27 January 2026
(Feature photo: Maritzburg College’s AISJ Basketball Tournament-winning team)
Michaelhouse and Maritzburg College served up a gripping, old-school two-innings contest on the Roy Gathorne Oval over the weekend, where the bowlers ruled, the batsmen grafted, and momentum swung repeatedly before the hosts finally edged home by four wickets.
Across two days, the match was shaped by relentless pressure with the ball, and while there was little to separate the sides after the first innings exchanges, College’s inability to cash in with the bat the second time around proved decisive.
Central to Michaelhouse’s success was a superb match-defining performance from Liam O’Dwyer, whose accuracy and control repeatedly asked questions the visitors could not answer.
College skipper Reece Willson won the toss on Saturday and opted to bat, with openers Akhil Bharath and Kyle de Bruyn initially justifying that call. The pair put together a solid 47-run opening stand before Ben Heuer made the breakthrough, having De Bruyn caught by Michaelhouse captain Graydon Leslie for 26.
From there, wickets fell with alarming regularity. Scoring became increasingly difficult as the Michaelhouse attack tightened the screws. Bharath was the third man out for 21, and with O’Dwyer, Heuer, and Rex Wardlaw finding their rhythm, College slipped to 94/8 by the 34th over.
A stubborn ninth-wicket stand between Dom du Toit and Greg Hosking added some respectability, but College was eventually dismissed for 121. Du Toit top-scored with a determined 27, striking three boundaries and a six in a patient 57-ball effort.
O’Dwyer led the Michaelhouse attack with a classy 3/18 from 10 overs, while Wardlaw (2/10) and Heuer (2/19) offered excellent support. Preston Greene (2/20) picked up two wickets, too.
Michaelhouse’s reply followed a similar script. Willson led from the front with the ball, ripping through the top order to remove Leslie, Cody Sander, and Riley Muir, before Matt Bisset bowled Thandanani Zuma to leave the hosts reeling on 25/4.
Heuer and Wardlaw rebuilt with a measured 33-run stand, but once that partnership was broken, Michaelhouse again found themselves in deep trouble on 81/8. As College had done earlier, an eighth-wicket partnership offered late resistance, with Preston Greene and Rendani Nonge adding 33, but Michaelhouse was bowled out for 116, just five runs short of College’s total.
Luke Venter, with 4/21, and Reece Willson, with 4/23, were outstanding with the ball.
College’s second innings never truly gathered momentum. By stumps on Saturday they had limped to 53/5, scoring at barely two runs an over, with Dax Jursa‘s 22 the lone bright spot. On Sunday morning, Rendani Nonge struck early, and once O’Dwyer found his groove, there was no escape.
O’Dwyer produced a magnificent spell of 5/19 from 15.3 overs as College was dismissed for 98, with Jursa’s 22 remaining the top score. He ended the match with the outstanding figures of 8/37 from 25.3 overs.
Chasing 104 for victory, Michaelhouse were given early impetus by Leslie, who blasted an aggressive 39 from just 26 balls, piercing the infield with six crisp boundaries.
His dismissal slowed progress, but Heuer’s calm, unbeaten 35 ensured the hosts crossed the line for a hard-earned four-wicket win in a contest where discipline and persistence were rewarded.
Results
1st XI
Maritzburg College 121/10; Michaelhouse 116/10
Maritzburg College 98/10; Michaelhouse 106/3
Michaelhouse won by four wickets
2nd XI
Maritzburg College 236/10; Michaelhouse 237/6
Michaelhouse won by four wickets
3rd XI
Michaelhouse 153/5; Maritzburg College 73/10
Michaelhouse won by 80 runs
4th XI
Michaelhouse 168/6; Maritzburg College 82/10
Michaelhouse won by 86 runs
5th XI
Maritzburg College 174/8; Michaelhouse 54/9
Match drawn
u16A
Maritzburg College 73/10; Michaelhouse 74/2
Michaelhouse won by eight wickets
u16B
Maritzburg College 93/8; Michaelhouse 94/3
Michaelhouse won by seven wickets
u16C
Michaelhouse 117/9; Maritzburg College 81/8
Michaelhouse won by 36 runs
u15A
Michaelhouse 147/10; Maritzburg College 150/4
Maritzburg College won by six wickets
u15B
Michaelhouse 66/10; Maritzburg College 67/1
Maritzburg College won by nine wickets
u15C
Michaelhouse 108/6; Maritzburg College 110/7
Maritzburg College won by three wickets
u14A
Maritzburg College 161/10; Michaelhouse 162/2
Michaelhouse won by eight wickets
u14B
Michaelhouse 150/10; Maritzburg College 151/3
Maritzburg College won by seven wickets
u14C
Michaelhouse 88/8; Maritzburg College 89/0
Maritzburg College won by 10 wickets
u14D
Michaelhouse 98/8; Maritzburg College 97/9 (16.1)
Maritzburg College at AISJ Tournament
The Maritzburg College 1st team did the strong tradition of College basketball proud by going unbeaten and winning the American International School of Johannesburg Basketball Tournament on the weekend.
