Blog

After being kept out of action because of extreme weather on the first day of the 64th Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week, most teams finally had a chance to commence the battle between bat and ball on Sunday.

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

St Charles College, spearheaded by an excellent all-round performance from Brendan Sunguro, flexed their muscles against Bloemfontein’s Grey College, claiming a comfortable five-wicket victory in Pietermaritzburg.

Sungoro led with both bat and ball. With Grey batting first, he captured 2/38 in eight overs to play a crucial role in restricting the Bloemfontein boys to only 164 all out.

Saints’ opening bowler Tristan Montile stole the show, knocking over 2/13 in six challenging overs. Pieter Smit looked the best of the Grey batsmen, notching 58 runs, while Dale Williams lent some much-needed support, with his 30 helping the visitors claw their way to a total that they would have a chance of defending.

A good start from Grey College’s opening bowler, Otto Krause, who claimed two early wickets, saw the home side wobble for a brief moment. Zimbabwean international, Sunguro, however, kept his nerve, knuckling down to contribute a match-winning batting performance of 72* from 97 deliveries.

His 91-run partnership with Kwanele Nqayi, who contributed 28 runs to their stand, proved to be the turning point in the innings as they got their side over the line in the 46th over.

At Eston, Pretoria Boys High School was unable to weather the “storm” produced by Northwood’s Mason Storm. He was all over the team from up north, sending six Boys High batsmen packing. Storm was not only penetrative, but he was also economical, conceding only 15 runs from his six overs.

Opening bowler, Nqobani Mokoena, did his bit, claiming 2/16 as only Tim Gordon, with 34, offered decent resistance. Unfortunately for Boys High, that made up almost half of their total and they were bowled out for a disappointing 78 all out.

A quickfire 24* from 12 deliveries from Mfanafuthi Shange in the middle order, and a composed 21 not out from Thayin Kuppan, saw the Knights cruise to a convincing seven-wicket victory in the 14th over.

A strong bowling performance by Paul Roos Gimnasium, led by Neil Barnard’s 3/41 in his eight overs saw them claim a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over St Alban’s College. Combined with contributions of 2/18 by Callum Apollis and 2/27 by Keauno Williams, the side from Stellenbosch restricted their opponents from up north to only 154.

Patrick Weir was mostly responsible for the bulk of the runs with his contribution of 66 runs. Paul Roos’ openers, however, didn’t hang around as they made light work of the chase, combining for a 151-run partnership.

Luca Plekker showed his stroke-making ability, doing most of the work with his 87* from only 74 balls. Ruben Coetzee did his part, anchoring the innings on his side with a mature 55 from 85 deliveries which saw their team home within 27 overs.

Hoërskool Waterkloof and Westville Boys’ High missed out on another day’s action as their match was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Summarised scorecards 

Grey College 164/10 (Pieter Smit 58, Dale Williams 30, Henru de Wet 23; Tristan Montile 2/13, Brendon Sunguro 2/38); St Charles College 167/5 (Brendon Sunguro 72*, Kwanele Nqayi 28; Otto Krause 2/18). St Charles College won by five wickets.

Pretoria Boys High School 78/10 (Tim Gordon 34; Mason Storm 6/15, Nqobani Mokoena 2/16); Northwood 79/3 (Mfanafuthi Shange 24*, Thayin Kuppan 21*; Grant Spencer 2/19). Northwood won by seven wickets.

St Alban’s College 154 (Patrick Weir 66, Ethan Nel 27, Kyle Block 21; Neil Barnard 3/41, Callum Appollis 2/18, Keauno Williams 2/27); Paul Roos Gimnasium 155/1 (Luca Plekker 87*, Ruben Coetzee 55; Kyle Earl 1/31). Paul Roos Gimnasium won by nine wickets.

Muhammed Bulbulia was in imperious form, notching his first century of the tour to help South Africa u19 Emerging to a convincing 120-run victory over Zimbabwe u19 Emerging in their 50-over match at Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo, on Sunday.

South Africa, who won the toss and elected to bat first, rumbled to 333/6 before rolling over Zimbabwe for 213. South Africa now leads the series 2-0, after registering an eight-wicket win over the hosts in their first match.

Bulbulia picked up from where he left off in the opener. In that contest, the Fields College learner scored an unbeaten half-century as South Africa made light work of the total set for them by their hosts. This time around, Bulbulia cracked 10 fours and two sixes on his way to 135 off 129 deliveries.

His 63-run opening partnership with Adnaan Lagadien (34) gave the visitors a solid platform to build from. The 18-year-old then followed that up with a brilliant 80-run second-wicket stand with Jason Rowles (45). South Africa’s strength in the innings was their top order’s ability to string together substantial partnerships.

After Rowles’ dismissal, Bulbulia shared a 100-run partnership with Paul James. With Bulbulia anchoring the innings in his self-assured manner, all of his partners found the freedom to express themselves. James scored a superb 50 from 54 balls as the two batted together until the 41st over.

Lethabo Phahlamohlaka, Jorich van Schalkwyk, Ben Hockly, and JJ Basson all came in to bat in the last nine overs with the instruction to hit the ball out of the park as the visitors romped to an insurmountable total.

Kirby Madharamete was Zimbabwe’s best bowler, with four wickets for 62 runs, while Matthew Martel and Keith Mabhena bagged a wicket each.

Basson dealt Zimbabwe’s hopes of chasing down the total a crippling double blow in the first over of their innings. The left-arm quick dismissed Rowyn Konson and Dhruv Patel with his third and fifth deliveries. The hosts mounted a fightback with a 53-run third-wicket partnership between Leeroy Chiwaula and Kupakwashe Muradzi.

