by putting up 65 for the first wicket. Their stand came to an end in the 15th over when Wilson fell for 31, caught Jonah Gruskin, bowled Kai Davis.

Matthew Bezuidenhout didn’t last long, but the skipper then joined Munawa in the middle, and they advanced the total by 53 runs to 144 before Burman exited after an entertaining 27 from 25 balls, which featured two fours and two sixes.

Munawa and Luke Wilson put together another useful partnership, joining forces to tack on 41 for the fifth wicket before Wilson departed for 21. Munawa followed seven runs later, out for the innings’ highest score of 82, which took him 125 balls and included six fours and a six. Later, it won him the man of the match award.

Hilton College was not quite able to see out their 50 overs. They were all out one over shy of the maximum for 238, a total which was boosted by 25 extras.

Hayden Campbell was the pick of the St David’s bowlers, returning 4/33 from 9.1 overs, including the wicket of Munawa. Mike Pegg chipped in with 2/34 from six.

The St David’s Marist Inanda reply included a healthy five batsmen making scores of 21 or more, but none was as substantial as Munawa’s 82 for Hilton.

Jonah Gruskin continued his outstanding form with his side’s best innings of 48. He and Michael Smithyman added 79 for the third wicket, but Hilton’s bowlers kept the run scoring in check, with the pair taking 24.2 overs to score those runs. Smithyman’s contribution was 34.

Up front, Sohail Seonath scored more freely, striking six fours in his 32 from 23 balls, but he was the only batsman to go at better than a run a ball. Maru Challies weighed in with 25, and Kyle Butler made 21, but St David’s needed one more batsman to press on, and they didn’t get it.

All six of Hilton’s bowlers picked up wickets, with Cameron Hargroves claiming 2/31 from 7.5 overs and Obakeng Motsepa 2/40 from 10. They also performed a tidy job, keeping St David’s to 221/8 from their 50 overs to claim a hard-fought win.

Cornwall Hill College vs Clifton College

While Clifton College‘s match against Cornwall Hill College on the Van der Byl Oval was abandoned because of lightning, it featured a huge highlight from Muhammed Malek, who notched back-to-back centuries for the Durban school, following his 115 not out against St George’s College with 100 exactly against Cornwall.

Clifton needed his ton because 29 each from Shiraz Perumal and Blake Johnson was their next best effort. Malek, though, stood strong.

He made his way to the crease at the start of the third over, when only two runs had been scored, and he exited in the last over, when Clifton had 216 runs on the board. They finished with 223/8. Malek faced 133 deliveries, sending four of them to the boundary and one over the ropes.

Clifton let themselves down by having three batsmen run out, which was Cornwall’s surest method of getting rid of the opposition batsmen. None of their bowlers picked up more than one wicket. Mohale Pitso, with 1/23 from 10 overs, was the best of them.

Cornwall Hill responded with 58/1 after 15.2 overs before the overhead storm brought the match to a premature end. Rourke de Lange was unbeaten on 21, and Phalguna Pakala was 17 not out.

Blake Johnson bowled Keegan van Wyk for 13 and snared 1/11 from six overs.

Summarised scorecards

Hilton College 238/10 (Barack Munawa 82, Ben Wilson 31, Rob Burman 27, Luke Wilson 21; Hayden Campbell 4/33, Mike Pegg 2/34); St David’s Marist 221/8 (Jonah Gruskin 48, Michael Smithyman 34, Sohail Seonath 32, Maru Challies 25, Kyle Butler 21; Cameron Hargroves 2/31, Obakeng Motsepa 2/40). Hilton College won by 17 runs.

Clifton College 223/8 (Muhammed Malek 100, Shiraz Perumal 29, Blake Johnson 29; Mohale Pitso 1/23); Cornwall Hill College 52/1 after 15.2 overs. (Rourke de Lange 21*; Blake Johnson 1/11). Match abandoned.

Clifton College didn’t get enough out of their batsmen in a loss to Helpmekaar Kollege on Thursday at the Independent Schools Cricket Festival. On Friday, though, they put that right. Muhammed Malek led the way with an unbeaten 115 against St George’s College on the Baloyi Oval at St Alban’s College.

Matters didn’t start well for Clifton, who lost a wicket off the first ball of the contest. Veer Ramouthar and Yusuf Ahmed steadied the ship, making 22 and 42 respectively. Yet, when Ahmed fell in the 29th over, Clifton was on 138/5. They appeared to be on their way to a decent total, but nothing special.

The next 21.4 overs yielded 193 runs, however, and Muhammed Malek was to the fore, with a hard-hitting boost from his captain, Shiraz Perumal, and a useful cameo from Daniel Rea. Malek and Perumal combined for the innings’ key partnership, adding 137 runs in only 13.5 overs.

Kundanashe Mushonga eventually ended the onslaught by bowling Perumal, who exited for 64 from 49 balls, which featured six fours and two sixes. Malek and Rea, then, tacked on 56 in just under eight overs, with Rea going out off the last ball of the innings for 28.

Malek finished with 115 not out off just 95 balls, 11 of which he steered to the boundary, and Clifton totalled a good-looking 331/7.

Opening bowler Kundanashe Mushonga led the Harare side’s attack, claiming 2/43 from eight overs, while Kudaishe Nyatsanza took 2/61 in 10.

St George’s reply didn’t start much better than Clifton’s innings; they lost their first wicket to the third ball of the innings. Soon, wickets began to tumble regularly.

By the time 18 overs had been bowled, the Zimbabweans were in desperate trouble, floundering on 37/6, with the Clifton bowlers spreading the wickets around.

Four batsmen made it into double figures, but none bettered the 14 made by both Kundanashe Mushonga and Allen Masiya. In just less than 30 overs, St George’s was bowled out for only 80.

Clifton captain Shiraz Perumal, who captured an eye-opening 95 wickets in 2025, snapped up 3/15 in 3.4 overs to lead his side’s charge. Left-arm spinner, Blake Johnson, was miserly, nabbing 2/6 in five overs, while off-spinner Keegan Watson claimed 2/18 in seven, and left-arm seamer, Eli van Jaarsveld, knocked over 2/21 in six.

Muhammed Malek completed his excellent day with 1/0 from three maiden overs.

Kearsney College vs St Stithians College

Kearsney College faced St Stithians College on Parke de Terrace at Cornwall Hill. When the KZN side won the toss, they opted to bat first. It didn’t deliver the results they desired.

Saints kept their bowling tight, restricting Kearsney to 153 all out after 46.4 overs, which owed a lot to a last-wicket partnership of 61 between Matthew Rice and Ryan Staats.

Staats, batting at 11, showed those who batted above him a thing or two. He stroked four fours and three sixes in a rapid and unbeaten 43 off only 29 balls. Rice, meanwhile, played a more conservative knock, contributing 22 from 57 deliveries.

The top score of the innings, though, belonged to Kearsney captain Keegan de Jager. Batting at four, he faced 110 balls, hit four fours and a six, and made 53. Kearsney’s problem was that, apart from the three aforementioned batsmen, their next highest score was only six.

The Saints’ opening pair, Tendai Kadyamadare and Nqaba Matunda, got stuck into the Kearsney batting early, and Zaakir Hanslo, who came on as the first change bowler, also removed a couple of batsmen to put the skids under the boys from Botha’s Hill.

Matuna led the way with 3/28 from 6.4 overs, while Kadyamadare claimed 2/34 in eight, and Hanslo 2/38 from 10 as Kearsney struggled to break free of the shackles imposed on them.

While Kearsney’s 153 all out didn’t look imposing, that changed once Rivaan Moodley took the ball. The leg-spinner tied Saints in knots, sending down 10 overs, three of them maidens, and snaring a sensational 4/16, which destroyed the St Stithians’ middle order.

The Johannesburg school’s biggest issue was a lack of partnerships. Their best was 23 runs for the first wicket between Akhil Challa and Ombesa Matsha. No others made it beyond the teens. They mustered 17 for the tenth wicket, but they were all out for 117 in the 39th over.