The closest any team got to College was five points in the Red, Black, and White‘s win in the quarterfinals over St Benedict’s College. College, then, beat their Pietermaritzburg rivals, St Charles College, in the semi-finals before overrunning The King’s School Linbro Park by 27 points in the title game.
Maritzburg College 34-23 AISJ
Maritzburg College 35-12 King’s Linbro
Maritzburg College 42-31 St Stithians
Maritzburg College 31-20 Westville
Maritzburg College 39-25 St David’s Marist Inanda
QF: Maritzburg College 36-31 St Benedict’s College
SF: Maritzburg College 41-32 St Charles
Final: Maritzburg College 47-20 King’s Linbro
Michaelhouse u16A Basketball Tournament
Maritzburg College claimed a second basketball title on the weekend when the U16A side went seven for seven, winning their first six games comfortably before holding off Michaelhouse A by a single point to lift the Michaelhouse u16A Basketball Tournament.
Maritzburg College 15-12 Michaelhouse B
Maritzburg College 30-22 Kearsney
Maritzburg College 27-10 DHS
Maritzburg College 24-6 Treverton
QF: Maritzburg College 35-13 Westville
SF: Maritzburg College 44-23 Northwood
F: Maritzburg College 23-22 Michaelhouse A
The College 1st team cruised to a win over Michaelhouse on Tuesday before the rest of the teams did battle on Saturday. Competition was keen.
College won seven of the eight open age group games and three of the five u16 clashes, including the u16A showdown.
Michaelhouse won by one in the u15A game, but College took three of five at u15 level. College claimed the u14A win and again won three of five.
Results
1st: Michaelhouse 39-68 Maritzburg College (Tuesday)
2nd: Michaelhouse 24-31 Maritzburg College
3rd: Michaelhouse 28-29 Maritzburg College
4th: Michaelhouse 24-29 Maritzburg College
5th: Michaelhouse 35-33 Maritzburg College
6th: Michaelhouse 15-23 Maritzburg College
7th: Michaelhouse 10-23 Maritzburg College
8th: Michaelhouse 15-45 Maritzburg College
16A: Michaelhouse 17-33 Maritzburg College
16B: Michaelhouse 16-23 Maritzburg College
16C: Michaelhouse 18-28 Maritzburg College
16D: Michaelhouse 22-15 Maritzburg College
16E: Michaelhouse 16-15 Maritzburg College
15A: Michaelhouse 35-34 Maritzburg College
15B: Michaelhouse 30-22 Maritzburg College
15C: Michaelhouse 17-27 Maritzburg College
15D: Michaelhouse 18-48 Maritzburg College
15E: Michaelhouse 16-22 Maritzburg College
14A: Michaelhouse 28-34 Maritzburg College
14B: Michaelhouse 23-40 Maritzburg College
14C: Michaelhouse 24-20 Maritzburg College
14D: Michaelhouse 10-9 Maritzburg College
14E: Michaelhouse 6-9 Maritzburg College
WATER POLO
Michaelhouse almost completed a clean sweep of Maritzburg College in the pool, winning 13 of 14 games, including a three-goal win by the 1st team, but, in the game of the day, the College u14A team captured a thrilling one-goal win in a 33-goal entertainment fest.
Results
1st: Michaelhouse 11-8 Maritzburg College
2nd: Michaelhouse 11-2 Maritzburg College
3rd: Michaelhouse 14-4 Maritzburg College
4th: Michaelhouse 10-1 Maritzburg College
5th: Michaelhouse 10-1 Maritzburg College
6th: Michaelhouse 10-0 Maritzburg College
7th: Michaelhouse 11-0 vs Maritzburg College
8th: Michaelhouse 9-5 Maritzburg College 7th
15A: Michaelhouse 17-0 Maritzburg College
15B: Michaelhouse 14-0 Maritzburg College
15C: Michaelhouse 6-4 Maritzburg College
14A: Michaelhouse 16-17 Maritzburg College
14B: Michaelhouse 9-5 Maritzburg College
14C: Michaelhouse 12-0 Maritzburg College
[/cmsmasters_text][/cmsmasters_column][/cmsmasters_row]
Leave a Reply