Rowan Rajah then took a leaf from Basson’s book and delivered a double blow to Zimbabwe’s effort with the dismissals of Chiwaula and Muradzi in the 10th over. The hosts’ propensity to lose wickets in clumps meant that they never made things difficult for the visitors.

Simbarashe Mudzengerere put up a spirited resistance with a well-made 75 from 87 deliveries. However, his single-handed effort was not enough to bring his side close to South Africa’s total.

JJ Basson was the pick of the South African bowlers, with four wickets for 48 runs in 9.1 overs. The left-arm pacer was well-supported by Rowan Rajah and Luke Kleinsmith, who bagged a brace of wickets each. Dayalan Boyce and Paul James dismissed one batsman each.

Summarised Scorecard

South Africa u19 Emerging 333/6 (Muhammed Bulbulia 135, Paul James 51; Kriby Madharamete 4/62); Zimbabwe u19 Emerging  213/10 (Simbarashe Mudzengerere 75, Leeroy Chiwaula 32; JJ Basson 4/48, Rowan Rajah 2/14). South Africa u19 Emerging won by 120 runs.

Maritzburg College and Affies delivered a thrilling run-fest in a T20 clash on Goldstone’s on Sunday, with a late innings onslaught lifting Affies to 187/4, which proved enough for a tension-filled 14-run victory at the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week.

With rain having prevented play on Saturday, College captain Chad Mason chose to bowl first, hoping that an unpredictable pitch would work in favour of his team. Early on, it did, as Affies scratched their way to 45/2 after 8.2 overs, with the openers out – Henré Smith, for seven from 23, and JP Botha, for 18 from 18.

Vihan Pretorius continued his fine season in partnership with captain Divan de Villiers, and the duo added 57 for the third wicket in 5.5 overs before De Villiers fell to a combination of Michael Gibson and Oliver Da Costa for 22 from 18.

Pretorius went on to make 43 from 32, with three sixes and two fours, but when he was dismissed, with 4.2 overs remaining, Affies had a middling score of 113/4.

Unfortunately for Maritzburg College, that brought Ruan Groenewald and Janco Purchase together and they launched an extraordinary assault on the College bowling, adding 74 in only 28 balls.

Groenewald led the way, smashing six sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 51 from just 18 balls, while Purchase, who had led the Affies’ 1st XV to victory on Goldstone’s in July in one of the games of the season, launched two sixes of his own and added a four as he contributed 22 not out from 13 balls.

Ryan McKean was the best of the College bowlers, returning 1/31 from four overs, Oliver Da Costa took 1/18 in two, and Reece Willson did good work, going at only five runs an over from the three he bowled. In the context of the innings, it was an outstanding job.

Maritzburg College needed to score at 9.4 runs per over to win. It was a tall order, but they gave it a good go, eventually finishing on 173 for 7.

Their innings was built around a superb knock from opening batsman Llewellyn Sutherland. The Batsman of the Festival at the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, but off his game in the recent St John’s Rams T20, Sutherland returned to his best form when it was most needed. He spent 55 balls at the crease, struck nine fours and four sixes, and put College in with a shot at the death. When he was run out by Purchase – a pivotal play in the game – the total was 160/5 and 11 deliveries remained.

College didn’t quite have enough, but they had made a good fist of it.

Captain Chad Mason, remarkably consistent, weighed in with 35 from 30, with three fours and a six, and put on 69 for the second wicket with Sutherland. Unfortunately for the home side, another innings of substance was needed and they didn’t get it.

Divan de Villiers led the Affies’ attack, claiming 2/32 in four, while Armin Snyman‘s 1/26, also in four, was a useful economical return. Ruben Groenewald picked up two wickets, but he was given some of his own medicine, going for 43 runs from his four overs.

Summarised scorecard

Affies 187/4 (Ruben Groenewald 51*, Vihan Pretorius 43, Janco Purchase 22*, O/ Da Costa 1/18, R. McKean 1/31); Maritzburg College 173/7 (Llewellyn Sutherland 86, Chad Mason 35, Divan de Villiers 2/32, Ruben Groenewald 2/43, Armin Snyman 1/26). Affies won by 14 runs.

Forced to move from Collegians to Merchiston because of a wet field, St Stithians College and Kearsney College delivered a rip-roaring 25-overs-a-side clash on Sunday afternoon, with the Botha’s Hill bunch chasing down St Stithians’ very challenging 247/7 to win by three wickets with four balls to spare.

Having won the toss, Saints elected to bat and went with Richard Seletswane and Liam Mudenda up front. After Mudenda departed in the first over, Seletswane and Emile Odendaal took it to the Kearsney bowlers, sharing a 94-run stand for the second wicket in only 9.2 overs.

It took a run out to end the damage, with Cameron Veenstra bringing about Odendaal’s demise after an aggressive knock. He faced only 25 balls but struck eight fours and three sixes in making 53.

Seletswane hung around for less than two more overs, but he helped advance the score to 118 before was the third man out, caught by Murray Weyer off the leg-spin of Asavela Khambule for 54 from 41. His innings had included four sixes and three fours.

Tahseen Hanslo also struck more sixes than fours as he bashed his way to the innings’ top score of 64 from 35 deliveries, with five sixes and four fours.

Further useful knocks by Aiden van der Westhuizen, with 22 from 12, and Cayden Sunker, with 17 from eight, boosted Saints to 247/7, at a very healthy 9.9 runs per over.

Kearsney’s bowlers came in for some stick, but Murray Weyer, with 2/31 from four, and Jack O’Donovan, with 2/33 from five, did a good job in the face of the big-hitting approach of their opponents.

