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The first day of the St John’s College Basketball Tournament was nothing short of remarkable, featuring huge upsets, including a loss for the two-time defending champion, Northwood. While the Knights tasted defeat, some strong contenders caught the eye, including King Edward VII School (KES).

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u19 Category A

The defending champions, Northwood, who won the annual St John’s College Basketball Tournament in both 202 and 2025, entered the tournament fresh off a hard-fought win over Westville Boys’ High. However, a recent loss to Durban High School (DHS), their first at home since 2020, suggested they might not be quite the powerhouse they had been for the past two seasons.

On Thursday, St Stithians College enhanced that narrative with a comfortable 48-35 win over the Durban school. Then, astonishingly, Northwood suffered a second defeat in the evening, going down 43-51 against The King’s School Linbro Park.

All is not yet lost for the Knights, but they won’t be able to afford any more slip-ups in their quest for a third successive title.

In other Group A matches, Saints followed up their win over Northwood with a 61-28 defeat of Falcon College. The Zimbabweans bounced back with a 53-22 victory over Curro Helderwyk in their next outing. Earlier on Thursday, The King’s School Linbro Park downed Curro Helderwyk 62-32.

In Group B, St Benedict’s College made their case as a team to watch by scoring two tight victories. They opened with a 46-42 win over Hilton College and added a 45-41 victory over St Andrew’s College in the evening. The Makhanda school suffered another defeat, losing by 10 points to Jeppe High School for Boys, 47-57.

Jeppe, similar to Bennies, added a second win, holding off Michael Mount Waldorf 34-32. Michael Mount quickly got their challenge back on track with a solid 56-41 victory over Hilton College.

In Group C, KES made it evident that they have their sights set on a run at the title. They came close in 2024, losing to Northwood in the final.

KES kicked off the day with a 39-29 win over Michaelhouse. That was the first of three wins for St John’s neighbours. They also beat Crawford College (Sandton) 52-30, and rounded off a strong opening day with a decisive 55-38 win over St David’s Marist Inanda.

Pretoria Boys High School (PHBS), also in Group C, impressed. They defeated St David’s 46-32 in the morning and added a 47-38 victory over Crawford College later in the day.

St David’s, beaten by KES, picked up a win, beating Michaelhouse 46-35. Earlier this month, ‘House won 36-32 at St David’s, so that was a pleasing turnaround for the Sandton school.

Group D stands out as one of the most intriguing and challenging groups of the tournament. St Charles College, the 2023 champion, is in the group alongside the tournament hosts, St John’s College, St Alban’s College, Parktown Boys’ High, and Harare’s St George’s College.

St Charles College has not been convincing thus far this season, while St Alban’s College is rebuilding after a disappointing 2025 and has shown significant improvement. St John’s College, the runner-up to Northwood last year, has produced mixed results this season.

On Thursday, though, St Charles College got their challenge off to a winning start, outplaying Parktown Boys’ High 53-40. Then, in the evening, they comfortably handled St John’s, recording a 63-46 win.

The hosts were stretched in their opener, scoring a 46-43 win over St George’s College, but the Harare school returned to the court and chalked up a sharp 44-29 victory over Parktown.

St Alban’s College, like St Charles, celebrated wins over St George’s College and Parktown Boys’ High, beating the former 38-34 and the latter 47-36.

u19 Category B

In the 19 Category B competition, Group A started with Redhill School scoring a 59-50 victory over the YUT Basketball Academy. Later in the evening, Redhill continued their success by defeating Saheti, 43-40. Saheti had earlier edged past Sacred Heart College 50-47.

Maritzburg College B picked up a 38-19 victory over the YUT Basketball Academy.

In Group B, St Peter’s College scored a commanding 52-20 win over Alma Mater International School before handing St John’s College B a 40-34 loss.

Lomagundi College won 44-34 against Alma Mater, and Crawford Lonehill secured a 39-25 victory over Lomagundi College.

