The Michaelmas Cricket Week, founded in 1959, is bigger than ever, with this year’s edition, to be played from Friday, 4 October, to Monday, 7 October, featuring 26 teams from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Free State. The event, which is hosted by Maritzburg College, features schools with a rich history of producing provincial and international players, with nine former participants going on to captain their countries.
They include AB de Villiers (Affies), Faf du Plessis (Affies), Hashim Amla (DHS), Kepler Wessels (Grey College), Hansie Cronje (Grey College), Ali Bacher (KES), Graeme Smith (KES), Shaun Pollock (Northwood), David Miller (Maritzburg College), Kevin Pietersen (Maritzburg College, England), and Ross Taylor (Palmerston North, New Zealand)
The number of participating teams is up from 24 to 26, and 2024’s number was up four from 2023’s twenty. The quality of the participants and the increasing size of the event is evidence of the high regard in which it is held. It is, arguably, South Africa’s premier schools’ cricket festival.
Last year, there was only one representative from the Western Cape – remembering that the Cape Schools Festival takes place at the same time – but Paul Roos has now been joined by Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys’ High.
The lineup also includes the composite CSA Hub Invitational XI, made up of the top players from hubs around the country. They’re a serious outfit. In 2024, they toppled Affies, Jeppe, and St John’s during an undefeated Michaelmas run.
What about the KZN schools? Maritzburg College found the going tough on Goldstone’s during the Michaelmas Week last year, and they’ll be focused on making good use of their home ground. In 2024, their batting relied too much on their captain Chad Mason. They’re better balanced this season but lack the star power of Mason.
But, speaking of balance, their bowling attacked is nicely varied, with College getting telling returns from many different bowlers throughout 2025. Their opening pair, Sam Hughes and Reece Willson, usually enjoys good returns, while Dom du Toit has led the way with his spin in recent outings.
Glenwood, always a strong fielding and bowling outfit, will work hard on building their batting partnerships. Those have, at times, been their undoing. Opener Karabo Ntsieng has been a standout in recent matches, patiently anchoring their innings while accumulating runs. They also boast, in SAu19 all-rounder Bandile Mbatha, one of the most exciting talents in the schools’ ranks.
They’re a gritty outfit, whose all-out effort in the field places opposing sides under heavy pressure.
Clifton College enjoyed a strong run in last year’s Michaelmas Week, winning three of four, and they went all the way to the final of the St John’s Rams T20 in Harare recently, losing to a Johannesburg Invitational team in the final that included players from King Edward VII (KES), St John’s College, Jeppe, and Queens High. The first three of those four will be in action during the Michaelmas Week.
Clifton’s focus will be on keeping their momentum going. In Harare, their captain, Tim Saulez, was named the Player of the Tournament, left-arm spinner Blake Johnson received the Bowler of the Tournament Award, and wicketkeeper, Lawson Dinsdale, received the Fielder of the Tournament Award.
Leg-spinner, Shiraz Perumal, who has set records for the number of wickets taken by a Clifton bowler in successive seasons, is a potential match-winner. At the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, he claim 12 wickets in the match in a thrilling win over Noordheuwel.
Durban High School (DHS) made people sit up and take notice at last year’s Michaelmas Week when they thumped Affies by 95 runs. They’ve pushed on since then and have been the best team in KZN in 2025, which has included winning a second successive Clifton T20 title. They rely on their top three batsmen in the order – Ismaeel Omar, Ethan Cooper, and Josh van Biljon – to lay the foundation for their challenges, and they almost always deliver.
They’re also a strong team in the field, led by their captain and pace ace, Bayanda Majola. He’ll receive good backing from all-rounder Taine Havermann in the seam department, while left-arm spinner Dhilan Naraidu, who usually takes the new ball with Majola, has delivered some match-winning spells this season.
Hilton College‘s challenge in 2025 has been inconsistency. They’re talented, no doubt, but all too often have been let down by their batting, when the fall of one wicket has led to mini-collapses and full-on collapses.
At times, though, when facing stronger opposition, they’ve excelled. Ben Hockly, at the top of the order, is a player who has sometimes fallen short against lesser opposition but has tamed top sides. Their bowling lineup presents many different challenges, but Hilton’s wins and losses in 2025 have often been related to whether or not they batted first or second on the Hart-Davis Oval. Batting first has been a tricky task.
Kearsney College is a well-rounded outfit, but, like Maritzburg College, they have missed one of their stars of last year, Ross Coetzee, whose batting heroics powered them to a strong season. They have many capable batsmen who have, at one time or another, produced fine knocks. But they lack the consistent excellence of Coetzee.
They offer a usefully diverse bowling attack. Left-arm paceman Litha Gonya is a regular wicket-taker, while their spinners, led by Rivaan Moodley and Matthew Gorrie, will challenge their opposition with their turn.
Michaelhouse has enjoyed a strong fourth term. Much like DHS, they derive much of their success from the strong starts accorded them by their top order. Ethan Muir has been a strength opening the batting, while Ben Heuer has shone with his all-round contributions. On the bowling front, Thandanani Zuma has been a reliable spearhead of their attack.
While they are the KZN Schools SA20 champions, Northwood, is, arguably, better suited to the longer 50-over game. They’re well led by Kyle White, a consistent batsman who adjusts his game well to the requirements, who is also a dangerous part-time bowler.