It was going to take a special effort to chase down the Saints’ total, but Kearsney had, in O’Donovan, an in-form batsman who had topped the batting charts in the St John’s Rams T20 in Zimbabwe last weekend, scoring plenty of runs at a rapid rate.

He picked up from where he had left off and received fine support from Jason de Gryse, who smashed three sixes and a four in an entertaining eight-ball stay, which brought him 24 runs and saw Kearsney to 43 before he was the first man out only two balls into the third over.

O’Donovan, meanwhile, played both an anchor innings and an importantly hasty knock, contributing 64 from 34 deliveries, five of which went for six and another four for four, before he was the fifth man out in the 15th over, which left Matt Savage‘s charges on 146/5.

They needed another telling contribution and they got it from Murray Weyer, while Cole Young weighed in with an important 27 runs from only 13 deliveries, which included three fours.

After Young’s departure, Weyer continued meeting the challenge, delivering when it was most needed, with a quick-fire 53 from 33 balls, which included four fours and four sixes. With Kearsney closing in on victory, however, he was out in the 23rd over.

Keegan de Jager stayed on until the end, finishing with 21 not out from 21, but it was Asavela Khambule whose brave hitting powered Kearsney over the line. In just six balls, he blasted 17 not out, launching one delivery for a six and another two into the boundary, to see his side to a victory which was a credit to their positive approach to a stern challenge.

In the face of a big onslaught, Rushil Bhulla shone with the ball, claiming 2/29 from five overs. Tendai Kadayamadare also picked up two wickets from five, but he went at nine runs an over.

Tahseen Hanslo, who had punished the Kearsney bowlers, was on the receiving end, with his three overs going for 50, although he did remove Cole Young.

At Woodlands, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Hub XI put on a fine show, cruising to a 58-run victory over Jeppe in a T20 clash. It was an impressive performance with both bat and ball from the composite side.

Batting first, they tallied an excellent 195/2. Sabelo Mabanga and Nkosibonile Sibisi set them on their way with a rapid opening partnership of 88 off of only 7.4 overs. Christopher Elston had Sibisi caught for 34 from 25, with four fours and two sixes, but Jeppe was on the back foot.

Jevohndre Jacobs, when he took over from Sibisi, made sure it stayed that way. He and Sabelo added 65 in eight overs before the opener was caught by Matthew Costa off the bowling of Luke Kent-Brown for an outstanding 78 from 52 balls. His big knock had included seven sixes and four fours.

Matthew Florence joined forces with Jacobs and tacked on another 42 runs before the CSA Hub XI ran out of overs. Jacobs finished with 41* from 32, while Florence was on 19* from 14.

Christoper Elston, with 1/28 in four, was the best of the Jeppe bowlers.

Needing to score at 9.8 runs per over to win, Jeppe suffered an early setback when Kai van Aardt was dismissed for four. Unfortunately, for the Johannesburg side, a number of other top-order batsmen failed to fire, too. Only Ryan Young, with a defiant 50 from 29 balls, with seven fours and a six, stood firm against the CSA Hub XI’s bowling.

When he was dismissed, Jeppe was on 93/6 after 13 overs, still needing more than 100 runs to win at over 14 to the over. They didn’t come close. In the end, they were all out for 137, with 20 from Matthew Costa proving to be their second-highest score.

Orephemetse Seroke destroyed the Jeppe run chase, capturing 4/14 in three, while Rivhoninga Chauke, with 3/21 in three, and Sabela Mabanga, with 2/13 in two, heaped more misery on Jeppe as the CSA Hub XI scored a superb victory.

Summarised scorecards

St Stithians College 247/7 (Tahseen Hanslo 64, Richard Seletswane 54, Emile Odendaal 53, Murray Weyer 2/31, Jack O’Donovan 2/33); Kearsney College 249/7 (Jack O’Donovan 64, Murray Weyer 53, Cole Young 27, Rushil Bhulla 2/29, Tendai Kadayamadare 2/45). Kearsney won by three wickets.

CSA Hub XI 195/2 (Sabelo Mabanga 78, Jevohndre Jacobs 41*, Nkosibonile Sibisi 34); Jeppe 137/10 (Ryan Young 50, Matthew Costa 20, Orephemetse Seroke 4/14, Rivhoninga Chauke 3/21, Sabela Mabanga 2/13). CSA Hub XI won by 58 runs.

Day two of the annual SACS Water Polo Tournament, proudly sponsored by Hussar Grill, delivered a number of upsets, but the favourites, who began the tournament on a high, continued their dominance ahead of the final day in the pool.

Saturday’s matches finished with four teams unbeaten after four matches each, but as fatigue crept in on day two the only team to maintain that unbeaten status was Bishops Diocesan College.

They played a further four matches on Sunday, winning three of them – 3-0 against St David’s Marist Inanda, 4-2 against Hilton College, and 5-3 against Jeppe High School for Boys.

They were, however, held to an exciting 5-5 draw by  St Stithians College. Despite that result, coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s side qualified for the quarterfinals with one pool match remaining on Monday against their great rivals, Rondebosch Boys’ High.

Speaking of ‘Bosch and Saints, both teams remain in contention for the last eight after recording impressive results on day two.

In Pool B, they sit behind Bishops, who have 15 points, with 14 and 13 points respectively, after losing one match each on Sunday. Saints went down 1-4 to Clifton, but they were on the right end of the result when they beat Rondebosch 6-1.