RESULTS

u19 Category A

Group A

King’s Linbro 62-32 Curro Helderwyk
St Stithians College 61-28 Falcon College
St Stithians College 48-35 Northwood
Falcon College 53-22 Curro Helderwyk
King’s Linbro 51-43 Northwood College

Group B

St Benedict’s College 46-42 Hilton College
Jeppe 34-32 Michael Mount
St Benedict’s College 31-29 Michael Mount
Jeppe 57-48 St Andrew’s College
St Benedict’s College 45-41 St Andrew’s College
Michael Mount 56-41 Hilton College

Group C

KES 39-29 Michaelhouse
PHBS 46-32 St David’s
KES 52-30 Crawford College (Sandton)
St David’s 46-35 Michaelhouse
PHBS 47-38 Crawford College (Sandton)
KES 55-38 St David’s

Group D

St Charles College 53-40 Parktown Boys’ High
St Alban’s College 38-34 St George’s College 34
St John’s College 46-43 St George’s College
St Alban’s College 47-36 Parktown Boys’ High
St Charles College 63-46 St John’s College
St George’s College 44-29 Parktown Boys’ High

u19 Category B

Group A

Redhill 59-50 YUT Basketball Academy
Saheti 50-47 Sacred Heart College
Maritzburg College B 38-19 YUT Basketball Academy
Redhill 43-40 Saheti

Group B

St Peter’s College 52-20 Alma Mater
St Peter’s College 40-34 St John’s College B
Lomagundi College 44-34 Alma Mater
Crawford Lonehill 39-25 Lomagundi College

The St John’s College 1st water polo side etched its name into the history books on Thursday by claiming the inaugural KES Night League title in Johannesburg.

The boys from Houghton defeated St David’s Marist Inanda, 9-8 in a tense final to win their first piece of silverware in 2026.

The journey to the title-deciding clash was by no means an easy one for coach Jon-Marc De Carvalho and his troops, who faced several challenging obstacles on their way to winning the title.

They won four of their five round-robin matches, losing just once, when they went down 5-7 against St David’s.

The final, however, was a different kettle of fish. It was back-and-forth from the first whistle, and by the start of the final chukka, there was almost nothing to separate the sides.

Strong defence and converting goal-scoring opportunities in crucial moments lifted St John’s to a gritty win.

“It was a super tough final. Neither team gave anything away,” coach De Carvalho told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“In the end, St David’s controlled the third chukka, which usually means you go on to win the game, but our guys locked up the defence in the fourth and then gave it everything they had on attack and kept chipping away. That determination pushed us through.”

During their campaign, St John’s had to play several matches without key players, who were sidelined either by injuries or illness.

Despite those setbacks, De Carvalho relied on his seniors to guide the team’s newcomers. Missing some players also forced him to test his squad’s depth, he said.

“We have been marred by some injuries and sickness during the league,” he explained. “That, and wanting to rotate younger players to get experience at this level, left us with a different team makeup every game. That allowed us to try new combinations and see what the future holds for us.”

The St John’s standouts included experienced top performers Simon Mussett, Luke Shipway, and Chris Chapman. De Carvalho, however, was more impressed with how his side’s youngsters stepped up and made their presence felt.

“Our matrics always lead from the front and have taken true responsibility for the team, but our u17 players have really stepped up and backed them and shone brightly when their older counterparts were injured or sick,” he said.

“Fedor Sadovnik has been solid on the right for us and given us backup at centre back when we needed it most.

“Rupert Schonborn has been a rock at the back and had to move into a starting role tonight and a few other games, and he has made it tough for all other centre forwards. He’s also scored key goals.

“Ethan Bennett has trained really hard and has shown his versatility all over the pool.

“Muhammad Bodiat has stepped up with some fantastic goals and key assists in every game.

“It has been great to see them all grow and really take on some of the responsibility in the team.”

St John’s will next shift their attention to the KES Water Polo Tournament, which runs from 27 February to 1 March.

Their approach will be simple, said coach De Carvalho: “We have to take the KES tournament one game at a time. We are in a tough group, and then, moving into crossovers, we will be meeting some really strong teams.

“This win will give us confidence, but that counts for nothing if we don’t hit the ground running on day one of KES.”

Results

Jeppe High School for Boys 11-10 St Benedict’s College
St Stithians College 11-9 KES
St John’s College 9-8 St David’s Marist Inanda

KES Night League standings

St John’s College
St David’s Marist Inanda
St Stithians College
King Edward VII
Jeppe High School for Boys
St Benedict’s College

The annual Jenny Orchard Invitational Basketball Tournament, hosted by Maritzburg College, kicked off on Thursday in Pietermaritzburg. The action continues through to Sunday, when a champion will be crowned.