While Moodley undermined the St Stithians’ reply, he didn’t do it alone. Michael Groom knocked over 2/21 in eight, Matthew Rice bagged 2/18 in 3.4, and Matthew Gorrie chipped in with a tidy 1/31 from 10.

Matthew Katzenstein provided the best resistance, facing 57 balls for his 32, while Ombesa Matsha made 21 and Thomas Collins 20.

Victory, though, went decisively to Kearsney College by 36 runs.

Summarised scorecards

Clifton College 331/7 (Muhammed Malek 115*, Shiraz Perumal 64, Yusuf Ahmed 42, Daniel Rea 28, Veer Ramouthar 22; Kundanashe Mushonga 2/43, Kudaishe Nyatsanza 2/61); St George’s College 80/10 (Kundanashe Mushonga 14, Allen Masiya 14; Shiraz Perumal 3/15, Blake Johnson 2/6, Keegan Watson 2/18, Eli van Jaarsveld 2/21). Clifton College won by 251 runs.

Kearsney College 153/10 (Keegan de Jager 52, Ryan Staats 43*, Matthew Rice 22; Nqaba Matuna 3/28, Tendai Kadymadare 2/34, Zaakir Hanslo 2/38); St Stithians College 117/10 (Matthew Katzenstein 32, Ombesa Matsha 21, Thomas Collins 20; Rivaan Moodley 4/16, Matthew Rice 2/18, Michael Groom 2/21). Kearsney College won by 36 runs.

A century from Zuan Joubert lifted Helpmekaar Kollege to a healthy 257/6 from their 50 overs, facing Clifton College on the Tuks Oval on Thursday, the opening day of the Independent Schools Cricket Festival. That proved to be a winning total.

Helpies made good use of a favourable toss. Their opening pair, Sebastian Kloek and Ewald Haasbroek, put up 64 for the first wicket in just under 15 overs before Blake Johnson made the breakthrough, dismissing Haasbroek, caught and bowled, for 30.

Kloek’s resistance came to an end in the 30th over, when he was bowled by Clifton skipper Shiraz Perumal for 66. That left Helpmekaar on 127/3.

Clifton had to wait another 16.5 overs before claiming another wicket. When off-spinner Keegan Watson removed Heinrich Minnaar for 37, Minnaar and Zuan Joubert had combined for a fourth-wicket stand of 111 runs.

Joubert fell in the last over, trying to squeeze out one more run, run out by Jack Snaith and Daniel Rea, for 101. He had faced only 96 balls and struck six fours and two sixes.

Perumal picked up 2/36 in his 10 overs of leg-spin, while Keegan Watson returned 1/30 from seven.

Clifton’s reply included decent enough scores from their top five. The problem was that none of them pushed on, whereas Helpmekaar’s batsmen did. Only Hayden Drieselmann, with an aggressive 39 from 34 balls, which included seven fours, made it to 30, but Helpies had four batsmen achieve that feat, and one went on to a century, another to a fifty.

Still, at 120/3 in the 21st over, the Durban school was very much in the contest. Ten balls later, though, they were on the back foot on 121/6.

Helpmekaar’s centurion, Zuan Joubert, was involved in two of those dismissals, having Matthias Samuel caught for 23 before running out Blake Johnson for a duck. Clifton had looked comfortable, but now a clear path to victory opened up for Helpmekaar, and they took it, with Keanu du Plooy leading the charge.

He captured 4/36 from his 10 overs to lead Helpmekaar’s bowlers. No one else took more than a single wicket. Joubert was the best of them, grabbing 1/21 from eight tight overs.

Clifton’s run chase stalled after 36.2 overs, and they were all out for 162, leaving Helpies with a handsome 95-run win.

Hilton College vs Kingswood College

Hilton College batted first on the Baloyi Oval against Kingswood College, after the toss went their way, and they compiled a gritty 227/7.

Barack Munawa and Ben Wilson gave coach David Griffiths‘ charges a solid start, with a 62-run opening stand, which ended with Munawa trapped LBW by Edwin Geldenhuys for 28.

Wilson was the third man out for 39, also a victim of Geldenhuys. His innings had featured three fours and a six. With the opener’s departure, Hilton’s innings lost direction, and they slid from 87/2 in the 19th over to 112/6 after 25 overs.

After Edwin Geldenhuys had removed the top three batsmen in the order, David Loudon and Daniel Jakin got stuck into Hilton’s middle order. Luke Wilson and Obakeng Motsepa stopped the rot, though, advancing the KZN side’s total to 167 before Wilson fell to Jakin for 23.

When he departed, Cameron Hargroves took over in the middle, and he and Motsepa saw Hilton through the next 11 overs to 227/7.

Motsepa finished with the innings’ highest score of 52 not out from 70 balls, with a four and a six, while Hargroves was unbeaten on 29 off 37. They had shared an unbroken partnership of 60 runs.

Edwin Geldenhuys led the Kingswood attack, capturing 3/19 in five overs, while Daniel Jakin tied up the Hilton batsmen, nabbing 2/21 in 10, and David Loudon claimed 2/34 in 10.

It has been a good season for Kingswood College, but their batting failed to fire on Thursday. They lost wickets early and often in their reply. By the 14th over, they were in desperate trouble on 40/6.

There was one main cause of their struggles, Hilton paceman Sange Qangule. He was responsible for four of the first five wickets to fall. The other was a run out, with captain Rob Burman and Obakeng Motsepa combining to get rid of Simon Sheard for 11.

The Kingswood batting scorecard made for miserable reading, but one man, Christopher Zimmerman, stood tall. He faced 58 balls, hit seven fours, and weighed in with 52, which was more than half of the Makhanda side’s disappointing 91 all out.

That left Hilton College with a substantial 136-run victory.

Qangule, the destroyer in chief, finished with 4/24 from six overs, but he didn’t do it alone. Anthony Crossley devastated the Kingswood reply, capturing 3/9 in 3.5 overs to hasten their demise.

Summarised scorecards

Helpmekaar Kollege 257/6 (Zuan Joubert 101, Sebastian Kloek 66, Heinrich Minnaar 37, Ewald Haasbroek 30; Shiraz Perumal 2/36, Keegan Watson 1/30). Clifton College 162/10 (Hayden Drieselmann 39, Yusuf Ahmed 24, Matthias Samuel 23; Keanu du Plooy 4/36). Helpmekaar on by 95 runs.

Hilton College 227/7 (Obakeng Motsepa 52*, Ben Wilson 39, Cameron Hargroves 29*, Barack Munawa 28, Luke Wilson 23; Edwin Geldenhuys 3/19, Daniel Jakin 2/21, David Loudon 2/34). Kingswood College 91/10 (Christopher Zimmerman 52; Sange Qangule 4/24, Anthony Crossley 3/9). Hilton College won by 136 runs.

The Clifton T20 Tournament appears to have done Glenwood High‘s confidence the world of good. They won two of three matches in that event, and, on Wednesday, they followed up with a thrilling five-wicket win over Westville Boys’ High, which was achieved off the last ball of the contest on Bowden’s Field.

Westville captain Kyle McGough chose to bat first after Kreesan Pillai called the toss incorrectly, but, apart from Tristin Delvin, the home side’s top-order batsmen failed to answer the call.

Delvin played his part, cracking three sixes and two fours in his 47 off 40 balls, but the rest of the top five contributed only single-figure scores. It was left to Luca Roddan to provide Westville with a much-needed late innings boost. He obliged with 16 not out from only four deliveries, two of which went for six and a third for four.

In the end, Westville finished on 110/5.

Glenwood skipper Kreesan Pillai led from the front with an outstanding return of 1/9 from 20 balls – an economy rate of only 2.3 runs per over while sending down a fifth of the innings’ balls. Qhamani Sikhutshwa was tidy, too, picking up 1/15 from his 20.

