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Hoërskool Noordheuwel celebrated their qualification for the final of the Lions region’s Schools SA20 tournament by steamrolling Steyn City School by eight wickets in a 50-over encounter at Steyn City on Saturday.

Noordheuwel won the toss, elected to bowl first, and skittled the hosts for only 84 in 22.5 overs. The team from Krugersdorp, then, needed only 18 overs to reach 85/2 and secure victory.

JD Bezuidenhout and JJ Basson took the new ball for the Nories and made life difficult for the Steyn City batsmen. They pinned the opposition down with good line and length bowling, conceding only 31 runs in the first 10 overs and, importantly, capturing three early wickets, too.

Keegan Smallbone decided that the only way to deal with the Noordheuwel bowling attack was to go on the offensive and he proceeded to cream 14 runs off Tidimalo Moeketsane‘s first over.

However, the good vibes were short-lived. Moeketsane returned with a fiery second over that played a decisive role in the outcome of the match. He bagged two wickets, one of them Smallbone’s, to leave the home side reeling on 53/5.

Steyn City spent the next 10 overs desperately trying to hold on, but it was all in vain. There was no stopping Moeketsane, who knocked over 4/42 in six overs.

The Noordheuwel bowlers were so good that captain Corné Botha needed only four of them to bowl out Steyn City. The other three, besides Moeketsane -JJ Basson, JD Bezuidenhout, and Corné Olivier – took two wickets each. Only three Steyn City batsmen – Max Borroughes (25), Keegan Smallbone (18), and Matthew Little-Barbour (14) – made it into double figures.

As they did on Friday afternoon, in their Schools SA20 win over Monument, Noordheuwel spent considerably less time at the crease than their opponents.

Marius Penning played a patient innings, accumulating an unbeaten 38 runs from 57 deliveries and shared three partnerships. He and Corné Olivier combined for 38 runs, while Penning and Steph Jooste added only eight runs together. An unbroken stand of 39 for the third wicket with Brandon Pieters (20*) saw Noordheuwel home.

Steyn City did not do themselves any favours by conceding 17 extras, which accounted for a fifth of Noordheuwel’s total. Kurt Losch was the biggest offender with a tally of 13.

Gideon Coetzee and Somaan Khan were Steyn City’s two wicket-takers, but they could do little to stop Noodheuwel’s charge to victory.

Summarised Scorecards

Steyn City 84/10 (Max Borroughes 25, Keegan Smallbone 18; Tidimalo Moeketsane 4/42, Corné Olivier 2/10); Noordheuwel 85/2 (Marius Penning 38*, Brandon Pieters 20*; Gideon Peters 1/13, Somaan Khan 1/27).

Noordheuwel won by eight wickets.

The second day of the St David’s Marist Inanda Hoops Classic Challenge kicked off early on Friday, following an impressive day one of the tournament, which produced some exciting performances and splash plays.

The defending champions, St Benedict’s College, concluded their pool stage schedule with another win, but they were made to battle until the end by Sacred Heart College, eventually coming away with a one-point victory, 40-39. That narrow defeat, unfortunately for the resilient Sacred Heart squad, kept the team out of the quarterfinals.

Bennies’ reward for topping Pool A is a tricky quarterfinal clash with Pretoria Boys High, who finished second in a tough Pool D.

Second place in Pool A went the way of King Edward VII School (KES). They handed St Andrew’s College a 46-25 defeat to secure the runner-up position.

Unlike Pool A, which featured only two games, matters were busier in Pool B. St David’s Marist Inanda experienced mixed fortunes, winning one and losing one. They were pushed hard by Parktown Boys’ High in their opener but came away with a 32-28 win. However, in their second outing, St John’s College dominated and powered their way to 55-29 victory.

St John’s had an impressive day and they ended it atop the group. After beating St David’s, they followed up with another comprehensive win, downing Grey High 69-29.

St Stithians College will face St David’s in the quarterfinals after claiming first place in Pool C. Saints have shown the mettle to win tight games and the talent to overrun teams, and both were on display on Friday.

Jeppe High School for Boys stretched Saints, but St Stithians came away with an eight-point win, 48-40. Then, they romped to a big 86-26 victory over Redhill School.