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Division A

On the opening day, the defending champions, Westville Boys’ High, narrowly defeated Soweto Basketball Academy by three points, staging a strong fightback to come from behind and claim a tight 53-50 win.

Despite that defeat, the Soweto Basketball Academy did enough to suggest they could be in with a shout at the title on Sunday. Meanwhile, Pinelands High, led by the talented Aidan Erasmus and Shafiek Allie, also showed their teeth, romping to a 90-54 victory over their fellow Cape Town school, Rondebosch Boys’ High.

Pinelands won the Wynberg Boys’ High Basketball Tournament in October last year and are eager to make an impact in Pietermaritzburg. They face a stiff challenge

The competition at the Jenny Orchard Invitational Basketball Tournament is undoubtedly tough, and one of the title contenders is ESCA. In 2025, they won two titles within a span of 30 days, lifting the Westville Boys’ High Invitational Schools Stayers’ Basketball Tournament (ISSBT) trophy before winning The King’s School Linbro Park Basketball Tournament.

ESCA lived up to expectations on Thursday, overrunning Wynberg Boys’ High 93-43, to make it clear that they are the team to beat in Pool C.

St John’s College (Harare) made their tournament bow, but it was a rude introduction as they ran into a high-flying Maritzburg College, who powered to a 75-26 victory.

College and Pinelands have put their hands up as the frontrunners in Pool B, while St John’s and Rondebosch Boys’ High look likely to duke it out for third place in the group.

In Pool A, Westerford High ran out comfortable winners in their opener, doubling up Northwood B 88-44.

The Northwood 1st team is in Johannesburg, where they are chasing a third successive St John’s College Basketball Tournament title.

Earlier this month, Durban High School (DHS) became the first team to defeat Kent VanderYacht’s Northwood at home since 2020. They started their challenge in imperious style, cruising to a 90-39 win over Clifton College.

They’ll battle ESCA for first place in Pool C, which also includes Clifton and Wynberg Boys’ High.

In Group D, Kearsney College, led by Pabatso Sithole, a consistent source of points, is a dark horse unit that could make waves.

They opened their account with a 64-43 win over Glenwood High, while South Africa College High School (SACS) secured a 66-48 victory against St Nicholas Diocesan School A.

Division B

Division B also delivered some exciting action.

In Pool A, Michaelhouse B defeated Alexandra High School 62-29, while Meridian Karino School defeated Enjabulweni Independent School 64-56.

In Pool B, St Nicholas Diocesan School B and Etham College went back and forth in a competitive match, which St Nicholas won 86-60. Marist Brothers’ Linmeyer held on for a 47-41 win over Riverwood College.

In Pool C, Kingswood College was pushed hard by Maritzburg College B, but they won by 10, 57-47. Bishops Diocesan College got by Treverton College 46-40.

In the tightest clash of the day, in Pool D,  Maritzburg Cubs edged out Thomas More College 48-47.

In the last fixture of the day, an all Eastern Cape affair, Queen’s College took on St Andrew’s College B, with Queen’s scoring a 48-31 victory.

RESULTS

Thursday, 19 February

Pool A

Westville Boys’ High 53-50 Soweto Basketball Academy
Westerford High 88-44 Northwood B

Pool B

Maritzburg College 75-26 St John’s College (Harare)
Pinelands High 90-54 Rondebosch Boys’ High

Pool C

DHS 90-39 Clifton College
ESCA 93-43 Wynberg Boys’ High

Pool D

Kearnsey College 64-43 Glenwood
SACS 66-48 St Nicholas Diocesan B

Division B

Pool A

Michaelhouse B 62-39 Alexandra High School
Meridian Karino School 64-56 Enjabbulweni Independent School

Pool B

St Nicholas Diocesan School 86-60 Etham College
Marist Brothers Linmeyer 47-41 Riverwood College

Pool C

Kingswood College 57-47 Maritzburg College B
Bishops Diocesan College 46-40 Treverton College

Pool D

Maritzburg Cubs 48-47 Thomas More College
Queen’s College 48-31 St Andrew’s College B

Diocesan College started their 2026 Independent Schools Festival campaign against St Stithians College on Thursday with a successful coin flip. They chose to bat first in the 50-over affair on the Tuks B Oval.

While St Stithians found wickets hard to come by, they also made run-scoring difficult for the Cape Town school.

