Author: cschiwanza

Liam Mudenda scored a brilliant ton as he steered St Stithians College to a two-wicket victory over St John’s College in their 50-over match on Saturday. St John’s, who won the toss and elected to bat first, scored 260/9 in 50 overs. In reply, St Stithians needed all 50 overs to score the required 261 runs to seal the victory. They lost eight wickets in the process.

Both teams came into the tie on the back of wins in their final matches at the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week. However, St John’s was leading 1 – 0 in head-to-head encounters played this year. The two sides have met twice already this year, but it was in T20 matches. St John’s won the first encounter and the second was abandoned due to inclement weather.

Mudenda was out in the middle for 49.1 overs and would have shepherded his side to victory had it not been for Malan du Plessis, who dismissed him with five balls to go in the match and his side in need of four runs to win. The opener creamed nine fours and five sixes on his way to an evenly paced 113 off 141 deliveries.

Mudenda lost three partners before he shared a match-winning stand with Ombesa Matsha. The pair compiled a 113-run fourth-wicket partnership that did not just stabilize the St Stithians innings, it also set them on course for victory. Matsha’s 66-ball 67 was invaluable to the St Stithians cause.

Du Plessis almost upset St Stithians’ march to victory when he delivered two outstanding overs at the death. The bowler claimed his first wicket in the 48th over. The wicket slightly opened a window for St John’s to find their way back. Then he sent down a brilliant final over, which he began with the dismissal of St Stithians’ set batter. Mudenda’s dismissal caused panic and St Stithians lost two more wickets via run out in the over.

Fortunately for St Stithians, Oliver Wilson had the presence of mind to place the ball into the gap and ran the required two runs for victory.

Earlier in the day, St John’s found it hard to get going.  Four of their top six batters got starts but failed to kick on. Michael Stubbs (19) and Nkosana Sibiya (16) made it to double figures before they were dismissed, Alec Loveland (21) made it past 20 and Darshik Lutchman made 34.

James Yuill (60) and Ethan Robinson (73) arrested the start-stop nature of the innings with a 112-run seventh-wicket partnership that made it possible for St John’s to post a competitive total. Unfortunately for St John’s, they were about 10 runs short of a winning total and needed one of their top six batters to have the same innings as Mudenda.

Taseen Hanslo was St Stithians’ best bowler with two wickets for 35 runs in 10 overs. Tom Collins also bagged a brace but conceded 38 runs in nine overs.

Summarised Scorecards:

St John’s College 260/9 (Ethan Robinson 73, James Yuill 60; Taseen Hanslo 2/35, Tom Collins 2/38) St Stithians College 261/8 (Liam Mudenda 113, Ombesa Matsha 67; Ethan Robinson 2/47, Malan du Plessis 2/51) St Stithians College won by two wickets.

Taine Havemann scored an unbeaten half-century as he shepherded Durban High School to a 1-wicket win over Hilton College in their 50-over match contested at DHS on Saturday.

Hilton was bowled out for 205 runs in 50 overs after electing to bat first. DHS needed 49.2 overs and nine wickets to score 209 runs to secure victory in the encounter. Havemann, who scored an unbeaten 52 off 72 (4x4s), was critical to the home side’s successful chase.

Fabian Lazarus’ side did not begin their chase well. After choosing a circumspect approach at the start of their innings, the coastal side found themselves on 8/1 after 3.4 overs. Ismaeel Omar (51) stood tall as he set DHS back on course. The opener was part of three partnerships that added a combined 86 runs in 19.5 overs. Omar’s half-century came off 73 deliveries and featured four boundaries.

Omar’s dismissal in the 24th over coincided with the arrival of Havemann at the crease. The number six batter kept his head down and focused on the task at hand as a procession of wickets fell at the other end. None of the five batters he shared the crease with reached the 20-run mark. Bayanda Majola, who scored a run-a-ball 15, was the highest scorer among all his partners.

Sechaba Gude was the pick of the bowlers for Hilton with three wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs. Kyle Christie and Benoit Rey bagged a brace of wickets each.

Earlier in the day, Bayanda Majola took a three-wicket haul of his own as he helped DHS stifle Hilton’s progress. The pacer finished the game with three wickets for 26 runs in seven overs. He was well supported by Semal Pillay, who bagged a brace, while Taine Havemann, Jared Havemann, Dhilan Naraidu and Bhavesh Naicker took a wicket each.