Charles Nkwanyana was the only bowler to take more than two wickets. He got rid of Liam de Villiers and Aarin Rasmussen and claimed 2/19 from 15 deliveries.

Kamo Moloto, with an unbeaten 97, had propelled Glenwood to victory over the W100 frontrunners, Clifton College, on the final day of the Clifton T20, and he was once again the Green Machine‘s star performer with the bat.

Opening the innings, he weighed in with a run-a-ball 43, hitting six fours along the way. It was a tight battle throughout, though.

When JP Pillay became the second batsman to fall, out for 14, Glenwood was on 53/2 with 45 balls remaining. They needed to up their scoring rate.

Moloto departed with 18 balls remaining. Glenwood was on 80/4 after 82 balls, needing 31 runs for victory from 18 deliveries. Mishael Gunawardana and Charles Nkwanyana helped to usher them across the line, scoring 21 and 19 not out respectively, but it took a big last five balls to get them to the win.

With only five left, Glenwood had 100/5, still 11 runs shy of the target. After scrambling a leg bye off the first ball from Misbah Nair, Nkwanyana struck the next two deliveries for four. A single off the second-last ball brought the scores level, leaving it up to Jonah Chaita to find a winning stroke.

He did, hitting a four, and Glenwood took victory.

Aarin Rasmussen, with 1/14 from 20 balls, and Ewan du Toit, with 1/9 from 20, heaped pressure on Glenwood’s batsmen, while Josh Engelbrecht did well, too, capturing 2/21 from 15. The visitors, though, had the final laugh.

Northwood vs Durban High School

Durban High School (DHS) made a short trip to Northwood on Wednesday for a W100 showdown on the Robin Smith Oval.

Both sets of batsmen got stuck into the bowling, but the Horseflies came away with a hard-fought 14-run win, thanks to a captain’s knock from Josh van Biljon. He was the mainstay of their innings, which he opened with Ismaeel Omar after losing the toss. They gave DHS a good start, putting up 55 runs from 37 balls before Omar was caught and bowled by Keegan Reeves for 16.

The best partnership of the DHS innings, though, was the third-wicket stand of 67 off only 35 deliveries between Van Biljon and Taine Havermann, which ended with Van Biljon’s departure. DHS had 133, and only 12 balls remained in the visitors’ innings. By then, though, Van Biljon had inflicted major damage, striking eight fours and four sixes in his 75, which came off only 45 balls.

Havermann ensured School finished strongly, sending a couple of deliveries flying over the boundary in his 31 from 24 balls, while Bonga Maphanga delivered late innings fireworks, blasting two sixes and a four in only six balls, which brought him 17 not out. Together, he and Havermann added a hasty 32 in 14 deliveries, and DHS totalled 165/4.

Most of the Northwood bowlers came in for some stick, but Keegan Reeves did a tidy job, returning 1/16 from 15 balls.

Faced with a challenging victory target, the Knights went hard at the DHS bowling, and they made a tremendous start to their run chase, thanks to David de Bruyn and Ross McGlashan.

They charged to 94 off 50 balls for the first wicket before McGlashan became the first to fall, trapped LBW by Tristan Quail for 21 off 20. The very next ball, De Bruyn departed, caught by Bonga Maphanga off Matt Potgieter for a fiery 61 from only 32 balls. He had hit six fours and three sixes. Ten runs and 13 balls later, Northwood was reduced to 104/3 when Luc Boyall was run out for eight.

The contest tilted DHS’s way when Northwood made only 30 runs off the next 20 deliveries, with Thomas Oosthuizen the next to go, out for 13.

With only 16 balls remaining and Northwood on 134/4, Keegan Reeves tried to drag the home side across the line. He slammed four fours in an unbeaten 30 off 21, but it wasn’t enough.

Bonga Maphanga conceded only four runs from his last five balls, while Taine Havermann claimed 1/5 from the last five deliveries of the Northwood innings, and the hosts finished on 151/5.

Tristan Quail and Matt Potgieter led the DHS attack with 1/21 and 1/22 from 20 balls, respectively.

Summarised scorecards

Westville Boys’ High 110/5 (Tristin Delvin 47; Charles Nkwanyana 2/19, Kreesan Pillai 1/9); Glenwood High 114/5 (Kamo Moloto 43, Mishael Gunawardana 21, Charles Nkwanyana 19*; Josh Engelbrecht 2/21, Ewan du Toit 1/9, Aarin Rasmussen 1/14). Glenwood won by five wickets.

Durban High School 165/4 (Josh van Biljon 75, Taine Havermann 31, Bonga Maphanga 17*; Max Nicholson 1/15, Keegan Reeves 1/16); Northwood 151/5 (David de Bruyn 61, Keegan Reeves 30*, Ross McGlashan 21; Tristan Quail 1/21, Matt Potgieter 1/22). Durban High School won by 14 runs.

Hoërskool Waterkloof succeeded Durban High School (DHS) as the Clifton T20 Tournament champion with a hard-fought four-wicket victory over Kearsney College with four balls to spare in the final, played at the Crusaders Club on Sunday in front of a lively crowd.

Left-arm spinner Johan Liebenberg did a fine job for Klofies after Kearsney won the toss and chose to bat first.

He took the new ball and challenged the batsmen with a tantalising combination of flight, spin, and drift, which brought him the wickets of Gary Verbaan and captain Keegan de Jager, both bowled. Asher Hollister then holed out to Frank van der Westhuizen off the bowling of Rian Klopper to leave the KZN side wobbling on 20/3 in the sixth over.

With Liebenberg dialling up the pressure, Kearsney went too hard too soon, trying to break the shackles, and it cost them. They enjoyed a brief respite when Aaron Blackburn and Rivaan Moodley added 23 in 24 balls for the fourth wicket, but Moodley, after striking a four and a six, then lofted a delivery off the back foot right down the throat of the fielder sweeping on the offside boundary. He’d made 16 off 13.

Three balls later, Ryan Staats was caught off Frank van der Westhuizen, and Kearsney had slipped to 49/5 midway through their innings.

Blackburn maintained his composure and worked the ball around, and Luke Grobbelaar matched Rivaan Moodley’s innings exactly, striking a particularly huge six straight down the ground in his 16. After he exited on 65, Daniel Miskey joined Aaron Blackburn in the middle. At last, Kearsney enjoyed some success against the Waterkloof bowlers, adding 32 in 25 balls.

Blackburn was out on 97 for 20 from 31 balls. It wasn’t an eye-catching knock, but it was exactly what Kearsney needed to steady their innings. Miskey lasted until the second-last over, smashing two fours and a six in the innings’ top score of 28 off 19 deliveries.

Michael Groom ended with 16 not out, and James Bishop was three not out as the Botha’s Hill boys finished with 124/8.

Johan Liebenberg led Waterkloof’s bowling effort with an outstanding four-over spell, returning 2/15. Frank van der Westhuizen used his height and bounce well to claim 2/28 in four, and Jean Cloete picked up 2/30 in three. Rivan Booysen was tidy, snaring 1/16 in four overs of left-arm spin.

Set 125 to win, it looked as if Waterkloof’s hard-hitting batsmen should cruise to victory, but Kearsney came at them hard. A strong bowling performance set them up for a semi-final win over Westville Boys’ High, and it almost brought them a win in the final.

Left-arm paceman, Litha Gonya, set the tone, generating good pace and bounce, and he got rid of AJ de Villiers in the first over.

Rico van der Walt and Juan Swart quickly settled in after that and advanced the score by 41 runs to 46 before Swart was out for 25 from 16 balls, which included two fours and a six. Then, it became a long, hard slog for Klofies as they dragged themselves towards the winning target.

Van der Walt stood firm, but Vorster de Villiers, captain Franco Schmidt, and Jean Cloete departed cheaply, which left Waterkloof on 78/5 in the 13th over of their reply. Johan Feuth helped Van der Walt to add 15 before Van der Walt’s resistance was ended by a run out. He had faced 48 balls, struck one six and one four, and contributed the match’s highest score of 49.

