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After three days of high-flying action at The King’s School Linbro Park Basketball Tournament, the u13 and u18 titles were decided, with the Elite Sporting and Cultural Academy (ESCA) Wanderers claiming gold in the u18 boys’ division on Sunday.

They dominated St Benedict’s College in the final, storming their way to a convincing 41-26 victory.

Earlier in the day, in the semifinals, ESCA outplayed the hosts, King’s Linbro, 35-19, while Bennies eked out a thrilling 44-43 win over King Edward VII School (KES) after a tense and frantic contest.

Those defeats left King’s Linbro and KES to battle it out for the bronze, and it was the hosts who came away with the medals after securing a hard-fought 28-24 win.

In the girls’ division, Saheti School finished the tournament with a decisive 29-6 win over HeronBridge College in the final. Earlier, in the round-robin phase, Saheti had dominated HeronBridge and it was no different in the title game, as Saheti cruised to victory.

King’s Linbro picked up another bronze medal, holding off Reddam House Helderfontein 21-17 in their playoff game.

Victory in the boys’ u13 division went the way of Saheti, who turned on the style to power their way to a 28-8 win over the American International School of Johannesburg (AISJ) in the final.

Saheti had cruised into the title decider after defeating Redhill School 39-14 in the semifinals. AISJ, meanwhile, scraped a 33-32 win over King’s Linbro in their final four clash.

In a recurring theme, King’s Linbro finished in the bronze medal position again after they beat Redhill School 30-18.

Victory, however, went the way of King’s Linbro in the u13 girls’ division, thanks to a tightly contested 23-18 win over Saheti in the final.

In the bronze playoff, HeronBridge College held off Redhill School 19-15.

RESULTS

BOYS’ u18

Semifinals 

ESCA Wanderers 35-19 King’s Linbro
St Benedict’s College 44-43 KES

Bronze Playoff

King’s Linbro 28-24 KES

Final

ESCA Wanderers 41-26 St Benedict’s College

5th/6th

St John’s College A 31-28 St John’s College B

7th/8th

Parktown Boys’ High 33-18 Saheti

9th/10th

Reddam House Helderfontein 22-19 HeronBridge College

11th/12th

Missing results: Curro Savannah vs Croydon House School

GIRLS’ u18 

Bronze Playoff 

King’s Linbro 21-17 Reddam House

Final

Saheti 29-6 HeronBridge College

BOYS’ u13 

Semifinals

AISJ 33-32 King’s Linbro
Saheti 39-14 Redhill

Bronze Playoff 

King’s Linbro 30-18 Redhill

Final

Saheti 28-8 AISJ

GIRLS’ u13

Bronze Playoff

HeronBridge 19-15 Redhill

Final

King’s Linbro 23-18 Saheti

ALL STAR TEAMS AND AWARDS WINNERS

u18 Boys’ All-Stars 

L. Mavimbela – ESCA Wanderers
B. Makedro – St Benedict’s College
M. Okeke – The King’s School Linbro Park
M. Umbangoy – KES

u18 Boys’ MVP

Siyabonga Mashaba – ESCA Wanderers

u18 Girls’ All-Stars 

L. Basadien – Saheti School
C. Okuma – The King’s School Linbro Park
Seletswang – Redda House Helderfontein
Z. Ratshikuni – HeronBridge College

u18 Girls’ MVP

N. Makhuba – Saheti

u13 All Star Team

K. Mohale – The King’s School Linbro Park
Z. Dousas – Saheti School
B. Mashimby – HeronBridge College
E. Royal – Redhill School

u13 Girls’ MVP 

A. Maluleke – The King’s School Linbro Park

u13 Boys’ All Stars

S. Langa – AISJ
Lyema – Saheti School
P.Okeke – The King’s School Linbro Park
L. Frenkel – Redhill School

u13 Boys’ MVP

Palmer – Saheti

‘n Afgeronde spanpoging, aanvanklik deur Hoërskool Secunda se kolwers en daarna twee van sy boulers, het verseker dat hy met 98 lopies oor Hoërskool Nelspruit in Secunda kon seëvier.

Lees en herleef al die Mpumalanga Premier Liga-aksie op SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com) 

Jayden Sholtz, meer bekend vir sy werk met die bal, het Secunda se kolfaanslag gelei. As die tuisspan se agtste kolwer het hy die langsteel ingelê om vier sesse en twee viere te moker vir sy span se hoogste telling van 54 lopies.