Hilton College, after eight matches, is in fourth place in Pool B with 10 points, following five victories and three defeats. Behind them, in fifth, on eight points, is Clifton College, who have been somewhat up and down. Third last year, they now need to rely on bottom of the pool Grey College beating Hilton on Monday to see them through to the quarterfinals. That seems unlikely.

There was plenty of drama in Pool A on Sunday, which, when it was done, left two teams fighting it out for fourth place and a spot in the last eight.

Selborne College, who enjoyed a strong opening day, find themselves in fifth place, on nine points, and at risk of missing out on the quarterfinals for a second year running.

The East London side came up a little short, facing a tough slate of games. They went 2-5 down to Wynberg Boys’ High, lost 2-3 against St John’s College, and drew 4-4 with SACS before defeating St Alban’s College 6-1.

After Sunday’s action, the top four teams in Pool A are, in order, St John’s College, with 14 points, SACS, with 13, who lead Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) on goal difference, and Wynberg Boys’ High, on 11.

St John’s continued their strong form, losing only one match on the day by a single goal against Paul Roos, while SACS and PRG, last year’s finalists, picked up crucial wins to nail down quarterfinals places with one pool match to go.

There will be 10 matches played on Monday, five in each pool, before the tournament enters its business end with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final, which is scheduled for 14:30.

All the action will be LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

DAY 2 | RESULTS

September 22, 2024	GREY PE vs JEPPE	4 – 6	POOL B
September 22, 2024	BISHOPS vs ST DAVID’S	3 – 0	POOL B
September 22, 2024	ST STITHIANS vs CLIFTON	1 – 4	POOL B
September 22, 2024	SELBORNE vs WYNBERG	2 – 5	POOL A
September 22, 2024	ST ANDREW’S vs SACS	3 – 4	POOL A
September 22, 2024	ST BENEDICTS vs ST ALBANS	2 – 2	POOL A
September 22, 2024	ST JOHN’S vs PAUL ROOS	4 – 5	POOL A
September 22, 2024	PRETORIA BOYS vs GREY COLLEGE	3 – 2	POOL B
September 22, 2024	NORTHWOOD vs PARKTOWN	5 – 0	POOL A
September 22, 2024	SELBORNE vs SACS	4 – 4	POOL A
September 22, 2024	RONDEBOSCH vs HILTON	5 – 3	POOL B
September 22, 2024	ST DAVID’S vs GREY PE	5 – 3	POOL B
September 22, 2024	ST JOHN’S vs ST ANDREW’S	8 – 4	POOL A
September 22, 2024	NORTHWOOD vs ST ALBAN’S	4 – 1	POOL A
September 22, 2024	PRETORIA BOYS vs JEPPE	4 – 4	POOL B
September 22, 2024	BISHOPS vs HILTON	4 – 2	POOL B
September 22, 2024	WYNBERG vs ST BENEDICT’S	3 – 2	POOL A
September 22, 2024	PAUL ROOS vs PARKTOWN	9 – 0	POOL A
September 22, 2024	ST STITHIANS vs RONDEBOSCH	6 – 1	POOL B
September 22, 2024	CLIFTON vs GREY COLLEGE	8 – 1	POOL B
September 22, 2024	SELBORNE vs ST JOHN’S	2 – 3	POOL A
September 22, 2024	WYNBERG vs ST ALBAN’S	3 – 1	POOL A
September 22, 2024	ST DAVID’S vs JEPPE	5 – 4	POOL B
September 22, 2024	SACS vs ST BENEDICT’S	11 – 2	POOL A
September 22, 2024	PAUL ROOS vs NORTHWOOD	4 – 3	POOL A
September 22, 2024	BISHOPS vs ST STITHIANS	5 – 5	POOL B
September 22, 2024	HILTON vs GREY PE	9 – 3	POOL B
September 22, 2024	CLIFTON vs PRETORIA BOYS	8 – 4	POOL B
September 22, 2024	ST JOHN’S vs PARKTOWN	12 – 0	POOL A
September 22, 2024	SELBORNE vs ST ALBAN’S	6 – 1	POOL A
September 22, 2024	RONDEBOSCH vs GREY COLLEGE	7 – 1	POOL B
September 22, 2024	ST ANDREW’S vs ST BENEDICT’S	4 – 3	POOL A
September 22, 2024	BISHOPS vs JEPPE	5 – 3	POOL B
September 22, 2024	SACS vs NORTHWOOD	6 – 3	POOL A
September 22, 2024	HILTON vs PRETORIA BOYS	9 – 4	POOL B
September 22, 2024	CLIFTON vs ST DAVID’S	1 – 3	POOL B
September 22, 2024	RONDEBOSCH vs GREY PE	3 – 1	POOL B
September 22, 2024	PAUL ROOS vs WYNBERG	2 – 2	POOL A
September 22, 2024	ST ANDREW’S vs PARKTOWN	7 – 1	POOL A
September 22, 2024	ST STITHIAN’S vs GREY COLLEGE	9-1	POOL B

Click HERE for day three’s fixtures.

Murray Hall-Jones scored a fluent half-century to set Michaelhouse up for a 122-run win over St David’s Marist Inanda in their Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week match at Michaelhouse on Sunday, while, in Pietermaritzburg, Clifton College overcame St John’s College by six wickets.

The two matches were supposed to be played over 50 overs, but they were reduced to 40 overs a side after wintry and wet weather prevented play on Saturday and affected the playing surfaces of the venues, resulting in delayed starts on Sunday.

Hall-Jones creamed seven fours and a single six on his way to a 51-ball 57, which helped boost Michaelhouse to a total of 258/8 on the Roy Gathorne Oval in Balgowan.

