9 October 2025
(Feature photo: St Charles all-rounder Ryan Clarke, courtesy of Duncan Andrew)
Westville Boys’ High vs Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool
The match of the day on Tuesday, the last day of the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week, was between Westville Boys’ High and Affies, with Westville claiming a heart-stopping one-wicket win off the last ball of the game at the MP Oval. All games were T20s.
Affies won the toss and chose to bat first, but Westville, led by Sean McGough, made early inroads, reducing the Pretoria school to 55/5 in the 10th over when opening batsman Christian Linde departed for 25.
At last, though, Affies struck back, with Ruben Groenewald leading the counter. He smashed four sixes and a four fours in a quickfire 45 from 30 balls and added 72 with Adriaan Nel for the sixth wicket before falling in the 18th over. Nel was out three balls later, having struck two sixes in his 30 off 26 deliveries.
At the end of their 20 overs, Affies had reached 138/7, with Sean McGough bagging a sparkling 3/19 from four overs.
Westville made a shaky start to their run chase, losing openers, Kyle and Sean McGough, in the first two overs. Their dismissals, though, brought two of Westville’s most consistent performers together – captain Seth Simpson and all-rounder Tristan Delvin.
Together, they advanced the total by 65 runs before Simpson was bowled by Nico Loggenberg. Simpson matched Ruben Groenewald’s 45 off 30 for Affies, except Simpson hit five fours and two sixes.
Delvin fell in the 14th over, with the total on 101, for 36. His exit was the start of a nerve-racking end to the game for the Griffin. They lost a further five wickets in the remaining five overs, including their ninth with three balls remaining, but Westville scrambled a leg bye off the final delivery to snatch victory.
Opening bowler, Zian Labuschagne, knocked over 4/35 for Affies, while Petrus Rautenbach was superb, snaring 2/10 in four. Nico Loggenberg weighed in with 2/28 from his four.
As is often the case in T20 matches, wides made the difference, with Westville bowling only two and Affies sending down seven.
Scores
Affies 138/7 (Ruben Groenewald 45, Adriaan Nel 30, Christian Linde 25; Sean McGough 3/19); Westville Boys’ High 139/9 (Seth Simpson 45, Tristin Delvin 36; Zian Labuschagne 4/35, Petrus Rautenbach 2/10, Nico Loggenberg 2/28). Westville Boys’ High won by one wicket.
Michaelhouse vs St John’s College
On the Roy Gathorne Oval, Michaelhouse finished the Michaelmas Week with a perfect record of four wins from four starts after a thrilling six-wicket win over St John’s College.
St John’s batted first after the coin flip went their way, but they were rocked by the early dismissal of opening batsman, Nkosana Sibiya. Connor van der Walt, who replaced him, showed no fear, however, taking the attack to the Michaelhouse bowlers. He cracked 34 off 28 balls, with four fours and a six, before becoming the fourth man to lose his wicket, which left St John’s on 57/4 in the ninth over.
Herman Basson, then, joined Alec Loveland at the crease and they proceeded to lay into the ‘House bowling, adding 95 runs in 11.3 overs before Loveland, the captain, was out to the second last ball of the innings, a third victim of Radhesh Jhilmeet, for 68 from 47 balls, with six fours and two sixes.
Basson finished with 29 from 29, while Jhilmeet led the Michaelhouse attack, capturing 3/24 from his four overs.
Michaelhouse made a steady start to their run pursuit, but experienced a wobble when they fell from 34 without loss to 44/3. That, however, set the table for a sublime innings from Hayden Hewlett, who was well supported by Ben Heuer.
Together, they put on 95 for the fourth wicket before Heuer was bowled by Ethan Robinson for 30 from 27, which featured two sixes.
Hewlett, however, was even more aggressive and effective, but Michaelhouse needed every last ball to snatch victory, and Hewlett sealed it with his fourth four off the contest’s final delivery. He finished undefeated on a splendid 80 from only 46 balls, which also included five sixes.
Ethan Robinson led the St John’s attack, picking up 2/24 in four.