Didier le Roux kept matters tight, claiming 1/31 in eight overs, while Zaakir Hanslo tied down Bishops with 1/36 from 10. Saints also shone in the field, running out Bishops’ two highest run scorers.

Captain and opener Alex Vintcent grafted his way to 55 from 96 balls, which included two fours and a six, while Ibraheem Taliep, batting at four, was limited to only two fours, but tallied 58 off 95 deliveries.

Luc Dicey weighed in with 29 unbeaten runs, batting at six, and he and Taliep racked up 72 runs in 72 balls for the fifth wicket.

Their partnership lasted until the 300th and final ball of the innings, which Bishops finished on 201/5.

In reply, Saints’ openers, Ombesa Matsha and Akhil Challa, constructed a solid 76-run opening stand. Matsha smashed two fours and two sixes in his run-a-ball 42, while Challa played more cautiously for his 32 off 66 deliveries. Nic Bayly, the number four batsman, weighed in with a circumspect 23.

Five Bishops’ bowlers picked up wickets. However, only Bulela Klaas took more than one, capturing 2/24 in six overs.

Lower down their batting order, St Stithians found a second wind. Didier le Roux, at seven and Chris Collins, at eight, kept their innings chugging along. Le Roux struck four fours in his vital 31 not out from 57 balls, while Collins made 15 at better than a run a ball.

With only 11 balls to spare, St. Stithians made it across the line on 205/7, thus winning by three wickets.

Cornwall Hill College’s Landsend Oval hosted Bedfordview’s St Benedict’s College and Harare’s St George’s College.

The Zimbabweans batted first and got off to a good start, with Michael Mukori and Allen Masiya making 58 for the first wicket. Mukori walloped eight fours in contributing 43 from 47 deliveries, while Masiya chipped in with 18.

Tom McArthur kept St George’s in check, however, snaring 2/22 from 10 tight overs, while Matthew Lewis played his part by claiming 2/31 from nine.

St George’s counterattacked through Munashe Muchatukwa, at seven, and number eight batsman, Tichaono Mharadze, who went hard at the Bennies‘ bowlers. Muchatukwa smashed four sixes and five fours to top-score with 59 off 47, while Mharadze hit five fours in his unbeaten 50 off 39 deliveries as they combined for 89 runs for the seventh wicket.

With that late innings flourish, St. George’s posted 237/8 after their 50 overs.

When St Benedict’s replied, Kudaishe Nyatsanza was the dangerman for the Zimbabwean bowling attack, snapping up 3/47 across 10 overs, which included clean-bowling opener Matthew Hickman-Steel for 35.

Number four batsman, Treasure Dube, fortified the Bedfordview boys’ response, with 44 off 65 deliveries. The next man in, Alex Johnston, led the Bennies’ run chase.

Together, the duo advanced the total by 67 runs for the fourth wicket. before Dube departed. Johnston stayed on and proceeded to develop an even bigger partnership with Tom McArthur.

McArthur hammered three fours and went undefeated with 38 off 37 in an unbroken 73-run stand for the sixth wicket. Johnston, meanwhile, earned himself the man of the match honour by smashing seven fours and a six in his unbeaten 74 off 76.

It took 48.1 overs for the chasers to reach 240/5, resulting in a five-wicket victory for St. Benedict’s College.

Summarised Scorecards

Diocesan College 201/5 (Ibraheem Taliep 58, Alex Vintcent 55, Luc Dicey 29*); St Stithians College 205/7 (Ombesa Matsha 42, Akhil Challa 32, Didier le Roux 31*, Nic Bayly 23; Bulela Klaas 2/24). St Stithians College won the match by three wickets. 

St George’s College (Harare) 237/8 (Munashe Muchatukwa 59, Tichaono Mharadze 50*, Michael Mukori 43, Abhiraj Singh 27; Tom McArthur 2/22, Matthew Lewis 2/31); St Benedict’s College 240/5 (Alex Johnson 74*, Treasure Dube 44, Tom McArthur 38*, Matthew Hickman-Steel 35, Extras 26; Kudaishe Nyatsanza 3/47). St Benedict’s College won by five wickets. 

The St John’s College (Johannesburg) 1st XI got their Independent Schools Cricket Festival (ISCF) campaign off to a winning start by defeating Kearsney College on Thursday in Pretoria.

They were joined in the win column by St David’s Marist Inanda, who beat Bloemfontein’s St Andrew’s School, and Michaelhouse, who outplayed Woodridge College on Thursday.