The number three batsman was the match’s leading scorer, with no one else managing more than 40. Morteza Manack’s 37 was the highest individual score for St David’s, who were bowled out for 136 in 33 overs.

Hall-Jones arrived at the crease after Michael Spencer and Sebastien Hofmeyr gave the home side a 42-run start. His second-wicket stand with Hofmeyr lasted only 3.4 overs, with Hofmeyr’s departure bringing Dylan Hewlett out to the middle. The pair, then, shared a 48-run third wicket stand that set Michaelhouse on course for a match-winning total.

The home side could have reached a more imposing score had they not lost wickets at regular intervals. On the other hand, St David’s could have given themselves a better shot at victory had they not conceded 26 extras. Kyle Buttler was the biggest offender with two wides and nine no-balls. Keamogelo Phiri also conceded nine wides.

Shaiyen Desai was St David’s most successful bowler with two wickets for 36 runs from eight overs.

Chasing 259 for victory, St David’s lost their first wicket in the sixth over and never quite recovered from that blow. The stop-start nature of their innings meant that they were unable to build the momentum they needed to wrestle control from the hosts.

Ross Moller led Michaelhouse’s bowling effort with three wickets for 14 runs in seven overs. Radhesh Jhilmeet also snapped up three wickets but conceded 26 runs from his five overs. Ethan Muir bagged a brace, and Jean-Luc Rey and Sebastien Hofmeyer claimed a wicket each.

At UKZN, in Pietermaritzburg, Tim Saulez scored a masterful half-century as he masterminded Clifton’s successful run chase in their match against St John’s College. When he arrived at the crease, Clifton was on 61/3, chasing the Johannesburg school’s total of 183. Before him, Hayden Drieselmann had scored a well-paced 44 off 48 to kick off his side’s successful batting effort.

Byron Ward (5) and Shahzaad Perumal (12) failed to settle in and the responsibility of seeing Clifton home fell to Saulez, who carved a brilliant unbeaten 80 off of 68 deliveries, and Zach Williamson, who weighed in with an unbeaten 26.

The St John’s total of 183 came courtesy of a valiant one-man fightback from Joe MacRobert. The 18-year-old scored an outstanding 70 off 63 but received little support from his teammates. Alec Loveland‘s 25 was their next-best effort.

Clifton’s Shahzaad Perumal was the most successful bowler of the contest, snaring four wickets for 31 runs from eight overs. He was well supported by Saulez, who bagged a brace, while Regan Radley, Zach Williamson, and Shiraz Perumal removed a batsman each.

Summarised Scorecards

Michaelhouse 258/8 (Murray Hall-Jones 57, Sebastien Hofmeyer 32; Shaiyen Desai 2/36, Morteza Manack 1/34) St David’s 136/10 (Morteza Manack 37, Samrat Basu 24; Ross Moller 3/14, Radhesh Jhilmeet 3/26) Michaelhouse won by 122 runs.

St John’s 183/10 (Joe Macrobert 70, Alec Loveland 25; Shahzaad Perumal 4/31, Tim Saulez 2/20) Clifton 184/4 (Tim Saulez 80*, Hayden Drieselmann 44; Kago Masote 2/36, Cole Francis 1/15) Clifton won by 6 wickets.

The hosts, Grey College, maintained their unbeaten record on Sunday, the second day of the Nedbank Grey Soccer Tournament, adding a victory and a draw to the two wins and a draw they secured on Saturday in Bloemfontein.

That solid record left Grey atop Group A after the group stage of the competition, which means they’re through to the Cup quarterfinals.

On Sunday, the Bloemfontein boys drew 1-1 with George Royal Academy and then scored a 2-1 win over Victoria Park in their second outing. They’ll face Wynberg Boys’ High in the playoffs after the Cape Town school finished second in Group B.

Brebner claimed first place in the group after a goalless draw with Wynberg and a 1-0 win over Jeppe. Wynberg was also held to a goalless draw by Parktown Boys’ High.

With some captivating football, Navalsig secured the top position in Group C. Their reward is a showdown with Kimberley Boys’ High, second in Group D, in the Cup quarterfinals. On Sunday, Navalsig edged out Westville Boys’ High 2-1. They, then, scored a convincing 2-0 win against Norkem Park High School.

Despite their loss to Navalsig, Westville also advanced to the Cup quarters, where they will take on the Group D top dogs, Robinvale. After posting a win and a draw on Saturday, Robinvale beat Empangeni High School 3-1, King Edward VII (KES) 2-1, and drew 2-2 with Hodisa Technical High School on Sunday.

Monday’s action will feature the playoffs in the Cup, Plate, and Bowl competitions.

RESULTS

Group A

Durban High School 3-1 Pretoria Boys High School
St Stithians 4-2 Victoria Park
Grey College 1-1 George Royal Academy
George Royal Academy 3-2 Pretoria Boys High
Grey College 2-1 Victoria Park
St Stithians College 5-1 Durban High School

Group B

Parktown High School 4-0 Curro Bloemfontein
Jeppe 1-0 Glenwood High School
Brebner High School 1-1 Wynberg Boys’ High
Wynberg 0-0 Parktown Boys’ High School
Brebner High School 1-0 Jeppe High School
Glenwood High School 1-1 Curro Bloemfontein

Group C

St David’s Marist Inanda 2-1 Bloemfontein South
Norkem Park High School 1-1 St Andrew’s School
Navalsig 2-1 Westville Boys’ High School
Norkem Park High 3-0 Bloemfontein South
Westville Boys’ High 3-2 St David’s Marist Inanda
Navalsig 3-0 St Andrew’s School
Navalsig 2-0 Norkem Park High School
St David’s Marist Inanda 7-3 St Andrew’s Bloemfontein
Westville Boys’ High School 4-1 Bloemfontein South