It was left to Feuth and Wian du Plessis to see Klofies to victory, and they did it with an unbroken 32-run partnership off 24 deliveries. Feuth finished with 17 and Du Plessis with 19 off 10, despite not hitting a boundary.

Leg-spinner Rivaan Moodley snared 2/19 from four overs, while Matthew Gorrie nabbed 1/20 in four, and Litha Gonya returned 1/26, also from four.

In the end, Waterkloof had just enough in the tank to win. Had Kearsney been a little more circumspect early in their innings, Waterkloof might have come out on the wrong end of the result.

Prize-giving

Later, at the prize-giving, players from the two finalists scooped all the individual prizes on offer.

Kearsney’s James Bishop received the award for the best bowling figures, 4/16, which he achieved in a crucial win over Hilton College on Saturday.

His teammate, Asher Hollister, received the best batting prize for his 106 not out in only 66 balls against St John’s College (Harare). The Fielder of the Tournament Award went to Waterkloof’s Rico van der Walt, who pulled off 10 dismissals.

The three winners each received an aQuellé goodie bag.

Asher Hollister also won the Batsman of the Tournament Award after totalling 206 runs. The Bowler of the Tournament went to Bonga Maphanga of DHS. His best return was 4/19 in a win over Maritzburg College on Sunday, and he claimed nine wickets in total.

The Player of the Tournament and Coach of the Tournament went the way of Waterkloof’s Juan Swart and Cobus Pienaar, respectively.

Each of the four prize winners was presented with a JBL Charge 5 Bluetooth speaker, a R2 500 Hirsch’s voucher, a Huawei Fitness Watch, and a Champ Sports Voucher.

Semifinals

Kearsney reached the final with a one-run win over Westville Boys’ High in a match that was played over 15 overs each. They made 126/6, with Keegan de Jager hitting 34 and Asher Hollister 28, before holding Westville to 125/9 in reply.

Recently, Kearsney went down to Westville in a W100 game after a head-scratching collapse, but they weren’t about to miss out on another chance to get one over their neighbours. They struck early and often with an intense effort in the field, and by the ninth over the Griffins were on 52/6.

Westville kept fighting to the last ball, but not even an unbeaten 18 off nine balls from Kai Cotton was enough to see them across the line. Photo: Brad Morgan.

Later, they made better progress, with three successive partnerships in the twenties, but, truth be told, although they pulled to within a run at the end, they were playing catch-up throughout. They got as close as they did only because they kept running until Kearsney took the bails off the stumps after the final ball had been bowled.

Waterkloof and Northwood clashed over 12 overs in the other semi; wet conditions after overnight rain led to the matches being shortened.

Player of the Tournament, Juan Swart blasted three sixes and two fours in a rapid 47 off 27 balls, and Franco Schmidt went big twice in his 29 to help Klofies to 120/4.

Northwood made an impressive start to their reply, with David de Bruyn leading the way. He bashed three sixes and three fours in his 37 off 15 balls. When he fell in the fifth over, the Knights had raced to 51/2. Their challenge started to fall away from that point on, however, and they eventually finished on 108/9, losing six wickets for only 17 runs between the ninth and eleventh overs.

Frank van der Westhuizen captured 3/18 in three, Rivan Booysen returned 2/20 in two, and Johan Liebenberg kept the Northwood batsmen in check, with 1/16 in three.

Eliminators

Earlier, in the eliminators, a fantastic 85 from captain Kyle McGough propelled Westville to victory over Hilton. He faced just 50 balls and struck 11 fours and two sixes as Westville totalled 154/4 in 16 overs.

Hilton had reached 125/7 in reply when rain prevented the completion of the match with only five balls left. They weren’t about to hit each of those for six, which was what they would have needed to win, and Westville advanced.

It was interesting for a while, with Barack Munawa and captain Rob Burman putting up 70 for the first wicket in just over seven overs. Munawa top-scored with 45 off 27, with six fours and a six, while Burman weighed in with 24.

Aarin Rasmussen turned the contest on its head, though, in the 11th over, claiming two wickets and also executing a run out, which reduced Hilton from 87/1 to 87/4.

In the other eliminator, Waterkloof, who lost by 37 runs to Michaelhouse on Friday at DHS, won by 72 against the same opposition at the same ground. They had taken lessons from their loss and romped to an emphatic win.

Waterkloof’s coach, Cobus Pienaar, told SuperSport Schools Plus: “We had to adapt to the wickets. It’s a lot slower here. You have to work a bit harder for your runs.

“Our guys also realised that we had to bowl different lengths here and be more accurate. I think our spinners also bowled too quickly at the beginning of the tournament, so we had to take some pace off the ball.

“We had to aim for bowling back of a length. We have a nice seam attack, so the guys got used to that. It was a little bit different for the Coastal boys, and that helped us.

From a batting point of view, we needed to adapt, too. You can’t hit through the line. We needed to play a little bit more under our eyes, and into pockets more often, not just free-flowing scoring like upcountry.

“It was a good learning curve for the boys, but I think they adapted nicely.”

Batting first against Michaelhouse, Waterkloof tallied 164/4, with AJ de Villiers making 53, Rico van der Walt 38, and Johan Feuth 26.

Michaelhouse, after losing captain Graydon Leslie early, made quick progress before opener Riley Muir was run out for 15, which left ‘House on 46/2 in the fifth over. Then, they lost four more wickets for only 13 runs in 16 balls, and from there they never recovered, eventually losing their last wicket on 92.

Playoffs

In other playoff matches, St Charles College rolled St John’s College (Harare) for only 61, with Caleb Sharp capturing 3/13, Kaiyuran Naidoo 2/12, and Jayden Saville and Keegan Vermaak 2/13 each, before replying with 63/3 in only 6.2 overs to win by seven wickets.

DHS downed Maritzburg College by five wickets on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method at Durban North College.

College, led by 33 from Dax Jursa, posted 126/8 in their 20 overs, with Bonga Mphanga knocking over 4/19. School answered with 111/5 in 16.4, led by 43 not out from Taine Havermann and 38 from Ismaeel Omar.

Glenwood finished on a high note. They had opening batsman Kamo Moloto to thank for that. He cracked 10 fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 97 off only 59 deliveries to power the Green Machine to 153/7 against Clifton College. Their next highest run scorer was Kreesan Pillai, with 17.

Clifton mustered 130/9 in reply. Muhammed Malek weighed in with a run-a-ball 41, and Hayden Drieselmann smacked two fours and two sixes in his 30, but no other batsmen reached double figures.

Summarised scorecards

Final
Kearsney College 124/8 (Daniel Miskey 28, Aaron Blackburn 20; Johan Liebenberg 2/15, Frank van Der Westhuizen 2/28, Jean Cloete 2/30); Hoërskool Waterkloof 125/6 (Rico van der Walt 49, Juan Swart 25; Rivaan Moodley 2/19). Waterkloof won by four wickets.

Semifinals
Hoërskool Waterkloof 120/4 after 12 overs (Juan Swart 47, Franco Schmidt 25; Josh Mills 3/29); Northwood 108/9 (David de Bruyn 37; Frank van der Westhuizen 3/18, Rivan Booysen 2/20). Waterkloof won by 12 runs.

Kearsney College 126 for 6 after 15 overs (Keegan de Jager 34, Asher Hollister 28; Kyle McGough 1/8, Lwandle Buolse 1/9); Westville Boys’ High 126/9 (Jamie Hasselbach 23, Misbah Nair 22; Matthew Gorrie 2/16, James Bishop 1/12, Matthew Rice 1/13). Kearsney won by one run.

Eliminators
Westville Boys’ High 154/4 (Kyle McGough 85, Tristin Delvin 33; Sechaba Gude 3/38); Hilton College 125/7 (Barack Munawa 45, Ryan Jellis 25*, Rob Burman 24; Misbah Nair 2/21, Aarin Rasmussen 2/26). Match abandoned. Westville advanced to the semifinals.