Nkosana Sibiya, the St John’s captain, led from the front with an unbeaten century to power them to a comfortable win over Kearsney at St Alban’s College.

The skipper, who lost the toss and was asked to field first, used his bowlers well, and they limited Kearsney to 210/8 from their 50 overs. The Blues needed only 36.2 overs to reach 213/3 in reply and claim a seven-wicket victory.

Sibiya’s unbeaten 106 from 102 balls featured 14 fours and three sixes. The opener got the Blues going with a 90-run opening stand with Luke Fry (39) and then added 74 runs with Herman Basson (38) for the second wicket. He also shared a brief 17-run third-wicket stand with Darshik Lutchman (5), before seeing his side over the finishing line with Joshua Hall (12*).

Earlier in the day, Asher Hollister top-scored for Kearsney with a well-played 81 from 92 balls. Unfortunately, for the Botha’s Hill boys, his effort wasn’t buttressed by a couple of other big scores, and the KwaZulu-Natal side had to settle for a middling total.

Juan de Villiers was the pick of the St John’s bowlers, returning 2/43 from 10 overs, while Ethan Robinson, Tapiwa Chikwava, Jared Gilmour, and Bryn Gilmour grabbed a wicket each.

Woodridge vs Michaelhouse

Ben Heuer and Liam O’Dwyer snapped up six wickets between them to set Michaelhouse up for a dominant nine-wicket win over Woodridge College when the sides cross swords on the Parke de Terrace at Cornwall Hill College.

Woodridge, who won the toss and chose to bat first, was unable to gain a foothold in the contest. They hung around for 40 overs but were bowled out for only 113.

Michaelhouse showed their batting might by galloping to 114/1 in 20.5 overs, winning in almost half the number of balls that their Eastern Cape opponents faced.

O’Dwyer was the pick of the ‘House bowlers, snaring 3/27 from 10 overs, two of which were maidens. He also brought about a Woodridge collapse, picking up his three wickets in four overs. Heuer also claimed three scalps, knocking over a tidy 3/18 in six overs. The duo enjoyed good support from Rendani Nonge, who dislodged two batsmen, while Rex Wardlaw and Nathan Simmons took a wicket each.

Stefan Ferreira was Woodridge’s shining light with 28 runs from 23 balls, while Jeandré Strydom (20) was the only other batsman to exit the teens.

Michaelhouse had little trouble in their run chase. After losing Wardlaw in the fourth over, the KZN school cantered to victory with an unbroken 109-run second-wicket partnership between captain Graydon Leslie (66*) and Riley Muir (39*).

St Andrew’s School vs St David’s Marist Inanda

Sohail Seonath and Jonah Gruskin struck half-centuries to steer St David’s Marist Inanda to a seven-wicket win over St Andrew’s School on the Tuks C Oval.

St David’s won the toss, chose to bowl first, and restricted the Bloemfontein boys to 163/9 in their 50 overs. In reply, St David’s took 35.3 overs to reach 167/3.

Jason Rowles, the St David’s captain, led their bowling effort with a match-defining 3/26 in nine overs. Christopher Emslie, Kyle Butler, and Hayden Campbell contributed a wicket each.

Heindré Serfontein, the only St Andrew’s batsman who looked comfortable against the St David’s bowling attack, scored a steady 72 from 77 balls. Reuben van Aarde, the second-highest scorer, faced 61 balls for his 23 runs.

When St David’s replied, Erhard Barends gave St Andrew’s hope with the dismissals of Roberto Mariano and Jason Rowles in the second and third overs. That hope was soon squashed, however, with Sohail Seoath and Jonah Gruskin combining for a 123-run stand for the third wicket, which took the game away from Saints.

Seonath top-scored with 73 from 111 balls, while Gruskin finished the match unbeaten on 53 from 76 deliveries.

Summarised Scorecards

Kearsney College 210/8 (Asher Hollister 81, Aaron Blackburn 25; Juan de Villiers 2/43, Ethan Robinson 1/18). St John’s College 213/3 (Nkosana Sibiya 106*, Luke Fry 39, Herman Basson 38; Michael Groom 1/31, Matthew Rice 1/28). St John’s won by seven wickets.