Hilton’s top six batters all had starts but couldn’t make much out of them. Only Charles Swart, who made a 76-ball 45 came close to a milestone. Two other batters, Jayden Roux (32) and Rob Burman (30) reached the 30-run mark, while Ben Hockley, Simon Steyn and Natenzi Denenga passed 20. This sextet’s inability to kick on also meant that Hilton was unable to compile big partnerships that could take the game away from the hosts.

Summarised Scorecards:

Hilton College 205/10 (Charles Swart 45, Jayden Roux 32; Bayanda Majola 3/26, Semal Pillay 2/24); Durban High School 209/9 (Taine Havemann 52*, Ismaeel Omar 51; Sechaba Gude 3/42, Kyle Christie 2/36) Durban High School won by one wicket.

Wade McQuinn starred with bat and ball as King Edward VII  defeated Jeppe High School for Boys by five wickets in their 50-over encounter on the Bottom Oval, at Jeppe, on Saturday.

Jeppe, who won the toss and elected to bat first, failed to build partnerships that could contribute towards a substantial total and was bowled out for 98 runs in 28.3 overs. In their chase, KES galloped to 101/5 in 21.3 overs to claim victory.

The KES-Jeppe cricket showdown is one of the oldest contests in the country. The two sides have been locking horns since around 1905. Jeppe was one of the first schools that KES contested against in cricket.

McQuinn was one of the six bowlers who strangled the Jeppe batting order, denying them any room to express themselves. The all-rounder was the visitors’ best bowler with two wickets for 18 runs in six overs. His first wicket was the dismissal of Jeppe’s star batter, Aiden Reyneke, whom he dismissed for only four runs in the 15th over. The wicket left Jeppe struggling on 51/3.

That was the beginning of the crumbling of Jeppe’s innings. The hosts had put together a 38-run opening stand between Munib Ayob (15) and Ethan Elliot (24). That opening pairing was broken in the 10th over. A short while later, Jeppe lost Ayob in the 14th over, then Reyneke in the next one. Jeppe’s collapse was so calamitous they lost nine wickets in 15 overs for a mere 60 runs.

Elliot was the only Jeppe batter to score 20 or more runs.

When it was their turn to bat, KES ran into trouble in the first over. They lost Luke Clark for a three-ball duck. They hadn’t consolidated when they lost Tiago Dias in the fourth over. This began to look bleak when they lost their third wicket of the innings in the 10th over, which left them on 22/3. However, that was also the moment McQuinn arrived at the crease.

McQuin carved four fours and four sixes on his way to an unbeaten 47 off 28 balls to guide his side to victory. His strike rate of 168 told the story of a batter operating on a different plane from everyone else. He was on rarefied air.

Sipho Potsane was the pick of the bowlers for Jeppe with two wickets for 17 runs in five overs.

Summarised Scorecards:

Jeppe High School for Boys 98/10 (Ethan Elliot 24, Ryan Young 16; Wade McQuinn 2/18, Eric Southey 2/12); King Edward VII 101/5 (Wade McQuinn 47*, Troy Gordon 16; Sipho Potsane 2/17, Franco Nortje 1/13) King Edward VII won by five wickets.

Jason Rowles continued his rich vein of form as he scythed an unbeaten century to lead St David’s Marist to an emphatic 10-wicket win over St Benedict’s College in their 50-over encounter on Raven Park Field One, at St Benedict’s, on Saturday.

St Benedict’s, who won the toss and elected to bat first, were bowled out for 236 in 48.4 overs. In reply, St David’s smashed 238/1 in 27.4 overs to claim victory.

On Wednesday, Rowles scored a brilliant 75 off 47 to inspire St David’s to a three-wicket win over HS Kempton Park in a T20 match. The opener had saved his best for the weekend. Rowles creamed an imperious unbeaten 140 off 80 deliveries (13X4s, 8X6s) as he shepherded his side to a dominant victory.

Rowles, who was adjudged to be the Player of the Match because of his outstanding innings and contribution with the ball, was in no mood to let the St Benedict’s bowling attack settle. He established a 37-run opening stand with Armaan Manack (13) from 4.3 overs. When that partnership collapsed, Rowles joined forces with Samrat Basu for an unbroken 201 third-wicket partnership.