Luan Swart was kort op sy hakke met 45 aanskoulike lopies, terwyl Nathan Erasmus vir 39 lopies verantwoordelik was. Verdere bydraes deur Juanru Brazelle (29) en Umar Badat (27) het die tuisspan uiteindelik tot ‘n netjiese totaal van 269 gehelp.

Jason Knoetze (4/54) se harde werk in sy toegelate 10 beurte het goeie vrugte afgewerp, terwyl Gerdu van Eeden (2/52) en Safwaan Muller (2/55) ook beïndruk het met die bal.

Die deurslaggewendste boulskofte was egter deur Secunda se voorslagboulers afgevuur. Aanvangsbouler, CJ Bakker, en Luan Swart, die enigste van hul span se boulers om ál 10 toegelate beurte te boul, het die uitklophou toegedien. Swart en Bakker het elk drie paaltjies ingepalm, terwyl Swart slegs 35 lopies in sy 10 beurte afgestaan het. Bakker se 10 het hom ook maar slegs 51 lopies gekos.

Die ekstras het die tuisspan ietwat gekelder en was ook die Nellies se voorste lopiemaker met 48 gratis lopies wat van die gasheer ontvang is. Buiten dit het aanvangskolwer, Duan Smal, hard gewerk vir sy 38 lopies en 66 aflewerings trotseer. Juan Maritz was sy span se tweede beste kolwer met 33 onoorwonne lopies, maar dit het oplaas veel tekort geskiet om die tuisspan te troef.

Beknopte telkaart

Hoërskool Secunda 269 (Jayden Scholtz 54, Luan Swart 45, Nathan Erasmus 39, Jamru Brazelle 29, Umar Badat 27, Ekstras 23; Jason Knoetze 4/54, Gerdu van Eeden 2/54, Safwaan Muller 2/55); Hoërskool Nelspruit 171 (Ekstras 48, Duan Smal 38, Juan Maritz 33*, Dian Boucher 28; Luan Swart 3/35, CJ Bakker 3/51). Hoërskool Secunda wen met 98 lopies. 

The water polo season is underway, and the action is Gauteng is happening thick and fast. On the weekend, the waters at St John’s College churned with many of the top water polo-playing schools in the province sharpening their skills ahead of some prestigious tournaments.

When the event kicked off on Friday, with most teams playing two or three fixtures, the hosts, St John’s, impressed by winning all three of their matches in convincing fashion.

They opened the festival with a dominant 11-0 victory over King Edward VII School (KES), asserting control from the first whistle.

Their winning momentum continued as they comfortably brushed aside Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS) 10-1 and then withstood a tough challenge from St Alban’s College, winning 6-3.

St Stithians College also caught the eye. They kicked off their campaign with a clinical 17-0 demolition of Parktown Boys’ High. Next up, they withstood a fierce challenge from Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies), picking up a 4-2 win, before ending the first day with a convincing 8-1 defeat of PBHS.

After losing to St John’s and St Stithians, Boys High rebounded with an emphatic 15-3 win over Parktown. St Alban’s, also won comfortably against Parktown.

The competition included some major milestones from St Stithians’ players, with Declan Wood and James Crick celebrating 150 caps for the first side, while Liam Tebbutt and Travis Donnelly turned out for the 100th time.

It’s that kind of experience that marks Saints as potentially one of the top teams in the country, and their win in the St Alban’s Beach Water Polo Tournament last weekend, further underlined that status.

On Saturday, St John’s continued their strong run with a 5-1 win over Affies and a 7-4 victory over Jeppe High School for Boys. However, their winning streak was brought to a halt in a thrilling encounter against St Stithians, who battled their way to an 8-6 win in a very tight match. Saints, then, closed off an unbeaten campaign with a commanding 12-5 defeat of KES.

Jeppe was in action on Saturday only and, after going down to St John’s, they picked up a couple of wins, beating Parktown 13-0 and PBHS 8-5.