Pool D featured Michael Mount Waldorf School, Pretoria Boys High, St Peter’s College, and King’s Linbro. Michael Mount, the winner of Kearsney College’s Independent Schools Stayers Basketball Tournament, finished top of the group.

In their key pool game, Michael Mount handed Pretoria Boys High a 43-32 loss. They faced a second tough outing on Friday, against The King’s School Linbro Park. It produced a tight tussle all the way through to the final whistle, but when it sounded Michael Mount had claimed a 33-31 victory.

U18 RESULTS 

Pool A

KES 46-25 St Andrew’s College
St Benedict’s 40-39 Sacred Heart

Pool B

St David’s 32-28 Parktown Boys’ High
St John’s College 69-25 Grey High
St John’s College 55-29 St David’s
Grey High 50-46 Parktown Boys’ High

Pool C

St Stithians 48-40 Jeppe
Hilton College 52-20 Redhill
Jeppe 48-40 Hilton College
St Stithians 86-26 Redhill

Pool D

King’s Linbro 42-35 St Peter’s College
Michael Mount 43-32 Pretoria Boys High
Pretoria Boys High 56-17 St Peter’s
Michael Mount 33-31 King’s Linbro

Saturday Fixtures

u18 Quarterfinals  

St Benedict’s College vs Pretoria Boys High
St John’s vs Jeppe
St Stithians vs St David’s
Michael Mount vs KES

u18 Classification games

St Andrew’s College vs King’s Linbro
Grey High vs Hilton College
Sacred Heart vs St Peter’s
Parktown Boys’ High vs Redhill School

U15 RESULTS 

Hilton College 39-35 St Alban’s
KES 59-12 St Peter’s College
Sacred Heart 45-39 King’s Linbro
St John’s College 65-24 Michael Mount
St Andrew’s College 62-19 Redhill School
Parktown Boys’ High 42-24 Jeppe
St Benedict’s College 63-54 St Stithians College
St Alban’s College 34-30 KES
Hilton College 71-24 St Peter’s College
St John’s College 47-24 Sacred Heart
Michael Mount 34-32 King’s Linbro
St Andrew’s College 51-50 Pretoria Boy’s High School
St David’s 77-6 Redhill School

u15 Quarter finals 

St Alban’s College vs St Andrew’s College
St David’s vs KES
St Benedict’s vs Sacred Heart
St John’s vs St Stithians

u15 Classification games 

Jeppe vs St Peter’s College
Redhill vs KES
Parktown Boys’ High vs Hilton College
Pretoria Boys High vs Michael Mount

On Friday, day two of the Saints Invitational Water Polo Tournament, a combination of entertaining action was tempered by a tough day for some. It ended with two teams unbeaten, while four sides were still searching for a win.

Roedean School and DSG Makhanda halted each other’s winning ways when they played a 4-4 draw in their second encounter of the day in a Group A clash.

Earlier, Roedean thrashed Rand Park 22-0 and DSG kept a clean sheet in a 5-0 defeat of Kingsmead College. Following the completion of their group assignments, Roedean claimed first place on goal difference from DSG.

Meanwhile, Group B’s Durban Girls’ College (DGC) and Pool D’s St Stithians Girls’ College, who are playing in familiar home waters, grabbed the limelight. Both extended their unbeaten streaks to finish their group games with perfect records.

DGC was made to work hard by St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls (Boksburg) but came away with an 8-5 win. They, then, rolled to a 12-3 victory over Collegiate. On Thursday, they had beaten Reddam House Constantia 8-4 and St Peter’s College 15-4.

Cape Town’s Reddam Constantia secured second place in the group, after upping their performances following their opening day loss. On Friday, they outplayed St Peter’s College 16-3 and were comfortable 8-2 winners over St Dominic’s.

Fresh off of winning St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament and Mackenzie Cup, coach Connor Whiting’s side – and it should be remembered that this is a stayers’ tournament, so the lineups will be different – is still on the right track and they remain a threat.