Basu’s knock of an unbeaten 75 off 69 deliveries looked slow in comparison to Rowles’ innings, which was going at a strike rate of 166.67. However, Basu was not going at a pedestrian pace. His rate of 108.7 is a relatively brisk 50-over strike rate.

Earlier in the day, Christopher Emslie and the rest of the St David’s bowling attack saw to it that their hosts did not bat them out of the contest. Emslie bagged two wickets for 21 runs in seven overs as St David’s applied the squeeze. The spinner was one of five bowlers who walked away with a brace of wickets each. Jared Stern (2/28), Jason Rowles (2/43), Morteza Manack (2/44) and Kyle Butler (2/44), also took two wickets each.

However, St Benedict’s did not roll over and play dead, allowing St David’s to run them over. Marco Mendes and Matt Feiretag constructed an impressive 96-run fifth-wicket partnership that rescued the hosts from a middling total. Mendes scored an impressive 68 off 99, while Feiretag scored a 71-ball 57. However, their half-centuries were not enough to help St Benedict’s compile a winning total.

Summarised Scorecards:

St Benedict’s College 236 (Marco Mendes 68, Matt Feiretag 57; Christopher Emslie 2/21, Jared Stern 2/28); St David’s Marist 238/1 (Jason Rowles 140*, Samrat Basu 75*; Russell Jones 1/45) St David’s Marist won by ten wickets.

 

St David’s Marist head into their weekend fixture against St Benedict’s College buoyed by their dominant 81-run victory over Kempton Park in their T20 encounter on Wednesday. The two sides crossed swords on the La Valla Oval at St David’s.

Jason Rowles, who enjoyed a fruitful outing with the South Africa u19 Emerging side during their tour to Zimbabwe, made a great comeback to the side with a 47-ball 75 (10×4) as he inspired St David’s to 167/5 in 20 overs. Kempton Park’s chase stuttered and proceeded in stops and starts as they fought their way to a lowly 86 all-out.

Rowles didn’t just top-score for his side, he also held the St David’s innings together as he batted through 17.4 overs of their innings. During his knock, he shared a match-winning with Kamogelo Phiri.

The wicketkeeper, who enjoyed a great Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week with the bat, continued his wonderful form as he added 40 runs to the total. The number three batter was the foil to Rowles’ swashbuckling innings. His 40 runs came at a pedestrian strike rate of 102.56. He faced 39 deliveries for his score.

Rowles and Phiri’s 73-run third-wicket partnership was the highest stand in the contest, and besides the duo, no other St David’s batter scored 20 or more runs.

Rowles and Phiri demonstrated that their understanding of each other on the field extended beyond batting as a pair when they executed a run out to dismiss Ethan Kotze early in the Kempton Park innings. The run out earned St David’s their second wicket and pinned the visitors on the back foot. Morteza Manack made things worse for Kempton Park when he dismissed Stian de Villiers for a 3-ball duck three deliveries later.

Manack made things worse for the visitors when he took a wicket to reduce Kempies to 48/4 in his next over. The visitors could read Manack’s deliveries, and he finished the match with three wickets for 13 runs in four overs. Manack was so good that 14 of the 24 deliveries he sent down were dot balls. Only Jason Rowles, who bowled 16 dot balls, had a higher percentage. However, despite having a better economy rate than Manack, Rowles finished with a single wicket for 12 runs in four overs.

Hayden Campbell took the second-highest tally of wickets for St David’s with two wickets for 19 runs in three overs. That was as many wickets as Kempton Park’s leading wicket-taker, Hanroux Siemens, who bagged two wickets for 26 runs in two overs.

On the batting side, Kempton Park was so dismal only two batters, Sheldon Kruger (29) and Ethan Kotze (20) scored 20 or more runs.

The contest, which was St David’s first since their participation at the Michaelmas Week, was supposed to be against St Benedict’s, however, the Bedfordview school cancelled and Kempton Park had to step in.

The comprehensive victory is a great moral booster for St David’s. Jeff Levin’s charges did not enjoy a great Michaelmas Week, but thanks to the victory, they go into their 50-over tie against St Benedict’s on Saturday high in confidence.

Summarised Scorecard:

St David’s Marist 167/5 (Jason Rowles 75, Kamogelo Phiri 40; Hanroux Siemens 2/26, Kristian Du Plessis 1/17); Kempton Park 86/10 (Sheldon Kruger 29, Ethan Kotze 20; Morteza Manack 3/13, Hayden Campbell 2/19) St David’s Marist won by 81 runs.

