29 August 2025
Leg-spinner Shiraz Perumal (feature photo) produced a special performance to lead Clifton College to an impressive and thrilling 55-run win over Hoërskool Noordheuwel on Gier Oval on Friday, day two of the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, at St David’s Marist Inanda, in Sandton. Victory was sealed in the final over of the match.
Perumal bagged six-fors in both Nories‘ innings – 6/83 in the first innings and 6/90 in the second – to finish with the superb match figures of 12/173.
Clifton led by only four runs on the first innings after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Noordhweuwel, whose successes in recent seasons include wins over St John’s College and a St Stithians College team that included future Proteas Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Kwena Maphaka, and three-time SA Schools selection, Richard Seletswane, made it tough on the Durban school.
Mohammed Malek, batting third in the order, held the Clifton innings together, however, grafting hard for an unbeaten 69 from 117 deliveries. His patience and ability to put the bad balls away were reflected in the 14 fours he struck.
Caleb Naicker lent good support, weighing in with 25, but it was Eliah van Jaarsveld who helped give Clifton’s innings the impetus it had been lacking with an aggressive knock coming in at number 10. He cracked five fours and two sixes in a quickfire 35 from 25 balls as he and Muhammed Malek added 49 for the ninth wicket.
Two runs later, Clifton was all out for 206.
(Above, the moment of victory, which was achieved with only two balls remaining in the two-day match)
Hanru Begeman, on at first change, led the Noordhweuwel bowling effort, snapping up 3/22 in 11 overs. Dihan Grové sent three batsmen packing, too, and finished with 3/59 from 10.2. New ball bowler Hinrich Smith also did a good job, claiming 2/23 in six.
Noordheuwel made a strong start to their first innings, with Wander Roolvink and Kian Liebenberg putting on 72 for the first wicket before Liebenberg was caught by Keegan Watson off the bowling of Shiraz Perumal for 40.
Nories lost some momentum, but they still looked in decent enough shape at 145/4, but Perumal and Watson then picked up two wickets each to reduce the Krugersdorp school to 158/8.
JD Bezuidenhout, in at nine, did a good job of slowing down Clifton’s charge, however, contributing 31 from 54 deliveries, with four fours, as Noordheuwel added 44 runs for their last two wickets.
Opener Wander Roolvink top-scored with 49, striking two sixes and two fours in his 67-ball innings, while Dian Taljaard made a useful 28.
At stumps, Clifton had reached 34/1 in their second innings. On Friday, they added a further 240 runs to tally 274 all out. There were many solid, if unspectacular, batting contributions.
Hayden Drieselman, in at three, top scored with 47, hitting five fours and a six in just 58 balls, while Shiraz Perumal, a right-arm bowler but a left-handed batsman, weighed in with a timely 44 from 59 deliveries, seven of which he dispatched for four. Opener Declan Shaw made 41 before he was run out.
Daniel Rea, with 32, Yusuf Ahmed, with 25, Jack Smith, with 25, and Blake Johnson, with 21, all helped to bolster the Durban boys’ total. Noordheuwel was set 277 to win.
Opening bowler JD Bezuidenhout was the pick of the Nories‘ bowlers, returning 2/31 from nine overs, while Gomolemo Sibi took 2/48 from 15.4, and Dihan Grové returned 2/60 from 19.
Opening batsman, Wander Roolvink, was again the cornerstone of Noordheuwel’s batting effort in their second innings, making a fine 78 at a run a ball, which included nine fours and a six.
The middle order produced some decent contributions, with 37 from Hinrich Smith, 32 from Steph Jooste, and 27 from Liam Roets. But all four of their leading scorers fell to the wiles of Shiraz Perumal, who proved to be the match winner.
While he snared 6/90, left-arm spinner Blake Johnson made his mark, picking up the first two wickets to go down, on his way to a tidy return of 2/32 from 14 overs.
Noordheuwel’s resistance almost held, but they were bowled out for 223, leaving Clifton the comfortable winners.
The only other KZN side in action, St Charles College, fell to King Edward VII (KES), going down by seven wickets.
Inconsistency at the crease let Saints down. They had seven batsmen reach double figures after electing to bat first, but only Connor Simpson made it beyond the early twenties as the Pietermaritzburg side was dismissed for 188.
Batting ninth, Simpson hit seven fours in his knock of 51 from 54 deliveries. Meanwhile, Ryan Clarke chipped in with 22, Rowen Rajah and André Bosman made 21, and Keegan Vermaak contributed 20.
St Charles was, however, doomed by a poor start, which left them scrambling on 29/4 in the 22nd over. No one bowler did the damage up front, with four different bowlers helping to set Saints on their heels.
Steele Grooteman led the KES attack, picking up 3/40 from 12.1 overs, while Connor Kuijers took 3/53. Luke Clarke, the eighth bowler used, claimed 2/25.
Unlike the St Charles top order, the top four in the KES batting lineup all got among the runs. Opener Tiago Dias led the way, with 47 from 74 balls, while his fellow opener, Urav Mukhija, struck 43 from 55, and they shared an opening stand of 92.
Luke Clarke, in at six, made 44, while 33 from Matthew Bromley and 20 from Troy Gordon helped KES overhaul the St Charles’ total.
Saints, though, fought back well, with Keegan Vermaak leading the charge. He knocked over 4/39 in only seven overs, and two run outs helped, too, as KES declared on 228/8, a lead of 40 runs.