Group D

HTS Louis Botha 2-2 Kimberley Boys High
Hodisa Technical High School 2-0 King Edward VII School
Robinvale 3-1 Empangeni High School
HTS Louis Botha 1-1 King Edward VII School
Kimberley Boys High School 2-0 Empangeni High School
Robinvale 2-2 Hodisa Technical High School
Robinvale 2-1 King Edward VII School
Kimberley Boys’ High 3-1 Hodisa Technical High School
HTS Louis Botha 1-0 Empangeni High School

FIXTURES

Monday, 23 September

Bowl 1/4 Finals 

Field 1 (I)	08:00 – 09:15	Durban High School (5th in Group A)	Curro (6th in Group B)
Field 2 (J)	08:00 – 09:15	Victoria Park (6th in Group A)	King Edward VII (5th in Group B)
Field 3 (K)	08:00 – 09:15	Bloemfontein South (5th in Group C)	Empangeni High School (6th in Group D)
Field 4 (L)	08:00 – 09:15	St Andrew’s School (6th in Group C)	King Edward VII (5th in Group D)

Plate 1/4 Finals 

Field 1	09:30 -10:45	George Royal Academy (3rd in Group A)	Parktown Boys’ High (4th in Group B)
Field 2	09:30 -10:45	Pretoria Boys High (4th in Group A)	Jeppe (3rd in Group B)
Field 3	09:30 – 10:45	St David’s Marist Inanda (3rd in Group C)	Hodisa Technical High (4th in Group D)
Field 4	09:30 – 10:45	Norkem Park High School (4th in Group C)	HTS Louis Botha (3rd in Group D)

Cup Finals 1/4 Finals 

Field 1	11:00 – 12:15	Grey College (1st in Group A)	Wynberg Boys’ High (2nd in Group B)
Field 2	11:00 – 12:15	St Stithians College (2nd in Group B)	Brebner (1st in Group B)
Field 3	11:00 – 12:15	Navalsig (1st in Group C)	Kimberley Boys’ High (2nd in Group D)
Field 4	11:00 – 12:15	Westville Boys’ High (2nd in Group C)	Robinvale (1st in Group D)

 

Callum Ritchie was outstanding as King Edward VII School (KES) recorded an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Hilton College on day two of the 2024 edition of the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week on Sunday.

Almost 10km away, at Howick High School, Joshua van Biljon scored an unbeaten ton as Durban High School (DHS) overran Hudson Park, defeating the East London school by 178 runs.

Instead of playing 50-over matches, the teams had to adjust the length of their games based on what the venues allowed after rain fell throughout Saturday.

The KES-Hilton match was reduced to 40 overs, while the DHS-Hudson Park encounter was reduced to 39 overs a side.

KES, who were asked to bowl first by their hosts, bundled out Hilton for 99 runs in 25.4 overs, before chasing down the 100-run target in 18.1 overs for the loss of four wickets.

Ritchie, the captain, delivered an outstanding 2.4-over spell that turned the match around for KES. He also took three catches and was at the crease when his side cantered to victory to avenge a 129-run loss at Hilton during last year’s Michaelmas Week.

Matthew Burgess and Fayaz Vawda gave KES the perfect start by bagging three wickets in the first four overs of the match to put Hilton on the back foot. The home side attempted to rebuild through Simon Steyn (11) and Jayden Roux (37). However, the pair added only 30 runs to the total before their partnership was undone.

Roux then joined forces with Alex Pitman (26) to construct Hilton’s highest partnership, with their fifth-wicket stand producing 52 runs. When it ended, the hosts still appeared to have many more runs to score, with 20 overs to bat and six wickets in hand. However, KES had other ideas and what followed was something few could have foreseen.

Hilton collapsed in a monumental heap, going from 90/5 to 99/10 in the space of 5.4 overs, or 34 deliveries. Ritchie delivered the match-defining blow when he dismissed Roux in the 24th over. Ritchie also took the catches that ended the innings of  Ben Erasmus, Charles Swart, and Natenzi Denenga. 

Connor Kuijers was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for 21 runs in six overs. Burgess and Ritchie took two wickets each, while Vawda, Christian Sabela, and Wade Mcquinn bagged a scalp each.

Luke Clark top-scored for KES in their chase, with 28 off 26 balls. Troy Gordon was the second-highest scorer, with 17, but that proved impactful in pursuit of a small total. Ritchie (14*) and Zieg Roos (14*) remained unbeaten as they saw the Johannesburg side home.

In Howick, Joshua van Biljon smashed an unbeaten 100 of 99 balls (12×4) to steer DHS to a total of 234 for two in their tie against Hudson Park. Then, despite conceding 10 extras, DHS bowled out their opposition for a paltry 56 runs.

Van Biljon shared an unbroken 190-run third-wicket partnership with DHS skipper Semal Pillay, who was unbeaten on 82 off 101 deliveries. They had joined forces in the 10th over, following the dismissal of Ethan Cooper for 16.

DHS made light work of the Hudson Park batting lineup and needed only 17.5 overs to dismantle it. None of the Hudson Park batsmen reached double figures.

The wickets were shared around, with Cooper capturing 2/6 in three overs. Sbusiso Msibi, Dhilan Naraidu, and Taine Havemann also bagged two wickets apiece, while Jared Havemann and Pillay walked away with a wicket each.