RESULTS

Friday

St John’s 11–0 KES
St John’s 10–1 PBHS
St Stithians 17–0 Parktown
St Stithians 4–2 Affies
Parktown 3–15 PBHS
St John’s 6–3 St Alban’s
Affies 4–2 KES
St Stithians 8–1 PBHS
Parktown 2–13 St Alban’s

Saturday

St John’s 5–1 Affies
Parktown 0–11 St Alban’s
Affies 4–4 PBHS
St John’s 7–4 Jeppe
St Alban’s 2–7 Affies
St John’s 6–8 St Stithians
Parktown 0–13 Jeppe
St Alban’s 3–7 KES
PBHS 5–8 Jeppe
St Stithians 12–5 KES

HTS Drostdy delivered an encouraging three wins at Somerset College‘s T20 day, in Somerset West, on the weekend, emerging from their scraps in the shorter form of the game with a clean record.

In their opening game against Hoërskool Bellville, the Donkies scored a comfortable six-wicket win, with two overs to spare.

Adriaan Krynauw knocked over 3/9, while Karel Hugo snapped up 2/2 to limit Bellville to only 92 all out.

The Worcester locals, then, appeared assured at the crease as they chased down the moderate total, led by Stephan Steyn’s 32 and M-Jay van Reenen’s 26.

In an equally comfortable win over Somerset College, the Drostdy bowlers again led the way. Batting first, though, they struggled to get going, with DJ Luck doing most of the heavy lifting as the Donkies posted 112/8.

Troy Varie caused the visitors all sorts of problems, snaring 4/13 in four overs. Those figures were tied for the best of the day with Bellville’s Krige van Jaarsveld, who matched them in a seven-wicket win over Somerset College. Callum Hughes, who scored a century against Reddam House Constantia, played his part by claiming 2/27 in four.

Drostdy’s bowlers, however, did an even better job than the hosts, ploughing through the Somerset College batting, which crashed to 62 all out. The wickets were shared around, with Janu Nel picking up 2/1 in two overs, while Willem Louwrens and Jannes Krynauw also took two each.

Oddly enough, the Donkies struggled most against the only team that went winless, Reddam House Constantia, who put up 126/4 in their 20 overs. Considering that they were left with six wickets in hand, they could have been more aggressive towards the end of their innings.

Thomas Meintjies, though, didn’t hang around. He struck 57 runs off 32 balls to pace the Reddam batting effort.

With only four wickets falling, Drostdy’s bowling figures were fair as opposed to special, but Karel Hugo, with 1/7 in three, showed that bowling economically can often be more important than taking wickets in limited overs cricket.

Adriaan and Jannes Krynauw took charge of the HTS Drostdy run chase, scoring 32 off 47 and an unbeaten 25 off 29 respectively. Their patient knocks helped steer their team to a hard-fought three-wicket victory with 15 balls to spare.

Leo Del Connor’s 2/21 was the best that the Reddam House bowling attack could muster against a patient batting lineup. Reddam’s efforts, though, were undermined by loose bowling, which cost the Constantia school 30 extras, from 22 wides and eight no-balls.

SCORES

Somerset College 217/2 (Cameron Hughes 119, David de Klerk 52, Owethu Moyi 26); Reddam House Constantia 87/5 (Caden Spiller 41, Extras 22; Finn Rankin 2/8).

Somerset College won by 130 runs.

HTS Drostdy 112/8 (DJ Luck 48; Troy Varie 4/13, Callum Hughes 2/27); Somerset College 62/10 (Janu Nel 2/1, Willem Louwrens 2/11, Jannes Krynauw 2/18).

HTS Drostdy won by 50 runs.

Hoërskool Bellville 90/3 (Xander Lategan 30, Johan Bergh 21); Somerset College 89/8 (Cameron Hughes 30; Krige van Jaarsveld 4/13, Lehano van der Westhuyzen 2/20).

Hoërskool Bellville won by seven wickets.

HTS Drostdy 93/4 (Stephan Steyn 32, M-Jay van Reenen 26; Edmund Klue 2/12); Hoërskool Bellville 92/10 (Xander Lategan 37, Edmund Klue 25; Adriaan Krynauw 3/9, Willem Louwrens 2/11).

HTS Drostdy won by six wickets.

Hoërskool Bellville 90/3 (Johan Bergh 52*); Reddam House Constantia 89/10 (Caden Spiller 27; Ruben Botha 3/9, Tiaan Hartman 2/5, Darius De Goede 2/12, Lehano van der Westhuyzen 2/19).

Bellville won by seven wickets.

HTS Drostdy 130/7 (Adriaan Krynauw 32, Jannes Krynauw 25*, Extras 30; Leo Del Connor 2/21); Reddam House Constantia 126/4 (Thomas Meintjies 57, Caden Spiller 27).