Ntando Soni and JJ Basson bowled South Africa u19 Emerging to a dominant nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe u19 Emerging in their fifth and final 50-over contest at Queen’s Sports Club, in Bulawayo, on Sunday.

Lethabo Phahlamohlaka was handed the South African captaincy, and the Cornwall Hill College learner asked the hosts to bat first.

His bowlers did not disappoint as they bundled out Zimbabwe for only 119 runs in 32.4 overs. When they came in to bat, South Africa needed a mere 11 overs to race to 120/1 and claim victory.

Malibongwe Maketa’s charges swept the five-match series 5 0, and their comprehensive victory in the final encounter was a reflection of the series: South Africa was dominant from the first match to the last.

As they had done throughout the series, Zimbabwe’s opening pair made a start but did not convert. Nathaniel Hlabangana (23) decided that the only way to deal with South Africa’s new ball bowlers was to fight fire with fire. He raced to a brisk 16-ball 23 before JJ Basson accounted for his wicket.

Following Hlabangana’s 26-run opening stand with Kupakwashe Muradzi (29), Zimbabwe added 40 runs for the second wicket. Basson again broke the partnership and, after that, the host’s innings became an utter shamble.

Ntando Soni and Jason Rowles bowled an incredible 10-over spell between the 16th and 26th overs that had the Zimbabwean batsmen stuck in quicksand. They strung together a long list of single-digit scores as they lost six wickets for 23 runs.

The home side, who had been on 66/2 at one time, were now on 89/8 and looked in danger of registering a sub-100 total. They managed to get to three figures and totalled 119, thanks to Ryan Moyo’s 18 off 21.

Soni was in fine form and finished the match with three wickets for 15 runs from five overs. Basson, his new ball partner, also bagged three wickets at a cost of 32 runs in eight overs, while Rowles was almost unplayable in his six overs, snaring two wickets for five runs.

During the run chase, Muhammed Bulbulia played like he had a plane to catch, charging his way to 45 runs from only 25 deliveries to set South Africa on course for an easy win.

After his dismissal, Jorich van Schalkwyk and Daniel Bosman shared an unbeaten 62-run second-wicket partnership to see South Africa home. Van Schalkwyk finished with an unbeaten 44 off 29 balls and Bosman was undefeated on 24 from 12 deliveries.

Summarised Scorecards

Zimbabwe u19 Emerging 119/10 (Kupakwashe Muradzi 29, Nathaniel Hlabangana 23; Ntando Soni 3/15, JJ Basson 3/32) South Africa U19 Emerging 120/1 (Muhammed Bulbulia 45, Jorich van Schalkwyk 44*; Kirby Madharamete 1/22) South Africa u19 Emerging won by 9 wickets.

SACS fought their way to an 8-7 victory over St John’s College to lift the Clifton Water Polo Tournament trophy for a second year in a row in a humdinger of a contest at the Clifton Aquatic Centre on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts, Clifton College, bagged the bronze medal after they overcame Paul Roos in another close encounter, edging out the Stellenbosch boys after a dramatic penalty shootout.

Each quarter of the final produced very different scripts

Near the end of the first chukka, St John’s threw the first punch to lead 1-0 after Ross Rovelli superbly picked out Fedor Sadovnik in front of the SACS goal, and he redirected the pass over the goal-line.

The sides spent the rest of the first chukka feeling each other out, trying to figure out the opposition’s weak points. Just before it ended, Ben Bigara struck for SACS.

The Cape Town school took to taking long-range efforts in the second chukka and, with some accurate shooting, were very well rewarded. Devon Card’s charges dominated and found the back of the net five times. Matt Forbes got the Capetonians on the board, bouncing the ball off the water to goalkeeper Kamogelo Thobejane‘s right and into the back of the net.

While St John’s added only one goal during the chukka, it was special. Nicholas Searle, under pressure from two defenders, twirled 360 degrees to spin past them and then picked out Christopher Chapman, who provided the finish Searle’s silky skill deserved.

SACS, though, had the bit between their teeth and, at 5-2 ahead at half-time, they were sitting pretty.

Whatever it is that Jon-Marc De Carvalho said at halftime resonated with his charges. St John’s came out firing in the third quarter and almost immediately cut the deficit to two goals with an early goal. The Johannesburg side kept up the pressure and by the end of the third chukka it was 5-5. Game on! SACS could have regained the lead in the final seconds of the quarter, but the woodwork, which was given a thorough working over during the tournament, denied them.