St Dominic’s finished with two wins and two losses and third spot in Group B. In fourth, Collegiate registered a 7-2 win over St Peter’s on Friday morning. In the afternoon, though, DGC had too much firepower for the Gqeberha school.

Group C table-toppers Reddam House Bedfordview was enjoying a good run but stumbled slightly against Clarendon,  who held them to a 7-7 draw. St Anne’s, the runners-up in their home tournament, claimed second place in the group after three wins and a single defeat.

St Stithians, meanwhile, continued rolling in Group D, adding two more wins on Friday. In the first, they handed Crawford Lonehill a 12-1 loss, and they followed that up by holding off last year’s Saints Invitational winners, Herschel Girls School, 6-3 in the group’s key clash. It was a first defeat for the Capetonians.

Rand Park is one of the four teams that remains winless. It’s been an uphill battle for the local side, made worse by the fact that they’re still chasing their first goal of the tournament. They’ve conceded 72 times.

In Pool B, St Peter’s was also kept out of the win column, while Beaulieu College was competitive in Pool C, scoring 16 goals while conceding 33, but they finished without a victory. It was tough sledding for Crawford Lonehill, too. They netted 12 and conceded 43 and joined the list of sides still in pursuit of a first win.

RESULTS

Girls | Day 2

Group A

St Mary’s Waverley 16-0 Rand Park
DSG Makhanda 5-0 Kingsmead
Roedean 22-0 Rand Park
St Mary’s Waverley 6-4 Kingsmead
Roedean 4-4 DSG Makhanda

Group B

Collegiate 7-2 St Peter’s
St Dominic’s 5-8 DGC
Reddam Constantia 16-3 St Peter’s
DGC 12-3 Collegiate
Reddam Constantia 8-2 St Dominic’s

Group C

St Anne’s 10-6 Pearson
Reddam Bedfordview 14-5 Beaulieu
Clarendon 9-5 Pearson
St Anne’s 11-4 Beaulieu

Group D

Kingswood 9-9 Chisipite
St Stithians 12-1 Crawford Lonehill
Herschel 18-3 Chisipite School
Kingswood 9-7 Crawford Lonehill
St Stithians 6-3 Herschel

Corné Botha starred with both bat and ball as Hoërskool Noordheuwel made light work of the challenge posed by Hoërskool Monument in their Schools SA20 contest.

Noordheuwel recorded an emphatic seven-wicket win when the sides locked horns at the Wits Educational Grounds on Friday afternoon.

After winning the toss, Monument elected to bat first, but that didn’t work out too well as they were bowled out for 98 in 19.3 overs.

Noordheuwel, then, made light work of the chase by racing to 99/3 in 12.3 overs.

Their reward is a meeting with St David’s Marist Inanda in the Lions region final on 1 November. St David’s booked their spot after a tight victory over St Stithians on Thursday.

Botha and JJ Basson, his opening partner, made Keegan van Wyk rue his decision to bat first by dominating with the new ball. They gave nothing away and three overs in Monument had been reduced to 2/2.

Monnas managed to make a little headway in the last three overs of the powerplay, adding 17 runs, but that also came at the cost of two more wickets, both picked up by Botha, which left Monument struggling on 19/4.

Their best passage of play with the bat was from the seventh to the 11th over, during which they added 37 runs without the loss of a wicket, thanks to Innocent Ramarafe (34) and Rieghardt Prinsloo (21). Monument’s momentary relief was shattered when Gomolemo Sibi delivered an over that produced two wickets, one of them a run-out. Things turned further south from that moment on as Monnas lost momentum.

Corné Botha was the pick of the Noordheuwel bowlers, capturing three wickets for 16 runs in four overs. Sage Pretorius and Marius Penning were outstanding, bagging a brace each, while JJ Basson and Gomo Sibi also got in on the wicket-taking action.

When it was Noordheuwel’s turn at the crease, Botha batted as if he had a plane to catch. The Noordheuwel captain bludgeoned 31 runs from only 13 deliveries for an astronomical strike rate of 238. His opening partnership with Wander Roolvink rocketed Noordheuwel to 38/1 after three overs.

The Nories were charging along so quickly that they passed the halfway mark of the required total in the powerplay. When the game ended, they had spent only 49 minutes in the middle. Monument’s innings lasted 96 minutes.