Playoffs
Glenwood High 153/7 (Kamo Moloto 97*; Daniel Rea 4/55, Blake Johnson 2/12); Clifton College 130/9 (Muhammed Malek 41, Hayden Drieselmann 30; Kamo Moloto 2/18). Glenwood won by 23 runs.

St John’s College (Harare) 61/10 (Sean Reilly 14; Caleb Sharp 3/13, Kaiyruan Naidoo 2/12, Keegan Vermaak 2/13, Jayden Saville 2/13); St Charles College 63/3 (Connor Simpson 29*, Luca Spagnuolo 1/20). St Charles won by seven wickets.

Maritzburg College 126/8 (Dax Jursa 33, Luka Puddu 29, Kyle de Bruyn 21; Bonga Maphanga 4/19); Durban High School 111/5 (Taine Havermann 43*, Ismaeel Omar 38; Kyle de Bruyn 2/8). DHS won by five wickets on the DLS Method.

Michaelhouse beat Durban High School by 28 runs on Saturday morning at Northwood to put the final nail into School‘s attempt at winning a third successive Clifton T20 Tournament title.

While plenty of rain was forecast, five matches were completed, with some of them reduced to a shorter format, while another, between Westville Boys’ High and St Charles College, was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method. Just two games had to be abandoned, which, given the dire weather forecast, was better than most had hoped for.

Michaelhouse, after a convincing 37-run win over Hoërskool Waterkloof on Friday, won in impressive style once again despite both Ismaeel Omar and Josh van Biljon hitting fifties for DHS.

Early on, Michaelhouse was in serious trouble, on 37/4 after seven overs. That became 64/5 in the tenth over, but, by then, Ben Heuer had already begun an extraordinary counterattack, and he found a willing and able partner in Thandanani Zuma, the seventh man to the crease. They spent 55 balls together and advanced the ‘House total by 98 runs to turn the tide.

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Heuer was out seven deliveries before the end of Michaelhouse’s 20 overs, but by then he had inflicted terminal damage on DHS, smashing seven sixes and two fours in his 75 from just 37 balls. Zuma went on to finish unbeaten on 38 from 32, with three fours and a six. Victor North played his part, too, launching two sixes and adding a four in his unbeaten 18 from only six deliveries.

To win, DHS needed to bat at 9.6 runs per over – a tall ask. For a long time, though, they were on track to challenge Michaelhouse, with Omar and Van Biljon combining for a 104-run partnership for the second wicket off 86 balls.

Still, they needed to hasten their chase after Omar exited for 61 off 42, having struck four fours and three sixes. Van Biljon followed in the 16th over, caught by Heuer off the bowling of Rendani Nonge for 58 from 52, with three fours and two sixes.

Bonga Maphanga laid into a couple of deliveries, on his way to an unbeaten 15 off seven, but DHS found themselves unable to accelerate, and their challenge petered out, with the Horseflies finishing on 153/5.

Kearsney College, the highest scorers on Friday, with 196/1 against St John’s (Harare), came close to matching that with 188/4 against Hilton College, led by 65 from Rivaan Moodley and 58 not out from Aaron Blackburn. Then, James Bishop, with 4/16, put the skids under Hilton’s reply, which lasted only 16.3 overs and ended on 132 all out, leaving Kearsney the winners by a handsome 56-run margin.

That undid the good work Hilton had done in a 50-run win over Clifton College on the opening day, and it came back to bite them when the hosts hung a 71-run defeat on St John’s (Harare). With their schoolmates filling the stands and providing plenty of vocal support, the Clifton 1st XI excelled in the field, and that big win took them above Hilton in the Group A standings.

Later, Kearsney’s match against Clifton and Hilton’s game against St John’s were abandoned partway through, which left Kearsney top of the standings, followed by Clifton, and then Hilton.

Clifton’s 148 all out against St John’s owed a lot to Hayden Drieselmann. He was one of three batsmen run out in Clifton’s loss to Hilton, but he put that disappointment behind him to club four fours and a six in his 41 from 25 balls, which was 25 more than any other batsman managed in the match.

Clifton’s spinners, then, ripped through the St John’s batting, taking nine of the 10 wickets to fall. Keegan Watson bagged 3/15, Blake Johnson took 3/17, Shiraz Perumal 2/15, and Muhammed Malek 1/1. The remaining wicket came from a run out.

Waterkloof, fresh off a win over DHS, faced Glenwood, who had also beaten DHS on Friday. The contest, though, ended in a decisive 77-run victory for Klofies, who posted a big 185/7, led by Juan Swart‘s big hitting. He cracked eight fours and two sixes in his 50 off only 24 balls. Kreesan Pillai, with 3/36, was, by far, the best of the Durban side’s bowlers.

Glenwood’s reply featured five batsmen who made it into the teens but didn’t exit them, and that resulted in them being bowled out for only 108. Rian Klopper, Rivan Booysen, and Vorster de Villiers picked up two wickets each as the Green Machine‘s response failed to gain traction.

Maritzburg College endured a tough opening day, going down to two defeats. While they suffered a third against Northwood on Saturday, it came down to the last ball of a contest reduced to 18 overs a side. Luke Venter bowled Keegan Reeves off the second last ball, but Thomas Oosthuizen raced through for a single off the final delivery to secure a six-wicket win for the Knights.

College posted 120/5 behind Rory Schirge‘s unbeaten 50 from only 38 balls, which featured five fours and two sixes. Northwood’s reply leaned heavily on two players, David de Bruyn and Luc Boyall. De Bruyn opened the innings and contributed 47 at slightly better than a run a ball, while Boyall was unbeaten on 53 off 43. They also partnered for 90 off 79 balls.

Westville Boys’ High picked up a DLS win over St Charles College in a game that lasted only 20 overs in total, with Saints batting for 15 of those. They put up 121/4, with openers Thando Zama and Joshua Nicholson combining for a hasty 78 off 10.1 overs.

Zama top-scored with 67 off 48 balls, slamming four fours and four sixes, while Nicholson added 33 off 28. The highlight of the contest, though, was a hat-trick for Westville skipper, Kyle McGough, who dismissed Zama, Ryan Clarke, and Caleb Sharp off successive deliveries in the final over of the St Charles innings.

The Griffins replied with 56/2 in five overs to claim the win. Tristin Delvin led the way, hitting three fours and two sixes in his undefeated 31 off 15 balls.

While Kearsney’s game against Clifton was abandoned with Kearsney on 98/2, Asher Hollister finished with an unbeaten 63, which left him top of the run-scoring chart, with 170 to his name from three innings. He previously made 106 not out against St John’s (Harare) and was run out for one against Hilton.

Summarised scorecards

Michaelhouse 181/6 (Ben Heuer 75, Thandanani Zuma 38; Bonga Maphanga 3/16, Josh Morley 2/27); Durban High School 153/5 (Ismaeel Omar 61, Josh van Biljon 58; Rendani Nonge 3/37). Michaelhouse won by 28 runs.

Kearsney College 188/4 (Rivaan Moodley 65, Aaron Blackburn 58*; Sange Qangule 1/26); Hilton College 132/10 (Robert Burman 28, Ben Wilson 28, James Peattie 23, Sange Qangule 22; James Bishop 4/16). Kearsney won by 56 runs.

Clifton College 148/10 (Hayden Drieselmann 41; Sean Reilly 4/36); St John’s College (Harare) 77/10 (James Manning 18; Keegan Watson 3/15, Blake Johnson 3/17, Shiraz Perumal 2/15). Clifton College won by 71 runs.

Waterkloof 185/7 (Juan Swart 50, Wian du Plessis 37*, AJ de Villiers 32, Franco Schimdt 29; Kreesan Pillai 3/36); Glenwood High 108/10 (Akhil Sinath 18; Rian Klopper 2/4, Rivan Booysen 2/16, Vorster de Villiers 2/19). Waterkloof won by 77 runs.