Summarised Scorecards

Hilton College 99/10 (Jayden Roux 37, Alex Pitman 26; Connor Kuijers 3/21, Callum Ritchie 2/4, Matthew Burgess 2/18) KES 100/4 (Luke Clark 28, Troy Gordon 17, Callum Ritchie 14*, Zieg Rose 14*; Ethan van Heerden 2/25, Kyle Christie 1/16). KES won by 8 wickets.

DHS 234/2 (Joshua van Biljon 100*, Semal Pillay 82*) Hudson Park 56/10 (Ethan Cooper 2/6, Sbusiso Msibi 2/9) DHS won by 178 runs.

Gauteng’s St John’s College and St Stithians College, along with the Western Cape’s Bishops Diocesan College and Rondebosch Boys’ High, were the only teams to win all four of their matches on the opening day of the SACS Water Polo Tournament, proudly sponsored by Hussar Grill, in Cape Town on Saturday.

The tournament, which pits 20 of the best water polo-playing schools against each other, runs through to Monday, with the final scheduled for 14:30.

Catch all the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

The opening day, as expected, delivered fireworks as teams battled for position in their pools, while aiming to build momentum ahead of day two.

Pool A, which features last year’s champions and hosts, SACS, Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), Selborne College, and Wynberg Boys’ High, was dominated by St John’s College.

The Gauteng side, led by Jon-Marc de Carvalho and the experienced Vlado Trninic, was in top form and showed their dominance from the get-go, beating St Benedict’s College 7-1 in their opener.

They added another three wins, beating St Alban’s College 5-0, before edging out SACS, 5-4, and completing their day with a resounding 6-2 win over Wynberg Boys’ High.

Sunday sees St John’s take on Paul Roos, Parktown Boys’ High, Northwood, St Andrew’s College, and Selborne College.

There are three teams just behind St John’s in Pool A, Selborne College, SACS, and Paul Roos. They each managed three wins from their four outings.

Selborne lost 2-3 to Northwood later in the day, while PRG went down 1-4 against Selborne, and SACS lost to St John’s.

The bottom three teams on the Pool A log are Parktown Boys’ High and St Alban’s College, who are without a win, and Makhanda’s St Andrew’s College, who scored a win, a draw, and two defeats in their four outings.

Pool B has taken on a similar narrative to Pool A, although it includes three teams – Bishops, St Stithians College, and Rondebosch -with perfect records after Saturday’s heavy programme.

Coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s Bishops side is among the favourites and they didn’t disappoint, scoring four convincing victories, beating  Grey College 8-2, Grey High 7-3, Clifton College 4-1, and Pretoria Boys High 8-2.

St Stithians was also in top form. They opened their account with a 3-1 win against Grey High and followed up with a 7-0 win over Pretoria Boys’ High. Then, they sneaked a 4-3 win over Hilton College and won 5-1 against St David’s Marist Inanda.

Rondebosch also made it four wins out of four matches with a last-minute victory over Clifton College in the final match of the day.

The second day’s action at the SACS Aquatics Centre starts early on Sunday morning, with Grey High tackling Jeppe High School for Boys at 07:10.

GROUPS

Pool A: Northwood School, Parktown Boys’ High, Paul Roos Gimnasium, SACS, Selborne College, St Alban’s College, St Andrew’s College, St Benedict’s College, St John’s College, Wynberg Boys’ High.

Pool B: Bishops Diocesan College, Clifton College, Grey High School, Grey College, Hilton College, Jeppe High School for Boys, Pretoria Boys High, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St David’s Marist Inanda, St Stithians College.

DAY 1 | RESULTS

September 21, 2024	ST ANDREW’S vs NORTHWOOD	2 – 2	POOL A
September 21, 2024	SACS vs WYNBERG	4 – 3	POOL A
September 21, 2024	RONDEBOSCH vs PRETORIA BOYS	9 – 3	POOL B
September 21, 2024	HILTON vs ST DAVID’S	5 – 3	POOL B
September 21, 2024	SELBORNE vs PARKTOWN	8 – 0	POOL A
September 21, 2024	ST JOHN’S vs ST BENEDICT’S	7 – 1	POOL A
September 21, 2024	BISHOPS vs GREY COLLEGE	8 – 2	POOL B
September 21, 2024	ST STITHIANS vs GREY PE	3 – 1	POOL B
September 21, 2024	PAUL ROOS vs ST ALBAN’S	4 – 1	POOL A
September 21, 2024	WYNBERG vs NORTHWOOD	3 – 2	POOL A
September 21, 2024	CLIFTON vs JEPPE	4 – 3	POOL B
September 21, 2024	RONDEBOSCH vs ST DAVID’S	4 – 1	POOL B
September 21, 2024	SACS vs PARKTOWN	16 – 0	POOL A
September 21, 2024	PAUL ROOS vs ST BENEDICT’S	4 – 1	POOL A
September 21, 2024	ST STITHIANS vs PRETORIA BOYS	7 – 0	POOL B
September 21, 2024	BISHOPS vs GREY PE	7 – 3	POOL B
September 21, 2024	ST JOHN’S vs ST ALBAN’S	5 – 0	POOL A
September 21, 2024	SELBORNE vs ST ANDREW’S	6 – 4	POOL A
September 21, 2024	GREY COLLEGE vs JEPPE	2 – 5	POOL B
September 21, 2024	HILTON vs CLIFTON	5 – 2	POOL B
September 21, 2024	WYNBERG vs PARKTOWN	12 – 0	POOL A
September 21, 2024	ST JOHN’S vs SACS	5 – 4	POOL A
September 21, 2024	PRETORIA BOYS vs GREY PE	4 – 4	POOL B
September 21, 2024	RONDEBOSCH vs JEPPE	6 – 2	POOL B
September 21, 2024	ST ANDREW’S vs ST ALBAN’S	1 – 0	POOL A
September 21, 2024	SELBORNE vs PAUL ROOS	4 – 1	POOL A
September 21, 2024	BISHOPS vs CLIFTON	4 – 1	POOL B
September 21, 2024	ST STITHIANS vs HILTON	4 – 3	POOL B
September 21, 2024	NORTHWOOD vs ST BENEDICT’S	3 – 4	POOL A
September 21, 2024	ST JOHN’S vs WYNBERG	6 – 2	POOL A
September 21, 2024	ST DAVID’S vs GREY COLLEGE	5 – 2	POOL B
September 21, 2024	ST ANDREW’S vs PAUL ROOS	1 – 2	POOL A
September 21, 2024	HILTON vs JEPPE	8 – 3	POOL B
September 21, 2024	SELBORNE vs NORTHWOOD	2 – 3	POOL A
September 21, 2024	BISHOPS vs PRETORIA BOYS	8 – 2	POOL B
September 21, 2024	ST STITHIANS vs ST DAVID’S	5 – 1	POOL B
September 21, 2024	GREY PE vs GREY COLLEGE	4 – 4	POOL B
September 21, 2024	ST BENEDICT’S vs PARKTOWN	6 – 2	POOL A
September 21, 2024	SACS vs ST ALBAN’S	6 – 1	POOL A
September 21, 2024	RONDEBOSCH vs CLIFTON	5 – 4	POOL B

