4 March 2025
(Feature photograph, courtesy Hannah Shirley)
Article by Marlowe Bloem.
For the second time in recent weeks, the Kearsney College 1st XI held off St Charles College in a tense finish to score a tight win. After a narrow three-run victory in the Clifton T20 Tournament, they once again emerged victorious, this time by just 12 runs in a limited-overs clash on the AH Smith Oval on Saturday.
Winning the toss, St Charles opted to bowl and applied early pressure on the Kearsney batsmen. Runs were hard to come by in the opening exchanges, and when Rivan Moodley was bowled by Caleb Sharp for six, Kearsney had crawled to only 18 in the 10th over.
Captain Jason de Gryse played a determined knock at the top of the order, compiling 39 off 93 deliveries, including four boundaries. Cole Young provided much-needed impetus later in the innings, striking an unbeaten 38 from 49 balls. Nic Comrie’s 20 also helped push Kearsney to 172 all out in 49.1 overs.
The Saints’ bowlers stuck to their task well. Keegan Vermaak ripped through the middle order, finishing with an impressive 5/35 from his 10 overs. Rowen Rajah led from the front with 2/23 in nine, while Sharp was particularly economical, conceding just 17 runs in his 10 overs while picking up a wicket.
In reply, St Charles started brightly. Vermaak and Thando Zama put on 56 for the first wicket before Vermaak was caught by Asher Hollister off Matthew Gorrie for 20. Four runs later, Zama followed, trapped by Rivan Moodley for a brisk 33 from 38 balls, which featured two sixes and three fours.
Gorrie then landed a major blow, dismissing St Charles’ skipper Rico Honiball for a duck. Moodley struck again soon after, removing Sharp, and when he also accounted for AJ Bosman cheaply, St Charles had slumped to 72/5.
Rowen Rajah and Ryan Clarke fought back with a 66-run sixth-wicket partnership, but Gorrie broke the stand, dismissing Clarke for 29. Rajah followed two runs later, another Moodley victim, departing for 39, leaving Saints in deep trouble at 140/7. The end came quickly.
A run-out of Dylan Leppan helped seal St Charles’ fate as they were bowled out for 160. Moodley continued his rich vein of form with 4/28 from 10 overs, while Gorrie chipped in with 3/46.
Interestingly, St Charles conceded 13 more extras than Kearsney, including 11 more wides—the final margin of victory was just 12 runs.
Overall, St Charles won seven and Kearsney four matches.
Scores
Kearsney College 172/10 (Jason De Gryse 39, Cole Young 38*, Nic Comrie 20, Keegan Vermaak 5/35, Rowen Rajah 2/26); St Charles College 160/10 (Rowen Rajah 39, Thando Zama 33, Ryan Clarke 29, Rivan Moodley 4/28, Matthew Gorrie 3/46). Kearsney College won by 12 runs.
2nd XI
Kearsney 129/10
St Charles 130/9
St Charles won by one wicket
3rd XI
St Charles 70/10
Kearsney 45/10
St Charles won by 25 runs
4th XI
Kearsney 134/10
St Charles 135/5
St Charles won by 5 wickets
u16A
Kearsney 127/10
St Charles 97/10
Kearsney won by 30 runs
u16B
Kearsney 130/8
St Charles 131/2
St Charles won by 8 wickets
u16C
St Charles 114/10
Kearsney 98/10
St Charles won by 16 runs
u15A
St Charles 91/10
Kearsney 95/3
Kearsney won by 7 wickets
u15B
St Charles 165/3
Kearsney 119/8
St Charles won by 46 runs
u15C
Kearsney 56/10
St Charles 57/5
St Charles won by 5 wickets
u14A
St Charles 119/10
Kearsney 124/5
Kearsney won by 5 wickets
BASKETBALL
Kearsney College hosted St Charles in The SportZone in a clash of two evenly matched basketball teams, which had spectators on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.
Both teams displayed immense passion and determination but, in the end, it was St Charles who emerged victorious with a narrow 64-63 win.