Maritzburg College 120/5 (Rory Schirge 50*, Reece Willson 27; Ryan van Zyl 2/29); Northwood 121/4 (Luc Boyall 53*, David de Bruyn 47; Reece Willson 2/20). Northwood won by six wickets.

Hilton College 101/5 (James Peattie 36; Shivaan Chouhan 3/10). St John’s (Harare) did not bat. Match abandoned.

St Charles College 121/4 in 15 overs (Thando Zama 67, Joshua Nicholson 33; Kyle McGough 3/32); Westville Boys’ High 56/2 in 5 overs (Tristin Delvin 31*, Aidan Baudach 19; Jayden Saville 1/9). Westville Boys’ High won by eight wickets.

Kearsney College 98/2 after 14 overs (Asher Hollister 63*; Blake Johnson 1/18). Clifton College did not bat. Match abandoned.

PLAYOFF FIXTURES

Sunday, 15 February

Eliminator
Michaelhouse vs Waterkloof
Westville Boys’ High vs Hilton College

Positional playoffs
Clifton College vs Glenwood
St Charles College vs St John’s College (Harare)
Maritzburg College vs Durban High School

Semi-finals
Kearsney College vs winner of Eliminator 1
Northwood vs winner of Eliminator 2

Final
Winner SF 1 vs Winner SF2, Crusaders Club

The unpredictability of the shorter format of the game revealed itself in Durban on Friday, the first day of the third annual Clifton T20 Tournament, where the two-time defending champion, Durban High School, suffered back-to-back defeats.

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In the morning, they went down to Glenwood High by 15 runs. Then, in the afternoon, Hoërskool Waterkloof avenged a loss to DHS in a group match on the opening day of the 2025 Clifton T20.

Only one other team, Maritzburg College, went winless in their two matches on the opening day. In the morning, they were well beaten by their Pietermaritzburg rival, St Charles College, and Westville Boys’ High also enjoyed much the better of their clash later in the day.

No team that played two matches won both. Waterkloof went down to Michaelhouse, while Westville tied with Northwood, who also cruised to a big win over St Charles.

Group A opened with Saints against College, and Thando Zama and company, after being sent in to bat at the Crusaders Club, posted a solid 159/8, with a second-wicket partnership of 78 from only 49 balls between Zama and Ryan Clarke being the primary driver of their innings.

At the death, Caleb Sharp and Lebo Mokoena combined for 37 runs, while Owen Widdows and Connor Simpson shared a 31-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Clarke, with 41, which included six fours, was the top scorer, while Zama cracked five fours in 37 from 25 deliveries, and Sharp played well to the long-off boundary in his 25 from 14.

Ethan Fabre, the seventh bowler used by College, nabbed 3/16 in three overs, while the skipper, Reece Willson, claimed 2/29 in three.

In reply, College put 16 runs on the board before losing their first wicket, but the run out of Kyle de Bruyn sparked a collapse, with the Red, Black, and White slipping from 16 without loss to 31/4.

Dax Jursa and Luca van der Merwe briefly slowed the St Charles attack, but four wickets then went down for only 10 runs, with Lebo Mokoena inflicting the most damage. He snared 3/8 in three overs to put the skids firmly beneath the College batting effort.

Needing 160 to win, the contest was almost done and dusted, with Maritzburg College on 68/8, but, with typical College fight, they made it to triple figures. However, when their tenth wicket went down on 109, St Charles had won by 50 runs to secure a bonus point victory.

Matters were far tighter between Westville and Northwood at the Riverside Sports Club, where Westville opted to bowl first. It was hard to criticise that decision when the Griffins limited the Knights to only 101/7 from their 20 overs.

A run a ball 23 not out from Hamza Amla, and 23 off 28 from David de Bruyn was the best that Northwood could muster, which was better than Westville did, with their captain, Kyle McGough, top scoring with only 19.

Still, it came down to the last ball, and Aarin Rasmussen scored two runs off James Searle to rescue a tie for his team, with Westville finishing on 101/8.

Left-arm spinner Ewan du Toit spun a web around Northwood, snapping up 3/13 in four overs, while McGough captured 2/10 in two.

James Searle claimed three for Northwood, conceding 20 runs from his four overs, while Hamza Amla took 2/17 in four.

Later, at DHS, the inconsistency of St Charles in 2026 was on show as Northwood cantered to a nine-wicket win, needing only 14.4 overs to overhaul the 112/8 put up by Saints.

That was the product of a poor start, with the Pietermaritzburg school crashing to 6/3 only seven balls into their innings, which included the run out of Joshua Nicholson for a duck.

Run outs were a theme of the day, with some poor running between the wickets and some good fielding resulting in 15 batsmen being run out in nine matches. That included Clifton College losing three of their top five in that manner against Hilton College, which ruined their run chase.

Hilton won the match because of their performances at the start of both innings. On the batting front, Hilton’s opening batsmen, Barack Munawa and captain, Rob Burman, also gave their side a superb start, putting on 104 in only 71 balls for the first wicket.

The Hilton opening pair was helped when Munawa was put down in the covers early in his innings, and he made Clifton pay, lashing five fours and two sixes in a 36-ball stay that brought him 55 runs. Burman led the way with 63 off 49, with seven fours and a six, as Hilton tallied 165/4.

Clifton did a good job of slowing Hilton down in the second half of their innings, with Hilton adding only 61 runs from their last 50 balls. Keegan Watson and Blake Johnson went at six runs per over, and both picked up a wicket, while leg-spinner Shiraz Perumal caused the batsmen some discomfort with his sharp turn and drift, but still went for 28 from his four overs.

Clifton’s disastrous running between the wickets left the hosts out of it on 18/5 after five overs. All credit to Hilton College, though. They had to make their opportunities count, and they did.

Their quicks, Sechaba Gude and Sange Qangule, also made good use of the short ball to force some skied shots out of the Clifton batsmen. Daniel Rea fought hard, cracking two fours and two sixes while scoring 29 off 19 balls, while Perumal weighed in with 23 off 28 before going for a big blast and being castled by Sean Burman.

Gude led the Hilton attack, capturing 4/23 in 3.4 overs, while Sean Burman bagged 2/19 in four, as Clifton was bowled out for 105.

Only one century was scored, and it went to Kearsney College‘s Asher Hollister, who slammed seven fours and six sixes in his unbeaten 106 off only 66 balls against St John’s College (Harare). He and captain Keegan de Jager shared an unbroken second-wicket stand of 179 off only 107 deliveries to propel the Botha’s Hill boys to 196/1, the biggest total of the day.

St John’s replied with a healthy 150/4 but still went down by 46 runs. James Manning launched an effective counterattack, clubbing 11 fours and three sixes in his 83 off 57 balls.

Perhaps the result of the day was Glenwood’s win over DHS because the Green Machine had been in indifferent form heading into the Clifton T20. Playing at Northwood, though, they scored a telling victory.

Led by Mishael Gunawardana‘s 46, they tallied 141/8 before restricting DHS to 126/6 in reply. The first five batsmen in the Horseflies‘ batting order made it into double figures, and two reached the twenties, but 28 by Mohammed Asmal was the best they mustered.

Crucially, only Taine Havermann, with 25 from 21 deliveries, with two fours and a six, bettered a run rate of 100.

Kamo Moloto hurt DHS with a superb return of 3/11 from three overs, while Qhamani Sikutshwa ratcheted up the pressure, with his tight four overs going for just 15 runs.

If there was a result that matched the impact of Glenwood’s win over DHS, it was Michaelhouse‘s comfortable 37-run victory over Waterkloof. Playing at DHS, Klofies won the toss and elected to field. Michaelhouse made them regret that choice.

Captain Graydon Leslie and Riley Muir got ‘House off to a flyer, racing to 47 in the fifth over before the skipper exited for 33 from only 16 balls. He had hit six of them for four. Muir went on to the innings’ top score of 47.