Woodridge College 113/10 (Stefan Ferreira 28, Jeandré Strydom 20; Liam O’Dwyer 3/27, Ben Heuer 3/18). Michaelhouse 114/1 (Graydon Leslie 66*, Riley Muir 39*; Daniel Darlow 1/17, Brody McKinnon 0/22). Michaelhouse won by nine wickets.

St Andrew’s School 163/9 (Heindré Serfontein 72, Reuben van Aarde 23; Jason Rowles 3/26, Hayden Campbell 1/32). St David’s Marist Inanda (Sohail Seonath 73, Jonah Gruskin 53*; Erhard Barends 2/46, WJ Lindhout 1/15). St David’s won by seven wickets.

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.

Benjamin Kazandjis of Uplands College produced the standout bowling performance of the opening day of the 2026 Independent Schools Festival in Pretoria on Thursday.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

Summarised scorecards

Prestige College 101/10 (Bongani Sithole 28, Onalenna Ramafoko 20; Benjamin Kazandjis 5/11, Richo Wentzel 2/3); Uplands College 104/3 (Mfundo Mthimunye 41*; Omphile Maredi 2/30). Uplands College won by seven wickets. 

St Andrew’s College 157/10 (Ethan Malan 38, Rhys Wiblin 25, Extras 21, Benjamin Sharges 20; Musa Musooko 3/36, Will Hewitt 2/28); St Alban’s College 158/4 (Ethan Nel 55*, Ethan Detert 54; James Bronkhorst 2/39). St Alban’s College won by six wickets. 

Cornwall Hill College 250/8 (Rourke de Lange 83, Keagan van Wyk 51, Extras 32; Shivaan Chouhan 4/53, Sean Price 2/45); St John’s College (Harare) 107/10 (Extras 22, Hayden Saunders 15; Obakeng Mokanyane 3/18, Rourke de Lange 2/6, Layton Pullen 2/17, Mohale Pitso 2/21). Cornwall Hill College won by 143 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.

St Stithians College and King Edward VII (KES) will play for the title in the final of the Johnny Waite Trophy tournament after they registered victories over Steyn City School and Helpmekaar Kollege, respectively, in their semifinal ties on Wednesday.

Matthew Katzenstein and Nqaba Matunda combined their talents with bat and ball to help St Stithians record a 20-run win over Steyn City on Steyn City’s Main Oval.

Nicholas Bayly, the Saints’ captain, called correctly at the toss, elected to bat first, and his team combined to score 135/5 in 20 overs. Then their bowlers banded together to restrict Steyn City to 115/9 in reply.

Katzenstein played a measured innings, scoring 54 from 51 balls, which included one six and one four. Mostly, though, he manipulated the field with ones and twos, while spending almost 14 overs out in the middle. He and Thomas Collins, who made 34, also shared a match-winning 71-run second-wicket partnership.

Nicholas Bayly (18) and Matthew Anderson (13) were the only other St Stithians’ batsmen to reach double figures.

Austin van Jaarsveld, with 2/18, and Kurt Lorch, with 2/28, were the standout bowlers for Steyn City.

When the home side batted, Nqaba Matunda dismissed three of their top-four batsmen. He was the pick of the Saints’ attack, capturing a decisive 4/28 in four overs.

Tajendra Naidu lent outstanding support, nabbing 3/18 in four overs, while Zaakir Hanslo chipped in with the other two wickets.

Keegan Smallbone, the Steyn City captain, fought a lone battle against the St Stithians’ bowling attack, fighting fire with fire in a brisk 38-ball 53.

He struck more sixes than the visitors’ batting lineup combined, with three maximums, and he matched the total number of fours scored by St Stithians’ batsmen, two.

King Edward VII vs Helpmekaar

King Edward VII (KES) cantered to a comfortable six-wicket win over Helpmekaar on the Main Oval at the University of Johannesburg.

The Red Caps, who were playing away from home, won the toss and decided to bowl first, which proved to be a good call, thanks to the disciplined lines and lengths their attack maintained, which led to the hosts being restricted to 120/9 from their 20 overs.

That made the requirement easy to calculate, just over a run a ball, and KES duly won in 18.3 overs when they reached 121/4.

Matthew Bromley, the Red Caps’ captain, used six bowlers in the Helpmekaar innings, and all of them took wickets. Steele Grooteman was the most successful of the lot with 2/16 in four overs.