Brandon Pieters, who came in at number three, lent a calm head to the run chase, accumulating a sedate and unbeaten 28 off 26 to guide his side to victory.

Rieghardt Prinsloo sent down a disciplined four overs for Monument as they battled to stay in the contest and was rewarded with a tidy return of two wickets for 17 runs. He was introduced into the attack in the fifth over. By then, however, the horse had already bolted after Byron Viljoen and Tshepo Mlambo had bled 38 runs in the first three overs.

Noordheuwel’s victory sets up what promises to be a mouthwatering final between two sides that have enjoyed a great run in the School SA20 tournament.

Summarised Scorecards

Monument 98/10 (Innocent Ramarafe 34, Rieghardt Prinsloo 21; Corné Botha 3/16, Marius Penning 2/6); Noordheuwel 99/3 (Corné Botha 31, Brandon Pieters 28*; Rieghardt Prinsloo 2/14, Byron Viljoen 1/26).

Noordheuwel won by seven wickets.

The St Stithians College Olympic North and South swimming pools played host to the second day of the highly competitive St Stithians College Invitational Water Polo Tournament on Friday.

After a sizzling opening day, during which the defending champions in the boys’ section, South African College High School (SACS) suffered a 6-7 defeat to Hilton College, day two threatened more upsets and it duly delivered.

Heading into the day’s action, Bishops Diocesan College, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St David’s Marist Inanda, and Kearsney College were all unbeaten.

Those four sides maintained their clean records on Friday, adding another two wins to their records to end the round-robin stage sitting atop their respective groups.

In Group A, Rondebosch, coached by Jared Wingate-Pearse, claimed victories against two Eastern Cape schools, sneaking by St Andrew’s College 10-9, before scoring a more convincing 8-2 win over Grey High School.

St Andrew’s, who won the Woodridge Stayers tournament recently, finished the day in second place after winning three of their four matches. They were followed by Durban High School (DHS), Grey High, and Affies, with the latter two remaining winless after they shared a 7-7 draw.

Bishops was dominant in Group B and on Friday continued the impressive form they showed on day one. They rolled to a 16-5 win over King Edward VII 16-5 (KES) before Matt Fenn netted five times against St John’s College to lead his team to an outstanding 9-6 win over a strong side. St John’s star, Nicholas Searle, netted five of his team’s six goals.

Heading into the tournament, Group C had been dubbed the “group of death” with three top-quality teams – Hilton, Kearsney, and SACS – set to face each other.

It has been the KwaZulu-Natal teams that have stepped up to the plate. Kearsney, coached by Nick Rodda, notched up four notable wins, and on day two defeated the defending champions, SACS, 10-8 in the final match of the day.

Hilton also cemented their spot in the play-offs with wins against Pretoria Boys High and Jeppe High School for Boys, which followed victory over SACS on Thursday and a loss to Kearsney. Pretoria Boys High remains winless, while Jeppe has picked up just one win so far in the tournament, although they were very competitive in losses against the group’s three favoured teams.

Group D, while maybe not one that immediately captured the imagination, has delivered some fine play in the pool, with St David’s Marist Inanda catching the eye.

They surprised some by beating St Stithians 5-3 in the group’s key clash on day two, which kept their record at a perfect four from four. They also won against Reddam House Constantia on Friday.

Grey College, meanwhile, picked up their first victory of the tournament after edging a struggling St Alban’s team 6-4.

The group matches are done and dusted and the top teams will enter day three pursuing a place in the semi-finals.

SACS, the three-time defending champions, despite suffering two defeats in their group, are not out of the running. They can still secure a quarterfinal berth if they beat Saints in a cross-pool playoff. The top four teams will await other results to see who will join them in the quarterfinals.

Day three’s action will be LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

Boys | Day 2 Results

Group A

Durban High School 6-5 Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool
Rondebosch Boys’ High 8-2 Grey High School
St Andrew’s College 6-4 Durban High School
Rondebosch Boys’ High 10-9 St Andrew’s College
Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool 7-7 Grey High School.