They’ll be seeking greater consistency from their top six batsmen. Often, they have played themselves in, getting twenties and thirties, but they need to push on from there.
Their top wicket-taker, Jordan Matthews, is, perhaps, their most innocuous-looking bowler, but don’t be fooled, the left-arm spinner is naggingly accurate and almost always among the wickets. Northwood’s bowling strength lies in their variety, which is backed up by good fielding.
St Charles, like their Pietermaritzburg rivals, Maritzburg College, didn’t enjoy a good Michaelmas Week in 2024, but they’re a decent unit. They showed up well at the Fasken Time Cricket Festival in Johannesburg, where Caleb Sharp was outstanding. Batting in the lower order, he made four and 84 not out against KES and 76 not out and 32 not out against St John’s, which resulted in him moving up the order, where he has continued to produce.
Opener Thandolwethu Zama is another player who has been in the runs. He’s a hard striker of the ball, capable of wreaking havoc on opposing bowling lineups.
Fast bowler Rowen Rajah leads the attack. Ryan Clarke, like Rajah, offers plenty with both the bat and ball. At the beginning of the year, he captured 6/24, including a hat-trick, which led to Michaelhouse collapsing from 72/2 to 102 all out in a seven-wicket Saints‘ victory.
Westville Boys’ High has not quite played to the standards they’re capable of reaching in the fourth term. But they’re a dangerous side. Their captain, Seth Simpson, is, along with DHS’s Josh van Biljon, the top batsman in KZN, a potential match-winner in every game he plays. And he’s a more than useful bowler, as he proved in the W100 final, which Westville won for a fifth year in succession.
Tristan Delvin has been in good form with bat and ball. His left-arm spin partnership with Ewan du Toit is one of the strengths of the Griffin. They also possess, in Dayalan Boyce, a pace bowler with the ability to produce unplayable wicket-taking balls.
Much will depend on how Westville bats. Like Northwood, their batsmen have often made decent starts, but they have then not pushed on to match-defining scores.
The Gauteng challenge is made up of five schools from the Titans region and five from the Lions. Representing the Titans are Pretoria Boys High, Affies, Waterkloof, St Alban’s, and Cornwall Hill College. The Lions’ quintet is St John’s, Jeppe, KES, St Stithians, and St David’s Marist Inanda.
Hudson Park flies the flag for the Eastern Cape, and Grey College represents the Free State’s interests.
FIXTURES
Saturday, 4 October: Maritzburg College vs Pretoria Boys (Goldstone’s), Glenwood vs St Alban’s (Barns’), Jeppe vs Hudson Park (Collegians), Clifton vs Paarl Boys (Lynwood), DHS vs St Stithians (Eston), Hilton vs Grey College (Hilton), St Charles vs Paul Roos (St Charles), Westville vs St David’s (Varsity 1), Cornwall Hill vs CSA Invitational (MP Oval – Woodlands), Michaelhouse vs Affies (Michaelhouse Roy Gathorne), Northwood vs Waterkloof (Michaelhouse Hannahs), Kearsney vs KES (Richmond), St John’s vs Paarl Gim (Howick).
Sunday, 5 October: Maritzburg College vs St John’s (Goldstone’s), Westville vs Grey College (Barns’), DHS vs St David’s (Collegians), Kearsney vs Waterkloof (Lynwood), Hudson Park vs St Alban’s (Eston), Hilton vs Affies (Hilton), St Charles vs KES (St Charles), Glenwood vs CSA Invitational (Varsity 1), Clifton vs St Stithians (MP Oval), Michaelhouse vs Paul Roos (Michaelhouse Roy Gathorne), Jeppe vs Paul Gim (Michaelhouse Hannahs), Cornwall Hill vs Northwood (Richmond), Paarl Boys vs Pretoria Boys (Howick).
Monday, 6 October: Maritzburg College vs Grey College (Goldstone’s), Clifton vs KES (Barns’), Cornwall Hill vs Paul Roos (Collegians), CSA Invitational vs Paarl Gim (Lynwood), Kearsney vs Jeppe (Eston), Hilton vs St David’s (Hilton), St Charles vs Hudson Park (St Charles), DHS vs Pretoria Boys (Varsity 1), Glenwood vs Waterkloof (MP Oval), Michaelhouse vs St Alban’s (Michaelhouse Roy Gathorne), Westville vs St Stithians (Michaelhouse Hannahs), St John’s vs Paarl Boys (Richmond), Northwood vs Affies (Howick).
Tuesday, 7 October: Maritzburg College vs Paarl Boys (Goldstone’s), Cornwall Hill vs Hudson Park (Barns’), Pretoria Boys vs Paarl Gim (Collegians), Glenwood vs Jeppe (Lynwood), Paul Roos vs Waterkloof (Eston), Hilton vs KES (Hilton), St Charles vs St David’s (St Charles), Northwood vs St Stithians (Varsity 1), Westville vs Affies (MP Oval), Michaelhouse vs St John’s (Michaelhouse Roy Gathorne), DHS vs Grey College (Michaelhouse Hannahs), Kearsney vs St Alban’s (Kearsney), Clifton vs CSA Invitational (Howick).
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