In their second innings, St Charles had two batsmen produce significant innings. The problem was that they received little support.
Caleb Sharp top-scored with 84, striking 12 fours in a 126-ball stay, while Ryan Clarke made 69 from 102. Yet, despite those two innings, worth 153 runs, Saints was bowled out for 202. That left KES needing 163 to win.
Once again, the KES top order came through to set the Johannesburg school up for a convincing seven-wicket victory. Tiago Dias and Urthmaan Khan delivered an opening stand of 74 before Dias fell for 33, but, by then, KES was well on the way to picking up a win.
Khan went on to make 64 from 67, with 10 fours. He was out with the total on 111. Matthew Bromley, with 28 not out and Abdullah Mohammed, with an unbeaten 20, then saw KES to victory after 32.3 overs.
St David’s Marist Inanda also picked up a win, powering their way to a nine-wicket win over Hoërskool Waterkloof. St Andrew’s School and Jeppe drew. So, too did the Lions Invitational XI against St Stithians, and Hoërskool Nelspruit and St John’s College.
On Saturday, Clifton returns to the scene of their success, Gier Oval, to face KES, while St Charles plays at St John’s on the Mitchell Oval. In other matches, St Andrew’s visits St Stithians, Jeppe tackles Waterkloof, and Noordheuwel goes up against Nelspruit.
SCORES
Clifton 206/10 (Muhammed Malek 69*, Eliah van Jaarsveld 35; Hanru Begeman 3/22, Dihan Grove 3/59, Hinrich Smith 2/23). Noordheuwel 202/10 (Wander Roolvink 49, Kian Liebenberg 40; Shiraz Perumal 6/83, Keegan Watson 2/10). Clifton 274/10 (Hayden Drieselman 47, Shiraz Perumal 44, Declan Shaw 41; Gomolemo Sibi 2/48, Dihan Grove 2/60). Noordheuwel 223/10 (Wander Roolvink 78, Hinrich Smith 37; Shiraz Perumal 6/90, Blake Johnson 2/32). Clifton won by 55 runs.
St Charles 188/10 (Connor Simpson 51, Ryan Clarke 22; Connor Kuijers 4/56, Steele Grooteman 3/40, Luke Clark 2/25). KES 225/8 (Urav Mukhija 53, Luke Clark 44; Keegan Vermaak 3/28, Daksesh Rajah 1/47). St Charles 202/10 (Caleb Sharp 84, Ryan Clarke 71; Lebone Ramedupe 3/15, Steele Grooteman 3/32). KES 166/3 (Tiago Dias 76, Matthew Bromley 39*; Daksesh Rajah 1/23, Keegan Vermaak 1/37). KES won by seven wickets.
Waterkloof 228/9 (Johan Feuth 100*, AJ de Villiers 81; Jared Stern 4/37, Miles Pegg 3/56). St David’s 219/8 (Jason Rowles 116*, Samrat Basu 64; Christiaan Smit 3/33, Johan Liebenberg 2/46, Vorster de Villiers 2/10). Waterkloof 276/6 (AJ de Villiers 73, Wian du Plessis 52*; Roberto Mariano 2/19, Jason Rowles 2/60). St David’s 287/1 (Roberto Mariano 116*, Armaan Manack 97, Jason Rowles 56*; Rivan Booysen 1/47). St David’s won by nine wickets.
Jeppe 188/10 (Goolam Ahmed 92, Keegan Cockburn 30; Nikhil Sukraj 4/41, Bohlokwa Leketa 3/34). St Andrew’s School 254/10 (Andrew Sobiech 109, Reuben van Aardé 34*; Zizi Mkhize 6/46, Shreshth Kumar 3/90). Jeppe 363/8 (Aiden Reyneke 140, Ryan Young 114; Nikhil Sukraj 3/31, FG Botha 3/96). St Andrew’s 209/4 (Naude Botha 95*, Reuben van Aarde 37*; Caleb Coates Moggee 2/39, Shreshth Kumar 1/39). Match drawn.
Lions Invitational XI 266/8 (Matthew Barbour 88, Sachin Sunkar 47, Zuan Joubert 44; Akhil Challa 3/40, Tajendra Naidu 2/36). St Stithians 207/3 (Ombesa Matsha 80, Tahseen Hanslo 40*, Nicholas Bayly 28*). Lions Invitational XI 341/4 (Bafana Mthunzi 172, Murray Leith 58; Nqaba Matunda 2/49, Tendai Kadyamadare 1/39). St Stithians 126/2 (Liam Mudenda 72, Thomas Collins 24*; Josh van Rensburg 1/33). Match drawn.
Nelspruit 227/7 (Joshua Knoetze 71, Waldemar Graham, Janco Breyl 41*; Alec Loveland 4/66, Lwazi Khupe 1/34). St John’s 232/5 (Aiden Barberin 79*, Darshik Lutchman 69; Duan Smal 2/40, Jason Knoetze 2/26). Nelspruit 215/6 (Juan Maritz 57*, Luan Siebrits 48; Alec Loveland 2/38, Malan du Plessis 1/23). St John’s 136/6 (Herman Basson 52*, Joshua Hall 30; Jason Knoetze 1/16, Safwaan Miller 1/24). Match drawn.
Leave a Reply