Scores
St John’s College 153/5 (Alec Loveland 68, Connor van der Walt 34, Herman Basson 29*; Radhesh Jhilmeet 3/24); Michaelhouse 156/4 (Hayden Hewlett 80*, Ben Heuer 30, Ethan Muir 24; Ethan Robinson 2/24). Michaelhouse won by six wickets.
Maritzburg College vs Paarl Boys’ High
Maritzburg College signed off on the Michaelmas Week with a third win on Goldstone’s, this time by 18 runs over Paarl Boys High.
Booishaai opted to bowl first, but that backfired as College’s Daniel Nadasan and Kyle de Bruyn powered their way to 79 before Nadasan lost his wicket in the 10th over. The College skipper made 33 off 27, with four fours.
The Red, Black, and White didn’t blink, though, when he exited, and De Bruyn and Sphamandla Dzanibe advanced the total to 128 before De Bruyn was stumped by AB Jacobs off Pieter Gildenhuis off the last ball of the 16th over for an aggressive 57 from 47 balls, seven of which he sent to the boundary, with one more travelling over it.
That left College on 128/2 with four overs to go. They tacked on 40 more runs. Dzanibe finished on 54 not out from 40, with three fours and two sixes, as College posted 168/3.
In response, Paarl Boys High put on 28 for the first wicket but then lost their way as they slid to 46/4 in the eighth over, with Dzanibe removing two batsmen with the ball and another via a run out, which saw Christo Muller depart for 31.
Pieter Geldenhuis led the resistance after the opener exited and went on to the innings’ top score of 61 not out from only 35 balls, which included six fours and two sixes. However, apart from 18 by Aiden Batt, he lacked solid support and the Bolanders finished on 150/7.
Dzanibe’s excellent all-round game concluded with a haul of 3/16 from three overs, while Karl Dedekind nabbed 2/18 in two.
Scores
Maritzburg College 168/3 (Kyle de Bruyn 57, Sphamandla Dzanibe 54, Daniel Nadasan 33); Paarl Boys’ High 150/7 (Pieter Gildenhuis 61*, Christo Muller 31; Sphamandla Dzanibe 3/16, Karl Dedekind 2/18). Maritzburg College won by 18 runs.
Durban High School vs Grey College
A fantastic unbeaten 100 from only 58 balls, which included nine fours and five sixes, by Juan Maree, spurred Grey College to a 32-run win over Durban High School (DHS) at Michaelhouse.
The toss went the way of DHS, but they made the wrong call because Maree was on his game. School started well, though, removing SA Schools’ opener, Christian Kind, for nine.
Maree and Daniel Hattingh then joined forces and shared a stand of 74 for the second wicket in just 41 balls. When Hattingh was caught by Bayanda Majola off Josh Morley for 37 from 23 balls, he had blasted four sixes and two fours.
Aiden Dodd, who usually opens the batting, came in at five and chipped in a useful 26 off 15, while Maree went to his century off the third ball of the last over as Grey finished on a challenging 210/5.
Morley finished with 2/40 off four, while Majola claimed 1/26 in four.
Faced with a stiff target, the DHS openers, Ismaeel Omar and Ethan Cooper, provided their side with a terrific platform, putting on 111 for the first wicket before Cooper was out to the second ball of the eleventh over. He had launched four sixes and stroked three fours in a quickfire 47 off 29 deliveries.
Ismaeel followed two runs later for a belligerent 61 from 36, with six fours and three sixes. Then, Bergh Vorster, struck a huge blow for Grey College when he dismissed Josh van Biljon. Suddenly, DHS had tumbled from 111 without loss to 115/3, with their three best batsmen out.
From there, the Horseflies‘ run chase faltered and they were eventually limited to 178/9.
Opening bowler Sicelo Matayi took 3/32 in four, Bergh Vorster returned 2/16 in two, and Bernard Saaiman ended with 2/18 in two as Grey College ended the Michaelmas Week with three wins.
Scores
Grey College 210/5 (Juan Maree 100*, Daniel Hattingh 37, Aiden Dodd 26; Josh Morley 2/40); Durban High School 178/9 (Ismaeel Omar 61, Ethan Cooper 47; Sicelo Matayi 3/32, Bergh Vorster 2/16, Bernard Saaiman 2/16). Grey College won by 32 runs.