Ryan Erasmus and Connor Kuijers also claimed a brace of wickets each, while Wade McQuinn, Keagan Hendey, and Tyler Cloete got rid of one batsman each.

Zuan Joubert, who entered the fray at the fall of the second wicket, was adjudged to be the Player of the Match after standing tall with a quickfire 51 from 28 deliveries, which ensured Helpies put a competitive total on the board after a lacklustre start to their innings.

The KES run chase started slowly, but McQuinn and Abdoullah Mohammed mounted an unbroken 64-run fifth-wicket partnership to shepherd them past the finishing line.

McQuinn top-scored for the Red Caps with an unbeaten 34 runs from 33 balls, while Mohammed finished on 33 not out from 35 deliveries.

Before they joined forces, the KES top four had mustered only 41 runs.

Summarised Scorecards

St Stithians 135/5 (Matthew Katzenstein 54, Thomas Collins 34; Austin van Jaarsveld 2/18, Kurt Lorch 2/28). Steyn City 115/9 (Keegan Smallbone 53, Joshua Michau 8; Nqaba Matunda 4/28, Tajendra Naidu 3/18, Zaakir Hanslo 2/16). St Stithians won by 20 runs.

Helpmekaar 120/9 (Zuan Joubert 51, Keegan van Schoor 24; Steele Grooteman 2/16, Ryan Erasmus 2/17, Connor Kuijers 2/19). King Edward VII 121/4 (Wade McQuinn 34*, Abdullah Mohammed 33*; Dominic Tait 2/26, Stefan Trumpelmann 2/28). King Edward VII won by six wickets.

On Thursday, the annual Independent Schools Cricket Festival will mark the beginning of the end of the 2025/26 schools’ cricket season. The festival features 20 teams, with 10 matches played each day across four days.

FIXTURES 

Thursday,  19 February 

St Alban’s College vs St Andrew’s College – TC Mithell Oval
Kingswood College vs Hilton College – Balyoi Oval
Kearsney College vs St John’s College – Murray Oval
Helpemkaar Kollege vs Clifton – Tuks Oval
St Stithians College vs Diocesan College – Tuks B
St Andrew’s School vs St David’s Marist Inanda – Tuks C
Prestige College vs Uplands College – Gijima Oval
Cornall Hill College vs St John’s College (Harare) – Van der Byl Oval
Michaelhouse vs Woodridge College – Parke de Terrace
St Benedict’s College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Landsend Oval

Friday, 20 February 

St Alban’s College vs Diocesan College – TC Mitchell Oval
St George’s College (Harare) vs Clifton – Baloyi Oval
St Andrew’s School vs Michaelhouse – Murray Oval
St David’s Marist Inanda vs St Andrew’s College – Tuks Oval
St John’s College vs Hilton College – Tuks B
St Benedict’s College vs Uplands College – Tuks C
Prestige College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Gijima Oval
Cornwall Hill College vs Woodridge College – Van der Byl Oval
St Stithians College vs Kearsney College – Parke de Terrace
Helpmekaar Kollege vs Kingswood College – Landsend Oval

Saturday, 21 February

St Alban’s College vs Kingswood College – TC Mitchell Oval
Helpmekaar Kollege vs Kearsney College – Baloyi Oval
St Andrew’s College vs Diocesan College – Murray Oval
St John’s College vs St Andrew’s School – Mitchell Field
St Stithians College vs Michaelhouse – Dlamini Oval
St David’s Marist Inanda vs Hilton College – La Valla Oval
St Benedict’s College vs Woodridge College – Temba Bavuma Oval
Cornwall Hill College vs Clifton – Van der Byl Oval
Uplands College vs St John’s College (Harare) – Parke de Terrace
Prestige College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Landsend Oval

Sunday, 22 February (T20) 

St Alban’s College vs Hilton College – TC Mitchell Oval
Kingswood College vs St George’s College (Harare) – Baloyi Oval
Kearsney College vs St John’s College (Harare) – Murray Oval
St John’s College vs Diocesan College – Mitchell Field
St Stithians College vs St Andrew’s College – Dlamini Oval
St David’s Marist Inanda vs Prestige College – La Valla Oval
St Benedict’s College vs Michaelhouse – Temba Bavuma Oval
Cornwall Hill College vs St Andrew’s School – Van der Byl Oval
Uplands College vs Helpmekaar Kollege – Parke de Terrace
Clifton vs Woodridge College – Landsend Oval