From the outset, Saints stamped their authority on the game, executing a high-paced offense. Their aggressive approach and clinical finishing saw them take an early lead, eight points clear, at 21-13, after the first quarter.
Kearsney refused to back down. They regrouped in the second quarter and came out with renewed intensity. Their defensive setup tightened, and their offensive plays became more structured. That enabled them to outscore St Charles in the second and third quarters, but the visitors still held a narrow 46-45 advantage heading into the final quarter.
The battle was intense, with both sides matching each other point for point. In fact, they finished the quarter having shared the points 18-18 and that left Saints the winners by the narrowest of margins.
The difference in the game came from the free throw line. A large number of fouls were committed, but, while St Charles capitalised on their free throw opportunities, Kearsney was less successful in turning theirs into points.
Both teams had three players with double digit contributions. Kearsney’s James Hastings-Brown led all scorers, with 16, while Pabatso Sithole, with 12, and Daniel Prinsloo, with 10, also did well. Kyle Carmichael was Saints’ leading scorer, with 15 points, while Bandile Sokhabase was good for 14, and Khwezi Simelane for 10.
Despite dropping the first team match, Kearsney enjoyed the better of the results because of the success of their younger age group teams.
RESULTS
1st: Kearsney 63-64 St Charles
2nd: Kearsney 35-33 St Charles
3rd: Kearsney 15-42 St Charles
4th: Kearsney 27-19 St Charles
5th: Kearsney 22-18 St Charles
6th: Kearsney 21-23 St Charles
7th: Kearsney 0-20 St Charles
16A: Kearsney 45-22 St Charles
16B: Kearsney 35-34 St Charles
16C: Kearsney 37-22 St Charles
16D: Kearsney 20-15 St Charles
16E: Kearsney 30-19 St Charles
15A: Kearsney 36-9 St Charles
15B: Kearsney 33-25 St Charles
15C: Kearsney 20-10 St Charles
15D: Kearsney 20-18 St Charles
15E: Kearsney 9-6 St Charles
u14A @ Jeppe Tournament
Kearsney 12-22 Pretoria Boys High
Kearsney 20-3 ESCA Wanderers
Kearsney 32-0 Jeppe Invitational
Kearsney 27-3 Pecanwood College
Kearsney 12-13 St Benedict’s College
Kearsney 8-5 KES
Kearsney 2-14 St John’s College
Kearsney 6-7 St David’s Marist Inanda
Kearsney 14-19 Hilton College
Kearsney 5-2 Parktown Boys’ High
14B: Kearsney 37-13 St Charles
14C: Kearsney 24-20 St Charles
14D: Kearsney 21-9 St Charles
14E: Kearsney 4-12 St. Charles
WATER POLO
The Kearsney 1st water polo team suffered its only loss of the season in the quarterfinals of the KES Water Polo Tournament, but the side regrouped to finish in fifth place and had James Pohl and Thomas Aylward named in the Team of the Tournament at the conclusion of the prestigious event.
Results
Kearsney 15-8 Westville
Kearsney 12-11 KES
Kearsney 6-5 Paul Roos
Kearsney 8-11 St Stithians
Kearsney 4-3 Selborne College
Kearsney 7-3 SACS
2nd: Kearsney 6-7 St Charles 1st
3rd: Kearsney 16-0 St Charles 2nd
u15A @ Indigo Tournament
Kearsney 5-4 Affies
Kearsney 9-3 KES
Kearsney 3-6 St Benedict’s College
Kearsney 4-6 SACS
Kearsney 2-3 Clifton
Kearsney 4-5 St John’s College
Kearsney 3-5 St John’s College
Kearsney 7-3 Pretoria Boys High
Kearsney 5-3 Paarl Boys’ High
15B: Kearsney 4-16 St Charles u15A
u14A @ Jeppe Tournament
Kearsney 5-6 St Stithians College
Kearsney 7-2 St John’s College
Kearsney 8-2 St Benedict’s College
Kearsney 7-2 Pretoria Boys High
Kearsney 20-0 Parktown Boys’ High
U14B: Kearsney 10-4 St Charles u14A
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