HTS Drostdy won by three wickets.

Potchefstroom Gimnasium vs Grey College

Potch Gim made an eye-opening statement when they ran roughshod over Grey College, beating the visitors by 155 runs in a 50 overs match on Saturday, in Potchefstroom.

Ruhann Steenkamp led the charge, knocking over 5/15 in 5.1 overs to lay waste to Grey’s run chase.

Batting first, the hosts tallied 239/8, with Ulrich Botha‘s 59 their best effort. Henré Cronje made a telling contribution, too, scoring 47.

Perhaps, though, the highlight of their innings was the eighth wicket partnership between Jahndré Coetzee, who weighed in with an unbeaten 41 off 31, and Ruhann Steenkamp, who contributed a valuable 23 off 19.

Coetzee was especially destructive, smashing six fours and a six as he and Steenkamp added 70 runs before Steenkamp was run out off of the last ball of the innings.

Henru De Wet, as usual, delivered for Grey College, capturing 3/37 in 10 overs, while Luan Nortje made his mark, picking up 2/35 in six overs.

When it was Potch Gim’s turn to bowl, Damian Kruger and Jahndré Coetzee aided Steenkamp’s fine spell, claiming 3/25 and 2/16 respectively.

Grey College crumbled, all out for 84 after only 19.1 overs. Only Daniel Hattingh, with 35, and Henru de Wet, with 20, moved beyond the teens.

Hoërskool Goudveld vs St. Dominic’s College

In the first match of the Free State Schools SA20, Hoërskool Goudveld cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket win over St. Dominic’s College with 34 balls to spare.

Needing only 98 for victory, Goudveld’s Louw Fouché and Jeandré Ferreira shared an unbroken stand of 56 runs, scoring 32 and 30 respectively, to see their side across the line.

St. Dominic’s enjoyed early success when they ran out Kellan Kleynhans for one. However, they had little to offer after that. Alessio Salvado was the only bowler to pick up a wicket, removing Vain Boardman for 18, but he was also somewhat expensive, going for 23 runs in two overs.

Trying to defend a total on the wrong side of a hundred came with its own pressures and that was reflected in the 20 extras that St Dom’s conceded, including nine wides and eight no balls.

Put simply, they didn’t deliver at the crease. Opening batsman, Remoratile Mokoena, was the only St Dominic’s batsman to get going. He struck five of his side’s seven fours and finished with 41 from 55 balls.

Perhaps more aggression was needed as St Dom’s had lost only five wickets when their overs ran out.

There is a silver lining, however. Saturday’s match against Goudveld was the first of three group games, so they have an opportunity to reverse their fortunes. Goudveld, meanwhile, will aim to build off of the foundation they laid with the win.

SCORES

50 overs

Potchefstroom Gimnasium 239/8 (Ulrich Botha 59, Henré Cronje 47, Jahndré Coetzee 41*, Christivan Coetzer 26, Ruhann Steenkamp 23; Henru De Wet 3/37, Luan Nortje 2/35); Grey College 84/10 (Daniel Hattingh 35, Henru De Wet 22; Ruhann Steenkamp 5/15, Damian Kruger 3/25, Jahndré Coetzee 2/16).

Potch Gim won by 155 runs.

T20 

Goudveld 101/2 (Louw Fouché 32*, Jeandré Ferreira 30*, Extras 20); St Dominic’s 97/5 (Remoratile Mokoena 41; Kamohelo Moloke 2/13).

Goudveld won by eight wickets.

Hoërskool Piet Potgieter usurped the lead in the Limpopo Impala Super League, having comprehensively seen off Hoërskool Pieterburg by 62 runs in the fourth round, in Polokwane on Saturday.

Read and relive all the Limpopo Impala Super League action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com) 

The side from Mokopane now leads the pack with 18 league points, three points abreast of Merensky Landbou Akademie (15), who also secured a bonus-point, nine-wicket win against Hoërskool Ben Vorster on Saturday. Piet Pot, however, has played four games, one more than the Plasies.

Ryaan Malji swapped his bowling heroics for a spot in the limelight as Piet Pot’s leading batter on the day. Batting at six, with his side in a spot of bother at 64/5, Malji steadied the ship with an industrious 69 runs. Facing only 56 deliveries, he smashed eight fours and four sixes.