Group B

Bishops Diocesan College 16-5 King Edward VII
St John’s College 12-4 Pearson High School
Michaelhouse 8-3 Pearson High School
King Edward VII 10-8 Michaelhouse
Bishops Diocesan College 9-6 St John’s College

Group C

Hilton College 12-5 Pretoria Boys High
Kearsney College 11-8 Jeppe High School for Boys
South African College High School (SACS) 12-4 Pretoria Boys High
Hilton 10-8 Jeppe High School for Boys
South African College High School (SACS) 8-10 Kearsney College

Group D

Reddam House Constantia 15-4 Grey College
St Stithians College 9-4 St Alban’s College
St David’s Marist Inanda 8-6 Reddam House Constantia
Grey College 6-4 St Alban’s College
St Stithians College 3-5 St David’s Marist Inanda

Hoërskool Garsfontein performed well at home and beat Midstream College on Wednesday to become the fourth and final team to qualify for the semi-finals of the Titans’ leg of the Schools SA20 competition.

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

The Garsie batsmen, led by the talented Charl van Staden, laid a solid foundation. They batted briskly but lost four early wickets. Then, Van Staden came to the crease and he upped the ante.

In just 26 deliveries, the middle-order batsman smashed seven boundaries, including four sixes and three fours, to see the Ysbere through to the end of their  20 overs with an unbeaten 50 runs.

Ziswe Khumalo provided strong support, joining in on the onslaught and contributing 29 runs from only 15 balls. Opening batsman, Heinrich Badenhorst was the initial thorn in Midstream’s side with a classy 36, which set things up nicely for Van Staden and Khumalo to get the Ysbere to 201/7.

Christiaan Olwagen (2/24) and Jonathan Wiseman (2/39) were the standouts with the ball for the visitors, removing two batsmen each.

It came as no surprise when Echard Struwig led the way for Garsfontein’s bowling attack. Sending down two overs with the new ball, he struck early, snapping up two wickets while conceding only three runs. His new ball partner, Xander Venter, was impressive, too, assisting Struwig in the destruction of the Midstream top-order with his return of 2/15.

Ryan Strauss (23) and Gerhard van der Westhuizen (22) steadied the ship, but Ziswe Khumalo followed up his useful batting contribution with a good bowling spell. He dismissed Strauss and went on to claim 2/24.

Midstream’s Zack Lentoor didn’t go down without a fight and fought fire with fire, unleashing a flurry of boundaries, five of which flew over the boundary rope, as he contributed a quickfire 41 from just 17 balls. His innings was, however, Midstream College’s last dance, and the visitors were kept to 156/9 from their 20 overs, which left them 45 runs short of victory.

Summarised scorecard

Garsfontein 201/7 (Charl van Staden 50*, Heinrich Badenhorst 36, Ziswe Khumalo 29; Christiaan Olwagen 2/24, Jonathan Wiseman 2/39); Midstream College 156/9 (Zack Lentoor 41, Rikus Cilliers 32, Ryan Struass 23, Gerhard van der Westhuizen 22; Echard Struwig 2/3, Xander Venter 2/15, Ziswe Khumalo 2/24). Garsfontein won by 45 runs.

Things are heating up as the Fain Noordvaal tournament moves into an exciting quarter-final weekend.

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

In Alberton, the match-up, which could certainly turn out to be the most interesting of the four, between Hoërskool Marais Viljoen and Hoërskool Hans Moore, will have the supporters of those two schools buzzing.

The Moories did what they set out to do last week, knocking out Hoërskool Garsfontein‘s Ysbere, after recording a 20-run victory, while Marais Viljoen cruised by Hoërskool Rustenburg, scoring an impressive 49-run win.

With both sides possessing strong batting lineups, it could come down to which team’s bowlers can keep a cooler head when put under pressure.

The home side will be wary of the danger Moories’ all-rounder Kenan Shaw presents. Shaw, the spearhead of the bowling department last week, will be oozing confidence after his match-winning analysis of 4/21 against the Ysbere.

His brother, Aiden Shaw, who was recently selected for the Easterns’ u16 side, will pose a threat opening the batting, while number three batsman, Xavier Coetzee, has been in immaculate form throughout the 2024 season.