Critically, the openers were well supported. Ben Heuer chipped in with 26 from 17 balls before Thandanani Zuma and Victor North took it to Waterkloof with an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership that delivered 53 runs from the last four overs.

Zuma finished on 35 not out from 22 balls, while North blasted three fours and two sixes in his aggressive, unbeaten 30 from only 13 deliveries.

As they do, Waterkloof went hard from the start in an attempt to chase down a daunting target. They lost their openers cheaply, but their middle order stood firm, with Juan Swart taking only 13 balls to make 36. Eight of those deliveries went for boundaries, including one six.

Vorster de Villiers weighed in with 32, and Wian du Plessis contributed 25, but the Michaelhouse new ball pair, Thandanani Zuma and Rendani Nonge, kept picking up wickets to undermine the Waterkloof run chase. It lasted 17.4 overs before it was stopped on 154 all out.

Zuma captured 3/24 in 2.4 overs, while Nonge claimed 3/39 in four. Liam O’Dwyer, with 2/26, also played a key role in an important win for an in-form team.

Summarised scorecards

St Charles College 159/8 (Ryan Clarke 47, Thando Zama 37, Caleb Sharp; Ethan Fabre 3/16, Reece Willson 2/29); Maritzburg College 109/10 (Rory Schirge 41, Lebo Mokoena 3/8). St Charles won by 50 runs.

Glenwood High 141/8 (Mishael Gunawardana 42, Jonah Chita 23*, Akhil Sinath 20; Josh Morley 3/32, Matt Potgieter 2/22, Taine Havermann 2/33); Durban High School 126/6 (Mohammed Asmal 28, Taine Havermann 25; Kamo Moloto, Mishael Gunawardana 2/32). Glenwood won by 15 runs.

Northwood School 101/7 (David de Bruyn 21; Ewan du Toit 3/13, Kyle McGough 2/10); Westville Boys’ High 101/8 (Kyle McGough 19; James Searle 3/20, Hamza Amla 2/17). Match tied.

Michaelhouse 191/6 (Riley Muir 47, Thandanani Zuma 35*, Graydon Leslie 33, Ben Heuer 26; Johan Liebenberg 2/26); Hoërskool Waterkloof 154/10 (Juan Swart 36, Vorster de Villiers 32, Wian du Plessis 25; Thandanani Zuma 3/24, Rendani Nonge 3/39, Liam O’Dwyer 2/26). Michaelhouse won by 37 runs.

Hilton College 165/4 (Robert Burman 63, Barack Munawa 55; Blake Johnson 1/18); Clifton College 105/10 (Daniel Rea 29, Shiraz Perumal 23; Sechaba Gude 4/23, Sean Burman 2/19). Hilton won by 60 runs.

Kearsney College 196/1 (Asher Hollister 106*, Keegan de Jager 66*; Sean Reilly 1/24); St John’s College 150/4 (James Manning 83, Riley Ettlin 33, Luca Spagnuolo 28; Matthew Rice 1/12, Daniel Miskey 1/13). Kearsney won by 46 runs.

Westville Boys’ High 164/4 (Liam de Villiers 34*, Kyle McGough 34, Tristin Delvin 29, Aarin Rasmussen 25*; Ethan Fabre 1/16). Maritzburg College 123/10 (Reece Willson 22, Akhil Bharath 20; Ewan du Toit 2/13, Lwandle Bulose 2/16, Aarin Rasmussen 2/19). Westville won by 41 runs.

St Charles College 112/10 (Caleb Sharp 35, Christiaan Prinsloo 22; Ryan van Zyl 2/24); Northwood School 113/1 (David de Bruyn 56*, Ross McGlashan 35; Keegan Vermaak 1/14). Northwood won by nine wickets.

Durban High School 99/10 (Josh van Biljon 24, Mohammed Asmal 23; Christiaan Smit 3/7, Rivan Booysen 2/13); Waterkloof 103/5 (Johan Feuth 29*, Vorster de Villiers 26; Bonga Maphanga 2/28, Taine Havermann 2/22). Waterkloof won by five wickets.

Widely regarded as one of the country’s most entertaining and successful school rugby events, the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) returns this year with an impressive field of 28 participating teams, including international visitors from Europe and neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Now in its 17th year, the prestigious festival promises another thrilling showcase of top-level schoolboy rugby, while offering local spectators a unique glimpse into the school rugby styles of Ireland and Italy, which adds an exciting international dimension to the Easter weekend spectacle.

Touring teams from the Catholic University School (Dublin, Ireland), Verona Rugby (Northern Italy) and Peterhouse (Zimbabwe) will be joined by four strong local KwaZulu-Natal schools in the senior boys’ division – Durban High School (DHS), Westville Boys’ High, both top 10 teams in South Africa last year, Glenwood High, and the hosts, Kearsney College, who are a dark horse team that could be one to watch in 2026.

Included in the lineup are two tough Gauteng teams – Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen (Boksburg) and newcomers, Helpmekaar College (Braamfontein); as well as Hoërskool Rustenburg (North West); the Eastern Cape’s always-exciting Hoërskool Framesby (Gqeberha) and Milnerton High School (Cape Town).

The three playing days over Easter weekend are Thursday, 2 April, Saturday, 4 April, and Monday, 6 April.

Confirming the participating teams, Kearsney headmaster Patrick Lees said the success of the festival, which last year included three divisions for the first time, highlighted its invaluable role in the development of the country’s school rugby culture and growth since Kearsney’s inaugural festival in 2008.

He acknowledged the immense contribution of festival sponsors, whose invaluable support has enabled the event to grow each year.

Headline sponsor Standard Bank South Africa said their sponsorship of the festival highlighted their desire to support youth development.

“We recognise the powerful role that sport and education play in building character, confidence and unity. Through platforms like this festival, we are not only nurturing athletes, we are shaping responsible, resilient and inspired leaders for tomorrow,” said Tshiamo Molanda, Head of the Youth and Mass Market at Standard Bank’s personal and private banking division.

Carrie-Ann van Heerden, the Dealer Principal at first-tier sponsor, Halfway Ford Waterfall, said they were looking forward to another unforgettable KERF weekend, where families, friends and rugby enthusiasts can celebrate the game.

“There is nothing quite like the electric atmosphere at the festival – the roar of the crowd, the crunch of hard tackles, and the pride that rugby ignites in all of us,” she said.

Coenraad de Villiers, the High Performance Manager at The Sharks Academy, said he was impressed by the consistently high standard of rugby on display at KERF, adding that many of the players would go on to contribute meaningfully to the growth and success of rugby in the country.

Building on the success of an initiative at last year’s festival, four u16 girls’ teams will play during lunchtime slots. They are Mowat Park High, from Montclair, Grosvenor Girls’ High, from The Bluff, Inanda’s Ohlange High School, and Ogwini Comprehensive Technical High School, from Umlazi. The latter two teams boast five and six provincial rugby players, respectively.

Twelve primary school teams will also enjoy the excitement of playing festival rugby in front of large crowds.

Joining the touring Peterhouse u13 team, from Zimbabwe, will be local teams from Ashton Ballito, Atholl Heights Primary, Chelsea Prep, Highbury Prep, Hillcrest Primary, Kloof Senior Primary, Northlands Primary, Umhlali Prep, Westville Senior Primary, and Winston Park, as well as the KZN Ibutho Development side.

Teams travel with families and supporters to enjoy KERF’s spectacle of running rugby in a family-friendly festival atmosphere on Kearsney’s beautiful campus.  Adding to the ambience, there will be a fun KidZone for the little ones, ample parking, as well as numerous food outlets and a refreshment tent to ensure spectators can fully enjoy the weekend’s sporting entertainment.

For those unable to attend the festival, games will be live-streamed on the SuperSport Schools app. Additional festival information, results, match reports, and action photographs will be available on www.kearsney.com during the festival.