Kearsney College vs St Alban’s College
Kearsney College enjoyed hosting St Alban’s College on the picturesque AH Smith Oval in their last outing, scoring a five-wicket win with only two balls in hand.
After opting to bat, St Alban’s posted 129/7, which owed plenty to Liam Basch. He contributed a fiery 76 not out from 54 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes. His knock was 62 runs more than any other St Alban’s batsman managed.
Kearsney’s effort in the field was helped by two run outs, while five bowlers claimed a wicket each, with Blake Pugh bowling economically to bag 1/9 in three.
The home side lost captain Jason De Gryse early, but Aaron Blackburn and Keegan de Jager fought back with a 77-run second-wicket partnership from 10 overs. Blackburn, then, fell for 54 from 42, with three sixes and three fours.
De Jager followed 12 runs later for 36 from 34, which left Kearsney on 103/3 after 15.2 overs. Two balls later, it was 104/4, with Cole Young caught by Mduduzi Mahlangu off Luke Ward.
Jonty Wiggett took charge, however, sending three deliveries to the boundary in an unbeaten 18 off 12 to see Kearsney across the line. Ward did his best to stop the home side’s victory bid, knocking over 3/17 in four.
Scores
St Alban’s College 129/7 (Liam Basch 76*); Kearsney College 130/5 (Aaron Blackburn 54, Keegan de Jager 36; Luke Ward 3/17). Kearsney won by five wickets.
Northwood vs St Stithians College
Northwood ended on a high, inflicting an eight-run defeat on the previously unbeaten St Stithians College at UKZN.
Batting first, the Knights made an unconvincing hesitant start, falling to 40/3 in the sixth over, but captain Kyle White and Jamie Wimble set Northwood on the right track with a fourth-wicket partnership of 67 from 56 balls before White was caught by Ombesa Matsha off Tahseen Hanslo for 29 from 25.
Wimble went on to record the innings’ top score of 45. It took him 37 balls and included a four and two sixes. Ben Cilliers, meanwhile, made a telling contribution, with a quick 22 from 10 deliveries as Northwood’s innings ended one ball shy of the 20 overs for 151.
Saints‘ skipper Tahseen Hanslo caused the Knights’ problems, snaring 4/27 in four, while his brother, Zaakir, claimed 3/17 in 2.5.
The Johannesburg school’s run chase hit an early snag when their openers, Liam Mudenda and Tahseen Hanslo, were removed for single figure scores. They, however, appeared to be on course for victory when Ombesa Matsha and Nicholas Bayly added 78 in 59 balls, taking the score to 101 after 13 overs before Bayly was caught by Luc Boyall off Kyle White for 32 from 29. That messed with Saints’ momentum.
Matsha was out at the start of the 18th over, again by the same combination of Boyall and White, having hit six fours and a six in a 46-ball 56.
St Stithians, then, quickly lost steam as three more wickets fell in nine balls for only five runs, with Ryan van Zyl responsible for two of those dismissals. With eight balls remaining, Saints sat on 131/7, needing 21 runs to win. They scored only 13, with their innings ending on 143/8.
Keegan Reeves bowled an excellent final over, conceding only four runs, while another delivery went for a leg bye. With his last ball, he claimed a wicket.
Kyle White led the Northwood bowling effort, with figures of 3/22 from four overs, while Ryan van Zyl picked up 3/23 from his four.
Scores
Northwood 151/10 (Jamie Wimble 45, Kyle White 29, Ben Cilliers 22; Tahseen Hanslo 4/27, Zaakir Hanslo 3/17); St Stithians 143/8 (Ombesa Matsha 56, Nicholas Bayly 32; Kyle White 3/22, Ryan van Zyl 3/23). Northwood won by eight runs.
Clifton College vs CSA Hub Invitational XI
In a tight, low-scoring contest, played at Howick High, the CSA Invitational Hub XI sneaked a three-wicket win over Clifton College, with only five balls to spare.