It was back-and-forth in the final chukka, with neither side able to establish dominance, but Ross Rovelli, a standout for St John’s on both ends of the pool, fired them into the lead only 30 seconds into it. Only 30 seconds later, though, Jandro Rojo-Roos had SACS back on level terms with a powerful long-range effort.

In the second chukka, SACS had inflicted damage on St John’s through their long-range shooting and they used that ploy to again take the lead with just over four minutes left in the match. It was their talisman, Nicholas Fall, who scored, firing the ball from the right with his left-arm howitzer across the face of the goalkeeper and into the top corner.

It looked as if SACS was for another goal with a breakout, but the impressive Rovelli nicked the ball away just in the nick of time.

St John’s was not ready to concede defeat and they equalised a minute later through Christopher Chapman, whose shot from the right bounced high off the water and rocketed into the top of the net.

The game was there for the taking and SACS took it, with Rojo-Roos executing a beautiful lob to score a superb winner. St John’s kept at it until the final whistle, but their efforts were in vain.

Earlier in the day, Clifton won the third and fourth-place playoff in an equally tight contest against Paul Roos.

The sides played out a 5-5 draw in regulation time, which sent the match to penalties. There, they shared 12 shots between them, with the home side converting five and Paul Roos four.

Clifton’s Ross Strauss, who was deservedly named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament, was the hero for the hosts.

The Attacker of the Tournament went to Nicholas Fall of SACS, and the Defender of the Tournament went to St John’s captain Greg Pryce, which matched the awards at the Inter-Provincial Tournament at the end of 2023. Ross Rovelli was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Results

1st/2nd: SACS 8–7 St John’s
3rd/4th: Clifton (5) 5-5 (4) Paul Roos
5th/6th: Kearsney 6–7 Westville
7th/8th: Hilton 8–7 Affies
9th/10th: Selborne 9–6 Northwood
11th/12th: Reddam House Constantia 8–9 DHS
13th/14th: Michaelhouse 8–7 KES
15th/16th: Maritzburg College 9–6 Grey College

Hilton College, SACS, Paul Roos, Affies, St John’s, Clifton, Westville, and Kearsney punched their tickets to the quarterfinals of the Clifton Centenary Water Polo Tournament on Friday at the Clifton Aquatic Centre in Durban.

Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools

The story of the day was Kearsney’s qualification for a spot in the top eight.

The Botha’s Hill boys took a circuitous route, despite leading Pool B after day one. Kearsney played the first match of the event, and they got the tournament challenge off to a roaring start by walloping Michaelhouse 13-3. They followed that up with a victory over Affies and went to bed on Thursday in first place.

However, their win over Affies had come in a penalty shootout, which meant they didn’t receive the three points that victories in regulation time bring. Instead, they picked up two points and Affies received one, which would prove to be important.

On Friday, Kearsney’s qualification for the next stage was cast in doubt when Paul Roos edged them 8-7. They were pushed further down, into third place, when Affies thrashed Michaelhouse 10-3 in the last round of group matches. That sequence of events to Kearsney facing Durban High School (DHS), who had two wins and a single loss under their belt, in a playoff match.

DHS finished second in Pool D, but Kearsney would have fancied their chances of taking down the Horseflies. After a competitive battle, Kearsney clinched a 10-8 victory, which made them the only third-placed team to win their playoff game against a second-placed side.

Kearsney will go to battle against St John’s in their quarterfinal tie, a school that was home to Kearsney coach Nicholas Rodda before he moved to the KZN school.

The Gauteng side, who overwhelmed Maritzburg College and Selborne on day one, made it three in three when they brushed Westville aside, defeating the KZN boys 6-2 to complete a clean sweep that left them in the top spot in Pool C.

Alongside St John’s, Clifton and Hilton also produced dominant runs in Pools C and D respectively.

The hosts, Clifton, made light work of the challenges from DHS and KES on day one. They put the cherry on the top, to the delight of the home crowd, with a 12-3 thrashing of Reddam on Friday in which they moved the ball well. Clifton will a stern test from Westville in their quarterfinal contest.

The Griffin had a strong start, chalking up two wins in two matches on day one, but they fell to the log leaders, St John’s, in the final round of group games. In the playoffs, though, they punched their ticket to the quarterfinals with a 5-3 win over Northwood.