Marais Viljoen’s Abdullah Tadwala has predominantly starred with the bat, but his handy off-spinners have seen him become a very well-rounded all-rounder for the side from Alberton.

Alongside him, the talented Jordan Baijnath will also have something to say in both the batting and bowling departments, while captain Aldré Huyzers would like to make yet another contribution with the bat to steer his side to a second consecutive Fain Noordvaal Final.

Merensky Landbou Akademie faces a massive challenge on Saturday. The side from behind the citrus curtain travels to Pretoria to tackle the defending champions, Hoërskool Waterkloof, in their backyard.

The Plasies’ all-rounder Rinaldo Bornman will look forward to exploring the batting-friendly conditions of the André van der Walt Oval. He’s been piling on the runs over the last couple of weeks. One of the highlights of his season was a classy 121 against Hoërskool Piet Potgieter in the Limpopo Super 8 league.

The Klofies will have to do without the services of their Namibian International, Alex Volschenk, who misses out due to a shoulder injury. They, however, welcome back captain Beukes van den Berg, from injury. Van den Berg, whose return strengthens the Klofie batting lineup significantly, won’t be taking up the gloves as usual, with the youngster Rico van der Walt filling his spot behind the stumps.

Die Hoërskool Menlopark welcomes another Limpopo-based side, Hoërskool Pietersburg, to Pretoria. Menlo scored a hard-fought three-wicket victory over Hoërskool Dr Malan in the elimination round last week.

Parkies’ in-form Matt van der Westhuizen will be relishing another chance to get out into the middle. Van der Westhuizen’s 76 against the Dokkies played a key role in his side’s victory.

The Pieties had an unforeseen break last week after Prestige College decided not to make the trip up north. They, however, also possess some quality batting. The southpaw duo of Stephan Swanepoel and Hanno van Zyl could cause the home side serious headaches.

Hoërskool Middelburg and Hoërskool Kempton Park meet in their qaurter-final clash on Friday.

The Dolphins region Schools SA20 brought together two of the most in-form teams in KZN rather too early in the competition, with Durban High School (DHS), the winners of 10 matches in succession, hosting Clifton College, the winners of seven of their last eight, doing battle on the Theobald Oval on Thursday. It turned out to be a fascinating battle that ebbed and flowed.

Clifton won the toss and elected to bat, but way too early in their innings they were trying to work the bowling around, rather than playing straight, and it cost them.

Left-arm spinner, Dhilan Naraidu, who took the new ball, bowled superbly for the Horseflies, and he struck in the first over when he bowled Hayden Drieselmann. He was far from done. In fact, he was only getting started. The pitch was slow and the batsmen tried to play too square of the wicket off Naraidu, who did a good job of attacking the stumps and that was reflected in the manner of the dismissals he achieved.

He went on to trap Byron Ward in front and bowled Tim Saulez and Shiraz Perumal to reduce Clifton to 34/4. Opener Muhammad Malek was on his way 10 runs later, out for 15, after being caught off the bowling of Akhtar Basra.

The visitors were in serious trouble, but their middle to lower order has delivered time and again during this season and, on this occasion, it was Zach Williamson and Lawson Dinsdale who rescued their innings.

Playing calmly, they advanced the total by 50 runs before Williamson was the sixth wicket to fall. Trying to execute an extravagant scoop, he was bowled by Bhavesh Naicker for 22 from 26 balls, which, under the circumstances, was a hugely valuable contribution.

Two runs later, with the total on 96, Dinsdale followed him to the pavilion, run out by a mile after he attempted a second run, which was never on. He had weighed in with 18 from 22.

Caleb Naicker was, then, the victim of a direct hit as Clifton chased runs in an attempt to overcome their stuttering start.

After 20 overs, they had scratched and scrambled their way to just 112/9. DHS, it seemed, was on course for a routine victory.

Naraidu’s excellent four overs brought him 4/10, while Bhavesh Naicker returned figures of 1/14 from three and Akhtar Basra picked up 1/6 from two.

As well as they did in the field, though, DHS gave up too many extras. There were 28 in total – four byes, five leg byes, two no balls, and seven wides – which was the highest contributor to Clifton’s total.