With further contributions by Hamza Vahora (31), lower down the order, and Ridhwan Patel (25), the visitors were eventually able to reach 221 before the last wicket fell.

Pieties’ opener, Celliers van der Merwe, was the main architect of Piet Pot’s initial difficulty. His outing of 3/44 in 8.3 overs produced the best figures for the Pieties on the day.

Frederik Botes responded in likewise fashion for Piet Pot, also claiming three wickets, while conceding only 14 runs, causing the home side to wobble in pursuit of victory. Following the run-out of Stephan Swanepoel (45) and the wicket of in-form Hanru Marais (43), the Pieties suffered a massive collapse, conceding five wickets for only 22 runs. Michael Jooste (2/25) and Ruben Oosthuizen (2/52) supported Botes in the 62-run win.

Merensky’s bonus-point victory over Ben Vorster also ensured bragging rights after the local derby had taken a turn for the worse in the Black Caps’ batting department.

The spinning-friendly wicket of the Merensky Oval suited the hosts’ decision to bowl first, with right-arm off-spinner Rinaldo Bornman  (4/13)  and the left-arm spin from Timothy Baker (2/22) causing severe headaches for the visitors. Baker’s two wickets also established him alone as the leading wicket-taker in the league.

Captain Luka Heinlein again led by example, snapping up 3/18 with his canny out-swing bowling. The combined effort by the bowling trio restricted Ben Vorster to a meagre and disappointing 81 runs.

The Plasies made the pitch look quite different when it was their turn to bat. Njabulo Maseko was the only one able to pick up a wicket, that of James Durant (9), before the experienced Xander Schoeman (32*), nicknamed Mike, and Logan Janse van Renburg (29*), steered the Plasies home with a 63-run partnership for the second wicket.

Nkowankowa Hub‘s Abongwe Mopayi (4/5) and Alen Shiviri (4/15) played a lethal role to bungle out Hoërskool Louis Trichardt for only 49. The side from Nkowankowa chased down the target comfortably, winning by eight wickets in the end.

Summarised scorecards:

Hoërskool Piet Potgieter 221 (Rayaan Malji 69, Extras 34, Hamza Vahora 31, Ridhwan Patel 25, Ruben Oosthuizen 23; Celliers van der Merwe 3/44, Henco Prinsloo 2/21, Hanru Marais 2/32, AJ Galloway 2/68); Hoërskool Pietersburg 159 (Stephan Swanepoel 45, Hanru Marais 43, Extras 31; Frederik Botes 3/14, Michael Jooste 2/25, Ruben Oosthuizen 2/52). Hoërskool Piet Potgieter won by 62 runs. 

Ben Vorster 81 (Ruben Pohl 18; Rinaldo Bornman 4/13, Luka Heinlein 3/18, Timothy Baker 2/22); Merensky Landbou Akademie 82/1 (Xander Schoeman 32*, Logan Janse van Rensburg 29*; Njabulo Maseko 1/21). Merensky Landbou Akademie won by nine wickets.

Hoërskool Louis Trichardt 49 (Ayaaz Patel 10; Abongwe Mopayi 4/5, Alen Shiviri 4/15); Nkowankowa Hub 50/2 (Ntsako Makaringe 18*; Juandro Kruger 1/14). Nkowankowa Hub won by eight wickets. 

Bishops‘ head coach, Lutho Pohlongo, or “Mr. P”, celebrated his 100th game in charge with a dominant 103-run victory by his side over Stellenberg High on the Frank Reid Field, on Saturday.

When the hosts batted first, their innings was led by a young man with an eerily prophetic surname – opening batsmen, Cameron Macbeth, anchored the innings with 84 runs off 116 balls. Despite an otherwise conservative approach, he also entertained the spectators with four fours and two maximums.

While some of the Stellies‘ bowlers did well to restrict the Bishops’ batsmen, there was clearly some early-season rustiness in the system still. Thus, the Bishops total of 265/9 after 50 overs included 35 extras, among them 19 wides and six no balls. Those extras tied James Robb-Quinlan for the second-highest contribution to the Bishops’ total.

Gerrad Kamalie was the best of the visitors’ bowlers, claiming 2/39 in nine overs, but he, also, was no-balled five times.

When they visited the crease, the visitors struggled to deal with the home team’s bowling attack.