To avoid the queues, tickets can be purchased online now, at Quicket.co.za

FIXTURES: STOTT FIELD

Day one, Thursday, 2 April

08:00 – Helpmekaar Kollege vs Glenwood High
09:20 – Framesby vs Peterhouse
10:40 – Westville Boys’ High vs Catholic University School (Ireland)
13:00 – Kearsney College vs Hoērskool Rustenburg
14:20 – Milnerton vs Dr EG Jansen
15:40 – Durban High School vs Verona Rugby (Italy)

Day two, Saturday, 4 April

08:00 – Peterhouse vs Milnerton
09:20 – Durban High School vs Hoērskool Rustenburg
10:40 –  Verona Rugby (Italy) vs Dr EG Jansen
13:00 – Glenwood High vs Framesby
14:20 – Kearsney vs Catholic University School (Ireland)
15:40 – Westville Boys’ High vs Helpmekaar Kollege

Day three, Monday, 6 April

08:00 – Helpmekaar Kollege vs Framesby
09:20 – Glenwood High vs Dr EG Jansen
10:40 – Peterhouse vs Dr EG Jansen
12:50 – Closing ceremony
13:00 – Westville Boys’ High vs Milnerton
14:20 – Durban High School vs Catholic University School (Ireland)
15:40 – Kearsney vs Verona Rugby (Italy)

FIXTURES – GIRLS’ U16

Thursday, 2 April

12:00 – Ogwini Comprehensive Technical vs Grosvenor Girls, Stott
12:00 – Ohlange High vs Mowat Park High, Roberts

Saturday, 4 April

12:00 – Ogwini Comprehensive Technical vs Ohlage High, Stott
12:00 – Grosvenor Girls vs Mowat Park High, Roberts

Monday, 6 April

12:00 – Ogwini Comprehensive Technical vs Mowat Park High, Stott
12:00 – Grosvenor Girls vs Ohlange High, Roberts

Ahead of three days of intense competition, the 12 teams participating in the third annual Clifton T20 Tournament received their playing kits at an opening dinner in the Ken MacKenzie Hall, at Clifton, in Durban, on Thursday. It’s an event eagerly anticipated by the players, who get to see their colourful attire for the first time at the dinner.

Clifton’s Executive Headmaster, Adam Rogers, thanked the event’s sponsors – they include Mercedes-Benz, the lead sponsor, and the other premier sponsors, Edgars, Warm Heart, and City Logistics – and the people who have been hard at work behind the scenes organising the event.

“Most importantly,” he said, ” I wish to welcome you, the cricketers, and thank you for the commitment and passion that you bring to this great game.

“Cricket demands courage and character and composure. It asks you to compete fiercely and to represent your schools with pride. I have no doubt that you will do this and be a credit to your schools.”

He also shared his excitement about a change to the event: the inclusion of four primary school teams, from Clifton Prep, Highbury, Northlands Primary and Westville Senior Primary. They’ll be in action on Saturday, the middle of the three days of competition, and their matches will be livestreamed on SuperSport Schools, while the showdown between Clifton and Highbury, for the Richards Procter Trophy, will be shown on DStv Channel 216, which will feature all the matches from the Crusaders Main Oval.

Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools or on DStv Channel 216

Durban High School (DHS) is the two-time defending champion. One of the key matches that will be featured on the Crusaders Main Oval at 14:30 on Friday will be the showdown between DHS and Hoërskool Waterkloof, the Wildeklawer T20 title holder.

In the 2025 tournament, Josh van Biljon, now the captain of DHS, delivered one of the highlights of the event, scoring a magnificent 103 not out against Klofies in only 54 balls to help School to 197/6. They went on to win by 44 runs after restricting Waterkloof to 153/8 in reply. Van Biljon was one of six centurions during the event.

Last year, though, Waterkloof was not quite at full strength – they were close to it, but not quite there – as captain Franco Schmidt pointed out when asked about that during a Q-and-A session on Thursday evening. “Last year, we had a league game at school on the Saturday, so one of our main spinners and one of our main pace bowlers played the league match in Pretoria. That game was to decide if our final would be at home or away.”

Picking a favourite to go all the way would be foolish, but there are plenty of teams that have put together strong seasons thus far.

In Group A, the hosts, Clifton College, have been on a strong run in the W100 competition, winning three of their four matches, including wins over DHS, Westville Boys’ High, and Kearsney College.

Kearsney has been in good recent form and is playing confidently. Hilton College, meanwhile, won the Switch Schools SA20 KZN Regional title, while St John’s College (Harare) has a young and unpredictable line-up, led by Luca Spagnualo, who will be playing in the Clifton T20 for a third time.

Group B features last year’s runner-up, Westville Boys’ High, which is another team in good form. They lost in the final of the Switch Schools SA20, but recently avenged that defeat to Hilton in a limited-overs clash.

The group opens with Westville facing Northwood, one of the dark horses in some people’s minds, while Maritzburg College and St Charles face off in a Pietermaritzburg derby. Of the four, Saints has been the least consistent, but there appears to be some consistency in many people’s assessment of them, that they, too, are a dark horse side.

Group C features the defending champion, DHS, who’ve played some impressive cricket this season, led by a top-order that leans heavily on the skipper, Josh van Biljon, and left-handed opener, Ismaeel Omar, who was also one of last year’s six centurions.

They’re far from a two-man team, though, and, among others, their bowling attack features the in-form Bonga Maphanga, who turned out for the Dolphins at the Khaya Majola Week, and leg-spinner, Tristan Quail, who is capable of stopping a team dead in its tracks with his accuracy.

They’re going to be pressed hard by another team playing excellent cricket in 2025, Michaelhouse, whose spinners have been one of their strengths. Those bowlers have succeeded in putting their opposition under pressure, but they will be challenged from the very first game when they take on Waterkloof, who will go hard at ‘House. It should be a fascinating contest and will reveal a lot about both sides.

Glenwood completes the line-up. They’ve had a tough time this season thus far. However, they’re always a well-drilled team in the field, and that can carry a team far in the T20 format. They’ll look to their talented skipper, Kreesan Pillai, for inspiration as they attempt to pull off an upset or two.

Rain could impact Saturday’s fixtures, according to weather reports. That will make winning on Friday, while producing strong net run rates, vital.

FIXTURES

Group A

Friday, 13 February

11:30 – Clifton vs Hilton, Crusaders Main
14:30 – St John’s vs Kearsney, Riverside

Saturday, 14 February

08:30 – Clifton vs St John’s, Crusaders Main
08:30 – Kearsney vs Hilton, Crusaders 2
14:30 – Clifton vs Kearsney, Crusaders Main
14:30 – St John’s vs Hilton, Riverside

Group B

Friday, 13 February

08:30 – Maritzburg College vs St Charles, Crusaders Main
08:30 – Northwood vs Westville, Riverside
14:00 – St Charles vs Northwood, DHS
14:00 – Westville vs Maritzburg College, Northwood

Saturday, 14 February

08:30 – Northwood vs Maritzburg College, Riverside
14:00 – St Charles vs Westville, Northwood

Group C

Friday, 13 February

08:30 – Michaelhouse vs Waterkloof, DHS
08:30 – Glenwood vs DHS, Northwood
14:30 – DHS vs Waterkloof, Crusaders Main

Saturday, 14 February

08:30 – Waterkloof vs Glenwood, DHS
08:30 – DHS vs Michaelhouse, Northwood
14:00 – Glenwood vs Michaelhouse, DHS

Sunday, 15 February

08:30 – Eliminator 1, Crusaders Main
08:30 – Eliminator 2, Crusaders 2
09:00 – 7th place, DHS
09:00 – 9th place, Northwood
09:00 – 11th place, Kingsmead Oval
11:30 – Semi-final 1, Crusaders Main
11:30 – Semi-final 2, Crusaders 2
14:30 – Final, Crusaders Main