Given their eventual total of only 110 all out, Clifton will feel disappointed because their opening pair, Muhammed Malek and Cohen Naidoo gave their side a good start, sharing an opening stand of 42 in six overs before Naidoo fell for 25 from 22 balls, with three fours and a six. That turned out to be the top score of the match.
Malek followed for 14, with the total on 49, and matters went south from there. Only Tim Saulez, with 16 from 15, Shiraz Perumal with a run-a-ball 17, and Gabriel Vermeulen, with 10, reached double figures as Clifton’s innings lost steam.
All six of the bowlers used by the CSA Invitational XI picked up at least a wicket. Lona Pitoli‘s return was the best of them, 2/12 from four, while Awonke Mngini picked up 2/17, and Taywin Adams 2/19.
When the Hub XI batted, Blake Johnson struck early for Clifton, removing Matthew Florence, who had been in good form, for six, but Daveric Petersen and Tshepang Laka then added 30 for the second wicket before Regan Radley bowled Laka, his team’s most consistent batsman, for 13.
Petersen went on to record the Hub XI’s highest score of 23, while Enathi Kitshini chipped in with 15 and Keano Coericius with 14 to steer their side toward victory. It came in the last over and the difference, disappointingly for Clifton, lay in the extras’ column.
The CSA Invitational Hub XI bowled seven wides. Clifton bowled 15.
Shiraz Perumal was the pick of the bowlers, returning 2/22 from four overs, while Blake Johnson claimed 2/30 from his four. Gabriel Vermeulen bowled tidily, taking 1/11 from four.
Scores
Clifton College 110/10 (Cohen Naidoo 25; Loni Pitoli 2/12, Awonke Mngini 2/17, Taywin Adams 2/19); CSA Hub Invitational XI 111/7 (Daveric Petersen 23; Shiraz Perumal 2/22, Blake Johnson 2/30). CSA Invitational Hub XI won by three wickets.
St Charles College vs St David’s Marist Inanda
When St Charles College hosted St David’s Marist Inanda, the runner-up at the Schools SA20 National Final, St David’s showed why they won the Gauteng regional title before making it all the way through to the national title game.
They chose to bowl first and did a good job of keeping Saints in check. At the top of the order, though, Matthew Weightman performed well, striking two fours and a six in a rapid 31 off 23 balls, but he was the sole batsman to really get after the visitors’ bowlers. With four of their top five contributing only single figures, St Charles struggled.
Connor Vogt made 14, Rowen Rajah 13, Covhan Baatjies 12 not out and Ryan Clarke 10, but those weren’t substantial scores as Saints finished with 117/8.
Jason Rowles led the St David’s attack, snaring 3/27 from four, while Kyle Butler performed superbly, returning 2/14 from four, and Morteza Manack took 2/17 in his four.
All it took for St David’s to win was for their batsmen to, at least, turn their scores in the teens into scores in the twenties, which St Charles had failed to do.
Armaan Manack and Roberto Mariano made a hasty start, putting on 51 for the first wicket in five overs before Mariano was caught by Caleb Sharp off Relebogile Mokoena for 28 from 16. He’d smashed three sixes and two fours.
Jason Rowles added 17 from only eight balls, striking two sixes, before Keegan Vermaak trapped him LBW, but Rowles had kept the St David’s train rolling.
Manack was out after nine overs, having made 26 off 25, which left St David’s on 86/3.
They took another six-and-a-half overs to reach 121/3 and with that claimed a seven-wicket win. Morteza Manack was undefeated on 22, while Kamogelo Phiri had 15.
Relebogile Mokoena, with 2/22 from four, did well, while Keegan Vermaak hindered St David’s fast progress, returning 1/15 from four.
Scores
St Charles 117/8 (Matthew Weightman 31; Jason Rowles 3/27, Kyle Butler 2/14, Morteza Manack 2/17); St David’s Marist Inanda 121/3 (Roberto Mariano 28, Armaan Manack 26, Morteza Manack 22*; Relebogile Mokoena 2/22). St David’s Marist Inanda won by seven wickets.
