2 February 2024
Opener Omar Ismaeel struck a superb 70, sending 12 deliveries to the boundary, to play the key innings for Durban High School (DHS) in their 46-run W100 win over Clifton College on the Theobald Oval at DHS on Thursday.
Semal Pillay also made a valuable contribution, scoring 32 from 22 deliveries, which included a single six and four fours.
Clifton’s Shahzaad Perumal shone with the ball, snaring 2/15 with his left-arm spin.
Perumal then played a fine attacking innings to pace the visitors’ batting effort. He tallied 54 not out from only 35 balls, with a six and five fours, but his was a lone bright spot in the Clifton innings as only Cohen Naidoo, with 14, and Zach Williamson, with 11, joined him in double figures.
At the conclusion of their 100 balls, Clifton was on 110/9.
KZN u19 paceman Bayanda Majola made his impact at the end, rather than at the beginning, accelerating Clifton’s slide towards defeat with three wickets at a time when the visiting team would have hoped to boost their run rate.
Bhavesh Naicker continued his fine form with a return of 2/10, while Semal Pillay, so often a contributor with the bat, showed he has more than one string to his bow by claiming 2/17.
Thursday’s win for DHS comes on the back of a shock defeat of Kearsney in a limited overs match on Saturday, which was a big reversal of the 60-run loss they had suffered against the same opposition in a W100 match only days earlier.
Ismaeel, Pillay and Josh van Biljon, who was the third highest scorer on Thursday, with 16, were all members of the KZN team that emerged as champions of the u16 National Week at the end of last year. That trio has a season’s 1st XI experience in the bag, and with more good players coming through from a very successful DHS u16A side, School’s results are, undoubtedly, trending up.
Summarised score
Durban High School 156/7 (Omar Ismaeel, Semal Pillay 32; Shahzaad Perumal 2/15); Clifton 110/9 (Shahzaad Perumal 54* Bayanda Majola 3/23, Bhavesh Naicker 2/10, Semal Pillay 2/17) DHS won by 46 runs.
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