Hilton topped Pool A, withstanding a furious Northwood challenge in their opener before scoring a convincing win over Grey College. Their sternest test came when they met SACS on Friday afternoon.

On day one, Jason Sileno’s charges came up trumps when they scored two late goals to record a hard-fought victory over Northwood. More of the same mettle was required when they took on SACS. There were no late goals this time around. Their encounter was decided by a penalty shootout, where Sileno’s charges held their nerve to claim a 9-8 victory.

Paul Roos, who finished second in Pool B, stands between Hilton and a semifinal spot. It is a tie the KZN side will not be taking lightly. The Stellenbosch side has a proven pedigree. They were the runners-up in last year’s Clifton Water Polo Tournament and came into the tournament as one of the favourites to win the title.

The Capetonians were in a tight group where they squeezed past Michaelhouse and narrowly lost to Affies on day one, before delivering an 8-7 victory over Kearsney to knock the local team from the top spot in the pool.

Affies topped Pool B, scoring two wins and a penalty shootout loss. They face arguably the toughest of the second-place finishers, SACS, who defeated Selborne College in their playoff match.

The battle-hardened Capetonians have shown their ability to score big and not concede a lot in their victories over Grey College and Northwood. They also showed their fighting spirit in their narrow loss to Hilton, coming back to level the contest at 7-7 after twice trailing by three goals.

The quarterfinal matches begin at 09:30 on Saturday.

Results Group Stage

KES 5 –7 DHS
Kearsney 7-8 Paul Roos
Northwood 7-4 Grey College
Clifton 12-3 Reddam Constantia
Selborne 18-3 Maritzburg
Affies 10-3 Michaelhouse
Hilton (9 ) 7-7 (8) SACS
Westville 2-6 St John’s

Playoff Matches

SACS 5-4 Selborne
Paul Roos 9-3 Reddam
Northwood 3-5 Westville
Kearsney 10-8 DHS
Selborne 10-7 KES
Reddam Constantia 11-1 Grey College

Adnaan Lagadien scored an outstanding century as South Africa u19 Emerging thrashed Zimbabwe u19 Emerging by 237 runs in their 50-over encounter at Queen’s Sports Club, in Bulawayo, on Friday.

After that emphatic victory, coach Malibongwe Maketa’s charges lead the five-match series 4-0.

South Africa, who won the toss and elected to bat first, powered their way to 434/6 in 50 rollicking overs. Just over a quarter of those runs came off the bat of Lagadien, who carved 12 fours and three sixes on his way to 112 off 87 deliveries.

The Muhammed Bulbulia-captained side then turned around and bowled out their hosts for 197 runs in 32.1 overs.

As they have done throughout the series, South Africa tried out a different opening pair. And, as has become the trend, the openers provided the visitors with a brilliant start. Maketa’s charges got things going with a hard-hitting 114-run opening partnership off only 81 deliveries. The blistering start was thanks to Jorich van Schalkwyk‘s attacking play, with the Affies’ learner scoring a brisk 43-ball 58.

Lagadien, who had been happy to be the foil for Van Schalkwyk’s strokeplay, took charge of the innings after his opening partner’s dismissal. He reached his century during a 97-run second-wicket stand with Daniel Bosman, who was also in an attacking mood and struck a 32-ball 39.

Bosman was replaced by Lethabo Phahlamohlaka, but the Cornwall Hill learner did not enjoy a big partnership with Lagadien. They added 26 runs before the opener was dismissed. However, like the other batsmen before him, Phahlamohlaka went after the Zimbabwe bowling attack and registered a half-century, contributing 52 from 41 balls.

He also shared a 90-run fourth-wicket partnership with Paul James, who will consider himself unlucky to have missed out on a century. The Wynberg Boys’ High man scythed a destructive 65-ball 96 that left Zimbabwe reeling.

Samuel Muyambo was Zimbabwe’s most successful bowler, but his two wickets came at a price, as he conceded 71 runs from his nine overs. Darren Ncube, Nawej Mutumwa, Brandon Senzere, and Othaniel Makuzo bagged a wicket each.

As they had done in their previous match, Zimbabwe got away to a decent start. Nathaniel Hlabangana, with 42, shared a 60-run opening stand with Kupakwashe Muradzi, who weighed in with 20. Also, as happened in their previous match, and as has happened throughout the series, they lost wickets in clumps, which stalled their momentum. They were 60/0 after 7.3 overs, but after 14.2 overs they had slipped to 89/4.