Glenwood High vs Jeppe High School for Boys
At Lynwood, Jeppe gritted out a hard-fought eight-run win over Glenwood High. The Johannesburg side owed plenty to Keegan Caxeiro, whose 64 off 54 helped them to 137/7, with a useful assist from Zizi Mkhize, who finished on 22 not out.
Akhil Maharaj, for the second time during the Michaelmas Week, picked up four wickets, returning a good-looking 4/18 from his four overs, and Kyle Bryan snagged 2/26.
Glenwood’s run chase was undone by a regular issue that has plagued the Green Machine this season, a lack of substantial partnerships.
Three players reached twenty, but none pushed on that much further and Glenwood was restricted to 130/8 in reply. Krian Jugoo top-scored with 32, while Kyle Bryan tallied 28 and Karabo Ntsieng 20, but it wasn’t enough.
Shreth Kumar led the Jeppe bowling effort with figures of 3/21, while Ahmed Goolam picked up 2/13.
Scores
Jeppe 137/7 (Keegan Caxeiro 64; Zizi Mkhize 22*; Akhil Maharaj 4/18, Kyle Bryan 2/26); Glenwood High 130/8 (Krian Jugoo 32, Kyle Bryan 28, Karabo Ntsieng 20; Shreth Kumar 3/21, Ahmed Goolam 2/13). Jeppe won by seven runs.
Hilton College vs King Edward VII
King Edward VII (KES) completed an impressively dominant unbeaten run through the Michaelmas Week by thumping Hilton College by nine wickets.
When KES won the toss, they knew exactly what to do on the Hart-Davis Oval. They bowled first, and that paid handsome dividends.
Steele Grooteman led the charge, dismissing three of the first four batsmen, on his way to a superb return of 3/10 from four overs. Incredibly, though, his weren’t the best figures. Those belonged to Christan Sabela, who removed two Hilton middle order batsmen, on his way to a five-wicket haul, to leave the home team’s batting in tatters on 13/6 in the sixth over.
At last, though, Ben Erasmus and Luke Wilson offered some resistance. It was slow, but they added 38 runs in 10.2 overs before Wilson was bowled by Wade McQuinn for 20 from 29 balls.
Luke Campbell and Erasmus advanced the total to 71 before Campbell fell to Sabela for 13. Sange Qangule was out first ball, and Sabela made it three wickets in four balls when he had Erasmus caught for the innings’ top score of 25.
Sabela’s return was a hugely destructive and mightily impressive 5/18 from 3.5 overs. Wade McQuinn also played his part, snapping up 2/10 from three.
Chasing only 73 for victory, KES went hard out of the blocks, with Tiago Dias leading the offensive. He blasted three sixes and six fours from only 38 balls, ending on 59 not out, as KES won at the start of the tenth over for the loss of only one wicket.
It was a resounding victory for the Johannesburg school. Unfortunately for Hilton, it left them winless at the Michaelmas Week.
Scores
Hilton College 72/10 (Ben Erasmus 25; Christian Sabela 5/18, Steele Grooteman 3/10, Wade McQuinn 2/10); KES 73/1 (Tiago Dias 59*). King Edward VII won by 9 wickets.
Pretoria Boys High vs Paarl Gimnasium
At Collegians, Pretoria Boys High (PHBS) came good against Paarl Gimnasium, scoring an 18-run victory. It was built upon an excellent opening partnership between Ethan Nel and captain Tim Gordon.
The duo got on top of the Gimmies‘ attack – Gordon, especially – to power Boys High to 131 for the first wicket in only 14.4 overs. Gordon was, then, caught by Wian Munnik off Derrick Groenewald for 72 from just 40 balls. He had smashed six fours and fours sixes.
Nel was, eventually, the third man out in the last over, having scored 70 off 64, with four fours, with PBHS going on to post 171/3.
Paarl Gim mustered 152/7 in reply, with Charles King, who enjoyed an outstanding Michaelmas Week, once again delivering a fine knock. He raced to 72 not out from only 49 deliveries, with six fours and a six, but support was lacking.
At the top of the order, Wian Munnik made 20, but only Derrick Groenewald, with 10, also made it into double figures. Gim’s third highest scorer was, in fact, extra, with 19.