Their top scorer, Francois Hugo, was cruelly dismissed just one run shy of a fifty when Fawaaz Davids sent the batsman’s bails flying. Davids enjoyed a tidy return of 2/12 from his three overs.

Jan-Jak Alberts, with 31, and Aiden Pienaar, with 30, offered further stout resistance, but it was not nearly enough.

Julian Pilkington, it appears, enjoys the number three. Following three matches at the end of the summer, it was the fourth time that he had snared three wickets in recent games for Bishops. He was also economical, conceding only 37 runs from his 10 overs.

Stellies held on for 40 overs but were ultimately dismissed for 162, with three of their top five mustering only a single each.

Credit must be given to the Bishops’ bowling unit. They were predacious in their approach and earned four of their wickets via caught and bowled. However, they, too, showed signs of rust, bowling 16 wides as the home side conceded 23 extras in total.

On the batting side of things, they’ll be hoping for a more consistent effort next time out, with more of their batsmen converting good starts into big scores. Otherwise, they looked every bit the formidable team that they were when they won the Schools SA 20 title back in March.

SCORES

Bishops 265/9 (Cameron Macbeth 84, James Robb-Quinlan 35, Thaafier Japtha 28, Adnaan Lagadien 21, Extras 35; Gerrard Kamalie 2/39, Jan Jak Alberts 2/55); Stellenberg 162/10 (Francois Hugo 49, Jan-Jak Alberts 31, Aiden Pienaar 30, Extras 23, Julian Pilkington 3/37, Fawaaz Davids 2/12, Matthew Schultz 2/23).

The tournament host, The King’s School Linbro Park, after two comfortable wins on Friday, suffered a setback in their last group stage outing at The King’s School Linbro Park Basketball Tournament, on Saturday.

Watch the finals LIVE on SuperSport Schools

Facing St Benedict’s College in their final Group A game, King’s Linbro went down 17-28 to Bennies, who were also unbeaten after day one’s action after both teams downed Croydon High School and Parktown Boys’ High.

Both King’s Linbro and St Benedict’s had done enough to qualify for the semi-finals, however. The question that remained was who would they face for a place in the final?

In the last of the Group A games, Parktown decisively defeated Croydon House 20-0.

In Group B, HeronBridge College, who went winless on Friday, going down to the St John’s College B Team and ESCA Wanderers, picked up a consolation victory, downing Curro Savannah 55-16.

ESCA Wanderers, meanwhile, continued their dominant run. After pounding HeronBridge 83-15 and Curro Savannah 75-7 on Friday, they cruised to a 51-25 win over St John’s B.

After winning all of their Group C games, King Edward VII (KES) secured a place in the semi-finals. They had comfortably dealt with St John’s A in a key clash on Friday, winning by 21 points. On Saturday, they overran Saheti 58-18 before romping to a 72-21 victory over Reddam House Helderfontein in their last group match.

St John’s College A kept Reddam House Helderfontein quiet in a 53-9 victory and subsequently defeated Saheti 20-0.

The six teams in the girls’ division continued their quest for a place in Sunday’s final, with Saheti and HeronBridge emerging from the melee to book their places in the title decider. Based on earlier results, Saheti will be a hot favourite.

King’s Linbro will face Reddam House Helderfontein for bronze.

Saheti A continued their winning ways on Saturday, outplaying King’s Linbro 38-10. They added two more similarly dominant victories, by 32-13 over HeronBridge College, and by 34-7 over Saheti B.

After their loss to Saheti, HeronBridge bounced back with a hard-fought 13-11 victory over Reddam House Helderfontein.

The hosts, King’s Linbro, recorded a 16-11 win over Saheti B and wrapped up Saturday with a 12-9 victory against Reddam House Helderfontein.