Besides Brandon Senzere, who made 50, and Samuel Muyambo, who scored 41, the Zimbabweans struggled against the bowling of Paul James. The Wynberg all-rounder snapped up a tidy three wickets for 13 runs from five overs.

However, the opening batsman, Jorich van Schalkwyk, was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa. He ripped through the Zimbabwean innings, capturing four wickets for seven runs in only 2.1 overs. Bosman, Luke Kleinsmith, and Rowen Rajah claimed a wicket each.

Summarised Scorecards

South Africa u19 Emerging: 434/6 (Adnaan Lagadien 112, Paul James 96, Jorich van Schalkwyk 58, Lethabo Phahlamohlaka 52; Samuel Muyambo 2/71) Zimbabwe u19 Emerging: 197/10 (Brandon Senzere 50, Nathaniel Hlabangana 42; Jorich van Schalkwyk 4/7, Paul James 3/13) South Africa u19 Emerging won by 237 runs.

Joe MacRobert had watched from behind the stumps as Armaan Manack and Matthew West scythed through his bowlers. It was a blood bath. The St John’s College captain deployed eight bowlers to try and stem the flow of runs, but all looked impotent against the duo. They scored a combined 265 as they catapulted St David’s Marist Inanda to 346 in their 50-over-a-side match.

“They are about 30 runs short,” Bongani Ntini, the St John’s coach, told MacRobert during the innings break.

In 2006, Jacques Kallis walked into a dispirited South Africa dressing room after Australia had scored a mammoth 434/4 in the fifth one-day international at The Wanderers and remarked that the visitors were about 20 runs below par. Everyone agreed that the pitch was good for batting, but Kallis’s comment solidified the belief that 434 was not an impossible total to chase. South Africa scored 438 to win with a ball to spare and make history.

Ntini’s comment had a similar effect on MacRobert. It assured him that the task before him was not unattainable. With his mind freed from the fear of failure, he walked out to bat with one thing on his mind, “Go and have fun”.

That’s what his father, Gus, always told him before matches or tours. “What we have always said to him is go and have fun. Especially on tours, we tell him to go and enjoy the time with friends and meet new friends,” Gus shared.

MacRobert had fun, smashing an unbeaten 183 from 101 balls to lead his team to a six-wicket victory with a mind-boggling 10.4 overs to spare. St John’s had scored 350/4 in 39.2 overs.

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Gus MacRobert has an ESPNcricinfo footprint, and that is not by accident. After completing his studies at the University of Cape Town, where he played first XI cricket, Gus enrolled at Oxford University. He also represented the famous university in cricket. His batting was serviceable and his medium pacers troubled batters enough for him to be picked for the Combined Universities team that competed in the Benson and Hedges Cup during the 1995 county cricket season.

His wife, Georgie, played SA Schools hockey and senior women’s provincial hockey. Their first two children, Roxy and William, were upgrades of their talents. Roxy played first-team hockey at St Mary’s School, Waverley, and was Victrix Ludorum in athletics, while William was an all-rounder during his time at St John’s College.

Joe, three years William’s junior, is an amalgamation of everyone’s talents at home, in part, because of the genes. It’s also because of the sporting environment in which he has been raised. Roxy’s and William’s sports equipment were his first toys. His older siblings were also his first opponents.

“We tried to make our backyard contests as tough and interesting as possible. We would set difficult fields and targets for each other. William would always try to assert dominance over me,” Joe MacRobert shared.

To be competitive against older siblings, younger siblings have to work a little harder than when they play against their peers. In childhood, a three-year gap is a long time. The disparity of strength, speed, and skill is immense.

“Essentially, the challenge of playing up – playing with older siblings who tend to be bigger and stronger and so on – accelerates their skill acquisition,” says Tim Wigmore, co-author of “The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made”.

“His hand and eye coordination and contact points were excellent. Joe was always a step ahead of other kids in his age group,” Vincent Jordaan, who coached MacRobert from u9 at St David’s Prep recalled.

It is a distinction Jeff Levin, the current St David’s Marist Inanda head coach, also noticed when he first came into contact with MacRobert at St David’s Prep. “I coached Joe with three of his school friends from grade 0 for a few years. They were a very talented group and I had them playing with a hard ball within a couple of sessions. While they were all very talented, Joe stood out as a natural, whether he batted, bowled, or even kept wicket.”