Liam Brooker undermined their run chase, capturing 3/22 from four overs.
Scores
Pretoria Boys High 171/3 (Tim Gordon 72, Ethan Nel 70); Paarl Gimnasium 152/7 (Charles King 72*; Liam Brooker 3/22). Pretoria Boys’ High won by 18 runs.
Hoërskool Waterkloof vs Paul Roos Gimnasium
At the Beaumont Eston Farmers Club, Hoërskool Waterkloof made short work of Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), racing to a nine-wicket win.
Batting first, PRG stumbled to 85 all out in 18.5 overs. That was, in a sense, a bit of a triumph after they found themselves staring down the barrel, on 44/8 after nine overs.
Ricardo Crous, with 3/12 in 2.5 overs, and AJ de Villiers, with 3/16 in four, caused massive damage, and Rivan Booysen, too, was excellent, returning 2/10 from four. Opening bowler, Wian du Plessis, with 1/5 from four, put the Stellenbosch side under massive pressure.
Luca Plekker made 21, batting at three, striking four fours in a 16-ball stay, but it was Neil Barnard and Dion Slabber who saved some face for Paul Roos with a 39-run stand for the ninth wicket before Barnard fell for 18.
Slabber was the last man out, bowled by Crous for 21 from 29, with a six and a four.
Waterkloof, as is their style, went after the victory target with aggression. Their opening batsmen, AJ de Villiers and Rico van Walt, rocketed their way to a 78-run first wicket partnership in only 8.4 overs before De Villiers became the only Klofie to lose his wicket, caught and bowled by Nathan van den Bergh for 29 off 32.
By then, the job was almost done, and Paul Roos did themselves no favours by bowling 16 wides in an innings which lasted only 9.1 overs.
Rico van der Walt finished with 44 not out from 26 balls, six of which he sent to the boundary and two of which he lofted over the boundary.
Scores
Paul Roos Gimnasium 85/10 (Dion Slabber 21, Luca Plekker 20; Ricardo Crous 3/12, AJ de Villiers 3/16; Rivan Booysen 2/10); Waterkloof (Rico van der Walt 44*, AJ de Villiers 29). Waterkloof won by nine wickets.
Cornwall Hill College vs Hudson Park High
Cornwall Hill College completed the Michaelmas Week with their third win from four matches by cruising to a 79-run win over Hudson Park High on Barns’ Field, at Maritzburg College.
The Pretoria school won the toss and chose to bat. Off the very first ball of the match, they lost Keagan van Wyk, but Rourke de Lange and Abubaker Rasool quickly took control of the contest, with De Lange, especially, taking it to the East London school’s bowlers.
Rasool was out in the 10th over, from 34 from 32, having hit six fours, but his departure didn’t slow de Lange’s onslaught. The opener, later, found good support from Khumo Kgagodi, who weighed in with 28 from 19, as the pair put on 78 for the fourth wicket, but the innings was really all about De Lange.
He finished with an unbeaten 101 as Cornwall Hill totalled 194/4. He’d hammered 16 fours off only 58 balls to lay waste to the Hudson Park attack. Liam Bekker, though, did well to claim 2/31 in four.
Hudson Park, to their credit, made a good start to their run chase, with Iminathi Sam and Likho Gidi putting up 63 runs for the first wicket in 8.4 overs before Gidi was bowled by Mohale Pitso for 17. While Sam continued to bolster his tally, however, no other batsmen made it into double figures as Hudson’s challenge fizzled.
Sam went on to finish unbeaten on 76 from 73, with 11 fours, which was two-thirds of his side’s total. Just when Hudson Park needed to press the accelerator, though, their run rate tumbled, and they were on 115/6 at the end of their 20 overs.
De Lange, the hero with the bat, followed up his star turn with a neat 2/13 from four overs to lead the Cornwall Hill attack.
Scores
Cornwall Hill College 194/4 (Rourke de Lange 101*, Abubaker Rasool 34, Khumo Kgagodi 28; Liam Bekker 2/31); Hudson Park 115/6 (Iminathi Sam 76*; Rourke de Lange 2/13). Cornwall Hill College won by 79 runs.
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