19 October 2025
(Feature photo, courtesy of Travis Rein Photography: Clifton’s record-setting wicket-taker, Shiraz Perumal, and Zach Williamson, who played his 100th match for the 1st XI against Glenwood and contributed a match-winning 56*)
Clifton College‘s Zach Williamson marked his 100th appearance for the 1st XI in style on Saturday, guiding his side to victory over Glenwood High with an unbeaten 56 in his farewell outing at the Riverside Sports Club.
Glenwood, having won the toss, chose to bat first but struggled to build meaningful partnerships. Only one of note materialised, right at the end, when Esihle Gasa and Jonah Chaita showed resistance in a defiant 10th-wicket stand worth 46 runs.
Chaita, coming in last, top-scored with 27, striking three fours and a six, while Gasa’s determined 20 not out helped the visitors reach 126 all out in 42.4 overs. They were the only two batsmen to pass twenty, though four others fell in the teens.
Clifton skipper Tim Saulez struck early, removing Karabo Ntsieng in the first over for a duck, and led the attack superbly with 3/25 from 10 overs. Gabriel Vermeulen provided strong support, taking 2/13 in five overs.
Leg spinner Shiraz Perumal, already Clifton’s record wicket-taker in a season with 62 in 2024, added two more scalps (2/41) to lift his season’s tally to an extraordinary 83 wickets.
Left-arm spinner Blake Johnson, with 1/29 in 9.4 overs, and seamer, Caleb Naicker, with a tidy 1/16 in eight, including three maidens, ensured Glenwood never settled.
Chasing 127 to win, Clifton’s top order ran into immediate trouble. Glenwood opening bowler Bandile Mbatha produced a fiery burst, removing Muhammed Malek (7), Byron Ward (0), and captain Saulez (5) to leave the hosts reeling on 18/3.
That brought Williamson to the crease for one last time in Clifton colours, and he rose to the occasion. With opener Cohen Naidoo playing the perfect foil, the pair steadied the innings and then turned the tide with a 73-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Naidoo’s patient 31 from 65 deliveries came to an end when he was caught off of Kyle Bryan, but by then Clifton was well on course to victory.
Fittingly, Lawson Dinsdale joined Williamson to finish the job. The pair, so often the engine room of Clifton’s middle order, compiled an unbroken 36-run stand to see their side home. Dinsdale ended on 17 not out, while Williamson’s match-winning unbeaten 56 came off 62 balls and featured six fours.
Mbatha’s outstanding spell of 3/14 in seven overs stood out for Glenwood, but Clifton celebrated a composed six-wicket win and a satisfying milestone memory for Zach Williamson.
Kearsney College vs Michaelhouse
At the AH Smith Oval, Kearsney College claimed a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) victory over Michaelhouse, who came into the clash buoyed by a four-from-four run at the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Week.
After winning the toss, Kearsney put the visitors in to bat, and that call paid off handsomely as their bowlers struck regularly. Michaelhouse captain Ethan Muir offered resistance at the top of the order, with 25, including five fours, but the next five batsmen managed only single figures.
At 71/9, Michaelhouse looked down and out, but Radhesh Jhilmeet and Liam O’Dwyer fought back bravely, adding 58 for the final wicket before a sharp piece of fielding from Jonty Wiggett ran out O’Dwyer for 19.
It was the second run out of the ‘House innings, following Ben Heuer‘s earlier dismissal, and further stifled the visitors’ batting efforts.
Jhilmeet remained unbeaten on 37 from 40 balls, striking three fours, as Michaelhouse was bowled out for 129 in 38.3 overs.
Kearsney’s bowlers shared the wickets, with Rivaan Moodley leading the way with 4/20 from eight overs. Four others took one apiece as the home side also impressed in the field.
Moodley’s day took a dark turn with the bat, though. He was dismissed for a 15-ball duck, but Keegan de Jager picked up the scoring rate, joining captain Jason De Gryse in a fluent partnership. Together, they carried Kearsney to 84/1 after 25 overs, which was when rain and bad light ended play.
On DLS calculations, Kearsney secured victory by 19 runs.
De Gryse finished unbeaten on 30 from 71 balls, while De Jager’s 53 not out came from 64 deliveries and included five fours and three sixes.
Heuer, with 1/17 in eight, was the only wicket-taker for Michaelhouse.
Maritzburg College vs Hilton College
On Goldstone’s, Maritzburg College and Hilton College saw their match cut short, but not before College’s openers, Daniel Nadasan and Kyle de Bruyn produced a fine stand worth 90.
They departed two deliveries apart, De Bruyn for 48 and College captain Nadasan for 56, as the home side posted 200 all out. Sange Qangule claimed 3/50 for Hilton, while Luke Campbell snared a neat 2/29 from 10, and Benoit Rey weighed in with 2/21 from his 10.
Hilton reached 43/2 after 11 overs in reply before the weather brought an early end to proceedings, with the match being abandoned.
Scores
Glenwood High 126/10 (Jonah Chaita 27, Esihle Gasa 20*; Tim Saulez 3/25, Gabriel Vermeulen 2/13, Shiraz Perumal 2/41); Clifton College 127/4 (Zach Williamson 56*, Cohen Naidoo 31; Bandile Mbatha 3/14).
Clifton College won by six wickets.
Michaelhouse 129/10 (Radhesh Jhilmeet 37*, Ethan Muir 25; Rivaan Moodley 4/20); Kearsney College 84/1 after 25 overs (Keegan de Jager 53*, Jason De Gryse 30*).
Kearsney won by 19 runs on the DLS Method.
Maritzburg College 200/10 (Daniel Nadasan 56, Kyle de Bruyn 48, Sphamandla Dzanibe 22, Joseph Currie 20; Sange Qangule 3/50, Luke Campbell 2/29, Benoit Rey 2/31); Hilton College 43/2.
Match abandoned.
Leave a Reply