Both coaches said MacRobert made playing cricket look easy. He had no trouble understanding and executing what they asked him to try. When they asked him to bowl spin, he landed the ball accurately and spun it. When he kept wicket, he was light on his feet and consistently cleanly pouched the ball. With the bat, “his balance and positions were excellent and his ball striking was phenomenal,” as Levin described it.

Neither coach was surprised when MacRobert scored his maiden century for St David’s Prep at u9 level.

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“I lost interest in cricket when I was in Grades 8 and 9. Covid-19 happened and then when we came back a lot of my friends had dropped cricket,” MacRobert revealed.

It also didn’t help matters that he returned a few low scores. Suddenly, without friendly voices encouraging him to keep going, the crease and the changing room felt lonely.

Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends, Venus and Serena Williams, has a public image that resembles that of Earl Woods, Tiger Woods‘ father. Both men are portrayed as hard-driving taskmasters who made their offspring into megastars by dictating their development. However, there is a rarely spoken about side of both parents. They let their children lead.

There is a scene in the movie “King Richard”. A famous coach tells Richard that if Venus, then 11 years old, doesn’t play more matches, “you’re going to ruin her”. Richard responds by pulling Venus and Serena out of the junior tennis circuit completely.

“They don’t need all that pressure,” Richard told the coach. “They need to just be kids.”

For the next three years, Venus didn’t play an official match. While Richard Williams saw that his daughters were exceptionally talented, he refused to drive them onto the tennis court. He wanted them to pursue the sport because they loved it. That is the mindset Gus MacRobert adopted with Joe.

While he knew of his son’s abilities, he resisted the urge to send him for private coaching. Instead of playing in winter leagues, MacRobert played other sports in the cricket offseason. In the summer, he didn’t just focus on cricket, he also played tennis and golf.

“We’ve never really had any deep chats about Joe’s cricket. We never analyse his games, innings, or what he could have done better. That’s not to say we don’t pay attention to his performances. No. We go to every match, support him all the way, and chat about some stand-out performances,” Gus said.

Gus and Georgie’s message to Joe has always been, “Go and have fun”. They urge him to enjoy the time with his friends and to meet new friends. So, when MacRobert fell out of love with the game, they were not taken aback. He went for six months without picking up a bat and no one batted an eyelid. When he picked it up towards the end of Grade 10, MacRobert scored big.

“I scored two centuries in a week, one was a 150 in a T20 match against St Benedict’s, and the other an unbeaten 100 at the Gauteng trials. That felt good and I started finding joy in the game again,” MacRobert shared.

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He has always looked up to two players, Quinton de Kock and Kumar Sangakkara. He emulated Sangakkara’s elegant cover drives, but has a technique similar to De Kock’s. In fact, his favourite bat as a youngster was an old GM he picked up because De Kock used one like it. He was in Grade 5.

Like the two international stars, he is a left-handed batsman who keeps wicket. “I only started keeping wicket in 2023, when coach Bongani Ntini asked me,” MacRobert said.

He hasn’t wanted to put down the gloves since then. Wicketkeeping isn’t the only skill Ntini has helped MacRobert add to his bag of tricks. The St John’s College coach has also helped the 18-year-old develop a more attacking game.

“Joe’s technique didn’t need any tweaking when I started working with him in 2023. Our training was focused on him to be more aggressive,” Ntini explained. “The dominating nature has always been there, but it was more on the shot selection side of things, when to switch on and when to switch off.”

Coach and student spent a lot of time practicing range-hitting, upskilling him on picking off a good length over midwicket, bringing in slog sweeps and switch hits, not only to spin bowlers but also against medium pacers.

The results have been outstanding. During the 2023 season, MacRobert scored 1 258 runs in 33 innings at a strike rate of 109.97. He was a lot quicker in the 2024 season, with 1 077 runs in 28 outings at a strike rate of 137.9.

“I enjoy taking on bowlers and pushing the game ahead. I will do it as long as it helps the team,” MacRobert said.

His commitment to the team’s effort is probably why his favourite match out of the 100 innings he has batted in for St John’s was the 42 runs he scored against St Stithians to help his team win the Johnny Waite title on 2 March 2024.

“That’s Joe MacRobert, a team player through and through. He always does what is needed by the team,” Ntini said.