RESULTS

u18 Boys

Group A

Parktown Boys’ High 20-0 Croydon House School
St Benedict’s College 28-17 King’s Linbro Park

Group B

HeronBridge College 55-16 Curro Savannah
ECSA Wanderers 51-25 St John’s College B

Group C

KES 58-18 Saheti
KES 72-21 Reddam House Helderfontein
St John’s College A 53-9 Reddam House Helderfontein
St John’s College A 20-0 Saheti

u18 Girls

Saheti A 38-10 King’s Linbro
HeronBridge College 13-11 Reddam House Helderontein
Saheti A 34-7 Saheti B
King’s Linbro 12-9 Reddam House Helderfontein
Saheti A 32-13 HeronBridge College
King’s Linbro 16-11 Saheti B

FIXTURES

Sunday

u18 Boys 

Semifinals 

ESCA Wanderers vs King’s Linbro
KES vs St Benedict’s College

Bronze Playoff 

15:00 – SFL1 vs SFL2

Final 

15:00 – SF1 Winner vs SF2 Winner

u18 Girls 

Bronze Playoff 

King’s Linbro vs Reddam House Helderfontein

Final

Saheti A vs HeronBridge College

The Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium played host to Durban High School (DHS), Clifton College, and Kearsney College on Saturday, with the three 1st XIs in T20 action.

DHS, who’ve made a strong start to the fourth term, continued on their winning ways, scoring a 17-run win over Clifton.

Clifton, though, rebounded with a five-run win over Kearsney, whose win over DHS in a T20 in mid-August is the only loss that School has suffered this term.

Durban High School vs Clifton College

The action got underway early, with DHS choosing to bat against Clifton after winning the toss. They suffered an early setback, though, when the in-form Ethan Cooper was bowled by Tim Saulez for a single.

Lazlo Jooste, batting third in the absence of Josh van Biljon, added 78 runs with Ismaeel Omar, but when Jooste was run out by Cristiano Borrageiro with the total on 90, he had been responsible for only 13 of those runs.

Earlier in the year, at the Clifton T20 Tournament, Omar had shown his ability to take charge at the top of the order when he scored a superb unbeaten 104 against Kearsney. On Saturday, he was at it again, clubbing 109 from only 59 balls, which included 13 fours and five sixes – a total of 82 runs in boundaries.

One of Omar’s strengths is how well he plays the format and the situation. In matches of a longer length, he is often circumspect and a very difficult man to dislodge. In the shorter formats, he has proved he is a potential match-winner.

When the left-hander finally fell after a 62-run stand with Taine Havermann, School had reached 152/3.

Havermann and Bayanda Majola added another 36 runs to see DHS to 188/3 after the completion of their 20 overs, with Havermann finishing on 41 not out from 33 deliveries after striking three fours and a six, while Majola blasted one six in his unbeaten 14.

Tim Saulez accounted for both openers, but he was a touch expensive, going for 46 from his four overs.

Clifton, led by a fine aggressive knock from Cristiano Borrageiro, gave it a good go in pursuit of a daunting victory target, but their response was somewhat patchy, with five players making four runs or less, including, unfortunately for the side, opener Cohen Naidoo being run out for a duck.

Borrageiro, batting at five, smashed five fours and four sixes in a 35-ball stay which produced 60 runs. Up front, Byron Ward, who smashed a superb ton against St John’s College, of Harare, in the Clifton T20 Tournament, did good work, too, cracking five fours and a six in his 30 from 25 deliveries, and Lawson Dinsdale blasted two sixes and a four in an unbeaten 36 from 26, but Clifton came up short, ending on 171/8.

Borrageiro and Dinsdale gave Clifton some hope of pulling off an unlikely run chase with a stand of 103 for the sixth wicket, but Borrageiro’s departure was quickly followed by two more quick wickets as Clifton ran out of overs.

Ethan Cooper might have failed with the bat, but he starred with the ball as the first change bowler, accounting for Byron Ward, Tim Saulez, Cristiano Borrageiro, and Shiraz Perumal in a superb four overs, which brought him 4/19.

Bonga Maphanga was the only other bowler to enjoy success, picking up 2/32 in four, which meant that in the entire match only three bowlers – the other was Tim Saulez – claimed wickets.

Clifton College vs Kearsney College

In a very tight contest, played in the early afternoon, Clifton held on for a nail-biting five-run win over Kearsney College.

Batting first after the toss went their way, Clifton tallied a useful 179/8, with Byron Ward and Lawson Dinsdale starring once again.

Opening, Ward was destructive, sending three deliveries over the boundary and seven into it in a hasty 59 from only 34 balls. Dinsdale, batting at seven, needed only 31 deliveries to add 53 runs to Clifton’s total. He struck six fours and two sixes.

Ward and Cohen Naidoo had given Clifton a good start, putting on 58 for the first wicket before Naidoo was out for 17 from 10 balls to James Bishop. The very next ball, Bishop bowled the dangerous Tim Saulez.