School‘s run chase started poorly when they lost Lazlo Jooste in the first over, LBW to Tim Saulez. There was further early success for Clifton, with Regan Radley bowling Ethan Cooper for two, to peg DHS back to 10/2.

Cooper’s departure, however, brought together the dangerous pair of Ismaeel Omar and Josh van Biljon and they combined effectively to put their team in the ascendancy. They enjoyed a partnership of 72 before Omar was trapped in front by the leg-spin of Shiraz Perumal for 40. He had spent 52 balls out in the middle and struck three of them for four.

Four balls later, the cat was thrown among the pigeons when Van Biljon kept attacking and was dismissed, hit wicket. He had made 30 from 39, with a six and a four.

What should have been a clear and comfortable path to victory suddenly appeared murky. Perumal was making the DHS batsmen uncomfortable. They couldn’t get him away, right when they needed to up the run-scoring rate. Then, the return of Tim Saulez saw the Clifton attack clamp down further on the DHS run-scoring, and wickets fell, too.

Perumal was outstanding. He had been introduced into the attack late, the sixth bowler used, but he turned the contest on its head, snaring 4/19 while stopping DHS’s momentum in its tracks.

Still only in grade 10, following that four-for, Perumal has taken a Clifton record 59 wickets this year, beating the record of 58 previously shared by former SA u19 captain Matthew Montgomery (2017) and Josh Brown (2018).

Saulez was special, too, knocking over 2/11 in four overs. His ability to bowl deliveries of a yorker length at the death made him tough to contend with.

Good bowling was backed up by good fielding, and the composed manner in which Clifton defended a low total played a huge role in their success.

“I think we timed the use of our two KZN bowlers, Tim Saulez and Shiraz Perumal, well,” Clifton’s Director of Cricket and 1st XI coach, Brandon Scullard, told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“We said to our senior players and our provincial players that they need to step up and they need to close the game out. They showed why they are u17 (Saulez) and u16 (Perumal) provincial bowlers because they bowled in the last four overs and they brought it home for us really well.”

Following the dismissal of Omar, it was astonishing how the DHS innings lost steam. It was one of those twists that makes cricket such a fascinating game. In the end, DHS reached 101/7. Only 18 runs were scored by batsmen other than Omar and Van Biljon.

Reflecting further on the game, Scullard added: “We kept it simple enough that the scoreboard pressure started to tell. When the rate got to eight, in schoolboy cricket they’re going to play a few more shots than they really should. Maybe if they had put bat on ball and run well, they could have got a bit closer.”

The Horseflies will be disappointed with how their 10-game winning streak came to an end. The game was theirs for the taking, but a disciplined performance in the field won Clifton the match.

They surrendered only 13 extras – no byes, one leg bye, zero no balls, and 10 wides – and that made all the difference at the end.

Summarised scorecard

Clifton College 112/9 (Extras 28, Zach Williamson 22, Lawson Dinsdale 18, Dhilan Naraidu 4/10, Bhavesh Naicker 1/14); Durban High School 101/7 (Ismaeel Omar 40, Josh van Biljon 30, Shiraz Perumal 4/19, Tim Saulez 2/11, Regan Radley 1/19).

Clifton College won by 11 runs.

The Soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs, host the country’s hottest football franchise, the Pretoria-based Mamelodi Sundowns, in a Gauteng Development League (GDL) clash at Naturena this weekend.

In the context of the league standings, the teams are tied on 75 points with the only difference being Mamelodi Sundowns’ superior goal difference.

That has them just ahead of Chiefs on the log, in second place. The defending champions, Highlands Park, are in first place.

The Brazilians also have one game in hand, having played 30 matches compared to Chiefs’ 31, and the season comprises 34 games in total.

There is more to this fixture, especially considering the pedigree of the head coaches in charge of the two teams.

CHIEFS’ MATHEBULA

At Naturena, Kaizer Chiefs have coach David Mathebula, a 41-year-old former Chiefs’ player whose blood is gold and black through and through.