Click HERE for day two’s fixtures.

The hosts enjoyed a strong opening day of the Nedbank Grey College Soccer Tournament in Bloemfontein on Saturday, recording two wins and a draw, including a 2-1 victory over the 2023 champions, St Stithians College.

It wasn’t a good day for the champs, who were also beaten by Pretoria Boys High, going down 0-2 in that contest, but they finished it off with a narrow 3-2 win over George Royal Academy.

In 2023, Grey finished eighth in the 24-team field, and they’ll be eager to challenge for higher honours this time around. They’ve made a good start.

Boys High matched the home side with a record of two wins and a draw after the opening day, and that draw came when the two sides met.

George Royal Academy is poised to pounce if either Grey or Pretoria Boys High slips up. They blew through Victoria Park 4-0 and beat Durban High School (DHS) 3-1 before falling to St Stithians.

Brebner, one of the local top teams, who finished third in 2023, recorded two wins and a draw in Group B, beating Curro Bloemfontein and Glenwood in tight contests without conceding a goal before being held to a 1-1 draw by Parktown Boys’ High.

Wynberg, sixth in 2023, beat Jeppe, last year’s fourth-place finishers, 2-0 and Glenwood 3-1, while they drew 2-2 with Curro, so they’re set to challenge for a place at the top of the group.

While Jeppe went down to Wynberg, they followed up with wins over Parktown and Curro, so they’re still in the running to progress to the Cup playoffs.

Westville Boys’ High, who were beaten in the Bowl final last year, after losing four matches by a single goal, enjoyed far better fortunes on Saturday. Playing in Group C, they rolled to a 2-0 win over Norkem Park High and a 3-0 defeat of Bloemfontein’s St Andrew’s School.

As matters stand after day one, two more local teams, Bloemfontein South and Navalsig, are breathing down Westville’s neck in the group. Bloem South won 2-1 against St Andrew’s and Navalsig handed St David’s Marist Inanda a 2-0 loss before the two winners drew 1-1.

In Group D, last year’s runners-up, HTS Louis Botha, recorded a 3-2 win over Hodisa Technical High School before being held to a goalless draw by Robinvale.

King Edward VII (KES), fifth last year, opened their challenge with a 3-1 win over Empangeni High School. They were, however, beaten 1-0 by Kimberley Boys’ High next time out.

Matters in Group D are the tightest of any pool. All of the teams have played twice and their records stand at either a win and a draw or a win and a loss.

There’s plenty to play for on Sunday.

RESULTS

Group A 

George Royal Academy 4-0 Victoria Park
Pretoria Boys High 2-0 St Stithians College
Grey College 3-0 Durban High School
Grey College 2-1 St Stithians College
George Royal Academy 3-1 Durban High School
Pretoria Boys High 3-2 Victoria Park
Durban High School 3-3 Victoria Park
Grey College 1-1 Pretoria Boys High
St Stithians College 3-2 George Royal Academy

Group B

Wynberg Boys High School 2-0 Jeppe High School
Glenwood High School 2-1 Parktown High School
Brebner High School 1-0 Curro Bloemfontein
Brebner High School 2-0 Glenwood High School
Wynberg High School 2-2 Curro Bloemfontein
Jeppe 2-1 Parktown School
Jeppe 2-0 Curro Bloemfontein
Wynberg Boys High 3-1 Glenwood High School
Brebner 1-1 Parktown High School

Group C

Navalsig 2-0 St Davids Marist Inanda
Westville Boys High School 2-0 Norkem Park High School
Bloem South 2-1 St Andrew’s Bloemfontein
Westville Boys High 3-0 St Andrew’s Bloemfontein
Navalsig 1-1 Bloem South
St David’s Marist Inanda 0-0 Norkem Park High School

Group D

Robinvale 3-2 Kimberley Boys High
King Edward VII School 3-1 Empangeni High School
HTS Louis Botha 3-2 Hodisa Technical High School
Hodisa Technical High School 2-1 Empangeni High School
Kimberley Boys High School 1-0 King Edward VII School
HTS Louis Botha 0-0 Robinvale