Zach Williamson, with 19 from 15, which included four fours, helped to steady the Clifton innings.

While Bishop picked up 3/40 in four, it was Rivan Moodley who inflicted the most damage on Clifton’s batting effort, snaring 4/16 in four.

Kearsney’s reply was steady, with the top eight players in the order all making it into double figures. The problem was that none of them pressed on to make fifties, like Ward and Dinsdale did for Clifton.

Cole Young, with a hard-hitting 30 from 17, with three fours and two sixes, top-scored for the Botha’s Hill boys, while the openers, Jason De Gryse and Aaron Blackburn, both weighed in with 20 from 13.

Asher Hollister, too, went at better than a run a ball, chipping in with 27 from 21, but Kearsney needed someone to press on, and they didn’t get that.

Leg-spinner Shiraz Perumal undermined their run chase, capturing 3/27 in four, while Tim Saulez nabbed 2/30 in four as Kearsney was restricted to 174/9 in reply.

Scores

Durban High School 188/3 (Ismaeel Omar 109, Taine Havermann 41*; Tim Saulez 2/46); Clifton College 171/8 (Cristian Borrageiro 60, Lawson Dinsdale 36*, Byron Ward 30; Ethan Cooper 4/19, Bonga Maphanga 2/32).

Durban High School won by 17 runs.

Clifton College 179/8 (Byron Ward 59, Lawson Dinsdale 53; Rivan Moodley 4/16, James Bishop 3/40); Kearsney College 174/9 (Cole Young 30, Asher Hollister 27, Jason De Gryse 20, Aaron Blackburn 20; Shiraz Perumal 3/27, Tim Saulez 2/30).

Clifton College won by five runs.

Die stryd om te sien wie die beste rugbyspan in Middelburg is, sal in 2026 voortgaan.

Volg al die aksie op SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

Hoewel Hoërskool Middelburg in 2026 in die SDC Noordvaal Cup se Beker-afdeling gaan uitdraf, en Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg in die Plaat, sal die jaarlikse Middelburg-derby steeds plaasvind.

Die rugbybase van albei skole, Jano Venter (HTS Middelburg) en Coene Nolte (Hoërskool Middelburg), het na beraadslaging met die Noordvaal-bestuur uiteindelik tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat dié twee spanne aanstaande jaar op dieselfde naweek ‘n loslootjie kan geniet, waarvolgens die derby dus op 9 Mei 2026, by Hoërskool Middelburg, kan plaasvind.

“Dit is fantasties dat die derby voortgaan,” het Venter gesê. “Dit bied eerstens ‘n taamlike finansiële inspuiting vir die dorp, met mense wat van heinde en ver kom om die wedstryd by te woon.

“Tweedens sou dit ‘n onreg wees om die seuns van só ‘n dag  te ontneem. Daar is min dorpe wat bevoorreg genoeg is om twee sulke sterk skole te hê, so ‘n derby so taai soos die afgelope twee jaar s’n is Middelburg weer beskore.”

Nolte meen dat die derby in elke Middelburger se hart leef.

“Vir meeste mense is dit nie bloot ‘n wedstryd nie, maar ‘n erfenis van trots, gees en eenheid,” sê hy. “Alle Middelburgers, oud en jonk, beplan maande vooraf om die jaarlikse derby by te woon.

“Die dorp word waarlik in rooi en groen getooi tydens derby-week. Dit wys ook hoe gesond Middelburg se twee Hoërskole en gemeenskap is. Vir ons by die Middies is dit belangrik dat die tradisie voortbestaan.”

In 2025 het dié spanne mekaar twee keer gepak. Eers was dit die Middies wat op vanjaar se derby-dag met 16-11 baas was. Die Rooi Bulle het egter die bordjies verhang in die eindstryd van die Plaat-afdeling met ‘n sege van 19-11. Daarmee het hulle ook die titel verdedig en ‘n tweede, agtereenvolgende trofee onder Venter, in sy twee jaar by die Rooi Bulle, ingepalm.

Die spanne het in 2024 en 2025 vier keer ontmoet, in 2024 twee keer op Hoërskool Middelburg se veld en in 2025 twee keer by die huis van die Rooi Bulle. Wat die afgelope twee seisoene betref, loop die span in rooi dus met drie seges teenoor een voor, wat van 2026 ‘n reuse affêre maak.