This season, Mathebula has already guided Chiefs to two titles, with the club winning the Gauteng leg of the Engen Knockout Challenge and following that up by capturing the national Engen Champ of Champs.

‘DOWNS’ MORIRI

In Pretoria, Mamelodi Sundowns are led by coach Surprise Moriri, the former captain of a record-breaking team back in the early 2000s.

Moriri donned the Sundowns’ shirt for more than a decade and represented Bafana Bafana on 34 occasions.

When it comes to the culture, the style of play on the pitch, and what the Sundowns’ brand stands for, there is no better candidate than Moriri to instill those values in the youngsters coming up in the academy.

Both Moriri and Mathebula are tactically astute, and given that they played many professional games against each other, this weekend’s fixture will surely bring back memories of an old rivalry that entertained the country for many years.

On the field, the two coaches have fantastic players at their disposal. Sundowns have the young forward Kamva Moni, who has banged eight goals so far this season, while Chiefs can counter with Mpho Khethang, who also has scored eight goals, and this leads one to expect a high-scoring contest.

The fixture will be played on Sunday.
The defending champions and league leaders, Highlands Park take on Tuks on Saturday. They’ll be eager to add another tick in the win column to maintain the pressure on Sundowns and Chiefs.

FIXTURES

Saturday, 26 October

Tuks vs Highlands Park
SuperSport United vs Kathorus Hyper Academy
School of Excellence vs NWU Vaal FC

Sunday, 27 October

Joburg City vs Kathorus Hyper Academy
Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns
Tuks vs Jomo Cosmos

The reigning champions, St Benedict’s College basketball team, made an impressive start to their defence of the title at the seventh edition of the St David’s Marist Inanda Hoops Classic Challenge on Thursday.

Bennies scored two victories on day one, overcoming St Andrew’s College and King Edward VII School (KES). Those strong performances in Pool A mark the title-holders as serious contenders once again.

In their match against St Benedict’s College, the Eastern Cape’s St Andrew’s College faced a tough opponent and were well beaten, going down 17-57, which underlined the dominance of St Benedict’s throughout the contest. KES, on the other hand, stretched Bennies, but the reigning champions held the edge and came away with a 48-39 win.

In other Pool A matches, St Andrew’s College overcame the shock of their one-sided loss to St Benedict’s, defeating Sacred Heart College 61-55 in their second outing. It was a challenging day for Sacred Heart College, who also went down to KES, but not without a fight, with KES claiming a 51-41 win.

Pool B had two matches on the opening day. St John’s College scored a narrow win over Parktown Boys’ High School, with only four points separating the teams at the end, but St John’s the winners’ by a 48-44 margin. winning the game by 4 points in a final score of 48-44. The proud hosts of the tournament, St David’s Marist Inanda defeated Grey High School by 35-29 to get off to a winning start.

In Pool C, St Stithians College comfortably won their first game of the tournament, defeating Hilton College 53-35. Jeppe High School for Boys secured a convincing 66-42 win against Redhill School.

In Pool D, in a low-scoring affair, Michael Mount Waldorf School overcame St Peter’s College 24-14, while Pretoria Boys High School was made to sweat by King’s Linbro before coming away with a 37-33 victory.

u18 Results 

Pool A

St Benedict’s 57-17 St Andrew’s College
King Edward VII School 51-41 Sacred Heart
St Benedict’s 48-39 King Edward VII School
St Andrew’s College 61-55 Sacred Heart

Pool B

St John’s College 48-44 Parktown Boy’s High School
St David’s 35-29 Grey High

Pool C

St Stithians 53-35 Hilton
Jeppe 66-42 Redhill

Pool D

Michael Mount 24-14 St Peters
Pretoria Boy’s High School 37-33 King’s Linbro

u15 Results 

St David’s 43-37 St Andrew’s College
St Alban’s 35-21 St Peter’s
St Stithians 64-35 Jeppe
St Benedict’s 37-31 Parktown
St John’s College 35-23 Kings Linbro
Pretoria Boys High School 60-10 Redhill
King Edward VII School 45-39 Hilton College
Sacred Heart 39-37 Michael Mount
St Stithians 39-27 Parktown
St Benedict’s 56-45 Jeppe