27 January 2026
St Charles College has learned in recent seasons that Glenwood is seldom an easy side to subdue, but on Saturday on the SCC Oval in Pietermaritzburg, Saints delivered a disciplined and authoritative performance to secure a comfortable seven-wicket victory over the Green Machine.
After the toss went their way, St Charles’ captain Thando Zama had little hesitation in opting to bowl first, and his decision was swiftly vindicated.
The Saints’ seamers struck twice inside the opening 10 overs, setting the tone early, and when two more wickets fell in quick succession in the 18th over, Glenwood found themselves under real pressure at 64/4.
Opener Akhil Sinath offered some resistance, top-scoring with 33, including four well-timed boundaries, but run-scoring was never fluent as St Charles kept a tight grip on proceedings.
The visitors’ most productive partnership came through Kreesan Pillai and Mishael Gunawardana, who steadied the innings with a fifth-wicket stand of 53 in just over 18 overs. Their effort briefly suggested Glenwood might post a competitive total, but once Kaiyuran Naidoo broke the stand, dismissing Gunawardana for a patient 21, the innings unravelled dramatically.
From a relatively healthy 117/4 in the 36th over, Glenwood collapsed to 133 all out in the 43rd over, losing their final six wickets for a mere 16 runs. Pillai was the seventh man to fall after compiling a composed 51, which included four fours, but he found little support as the lower order folded.
The collapse owed much to a superb bowling display from Saints. Jack Richards, who set the tone with the new ball by removing JP Pillay for a duck, returned at the death to claim the final two wickets, and finished with the excellent figures of 4/13. Naidoo was even more destructive, exploiting conditions superbly to snare 5/24 from 10 overs of miserly off-spin.
With just 134 required for victory, St Charles wasted little time asserting control, comfortably staying ahead of the required rate of 2.68 runs per over. Keegan Vermaak fell early for eight, but that was as good as it got for Glenwood.
Zama and Caleb Sharp combined in a fluent 50-run stand for the second wicket, laying the platform for the chase. Zama’s authoritative 34 from 39 balls, which included five boundaries, ended when he was caught off Pillai, and Sharp soon followed for a watchful 19, leaving Saints on 72/3.
From there, Ryan Clarke and Owen Widdows closed out the contest with an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 63 from 77 deliveries. Clarke’s composed 32 from 46 balls and Widdows’ assured 33 from 42 ensured Saints crossed the line without further alarm.
Esihle Gasa was the pick of the Glenwood bowlers, returning a tidy 1/24 from 10 overs, while Pillai also impressed, taking 1/33 in his 10, but the day belonged emphatically to St Charles.
The overall results favoured Saints, who won most matches comfortably. The u15A teams produced a hard-fought contest, but it, too, went the way of St Charles.
Results
1st XI
Glenwood 133/10; St Charles 134/3
St Charles won by seven wickets
2nd XI
St Charles vs Glenwood
3rd XI
Glenwood 52/10; St Charles 53/1
St Charles won by nine wickets
u16A
Glenwood 114/10; St Charles 115/1
St Charles won by nine wickets
u15A
St Charles 214/4; Glenwood 183/10
St Charles won by 31 runs
u15B
St Charles 276/2; Glenwood 147/7
St Charles won by 129 runs
u14A
St Charles 348/10; Glenwood 38/9
Match drawn
u14B
St Charles 255/4; Glenwood 58/10
St Charles won by 197 runs
BASKETBALL
The St Charles 1st team was in action at the American International School of Johannesburg (AISJ) Basketball Tournament over the weekend, where they gave a good account of themselves, finishing third overall after going down to the eventual champions, Maritzburg College, in the semi-finals.
A win over St Benedict’s College in the group stage of the competition and another win over St Stithians in the third-place playoff were big results for Saints.
St Charles at AISJ Tournament
St Charles 36-40 St John’s
St Charles 28-25 Saheti
St Charles 43-23 Redhill
St Charles 44-39 St Benedict’s College
St Charles 38-15 Michael Mount
QF: St Charles 45-19 St David’s
SF: St Charles 31-40 Maritzburg College
3rd/4th: St Charles St Stithians N/A, St Charles won
The Glenwood 1st team picked up a hard-fought win over the St Charles 2nd team on Saturday, but the big result was an emphatic victory for the Durban school’s u16A side. Results titled the way of Saints, but Glenwood delivered a good account of themselves.
Results
2nd: St Charles 44-51 Glenwood 1st
3rd: St Charles 34-13 Glenwood 2nd
4th: St Charles 51-8 vs Glenwood 3rd
5th: St Charles 22-24 Maritzburg Christian School Opens
6th: St Charles 15-49 Carter Opens
7th: St Charles 5-44 Carter Opens
16A: St Charles 14-35 Glenwood
16B: St Charles 32-31 Glenwood
15A: St Charles 26-15 Glenwood
15B: St Charles 34-11 Glenwood
15C: St Charles 17-9 Glenwood
15D: St Charles 17-14 Carter u15A
14B: St Charles 1-11 Glenwood
14B: St Charles 12-34 MCS u14A
14C: St Charles 9-6 Glenwood
14C: St Charles 4-22 Carter u14A
14D: St Charles 2-40 Maritzburg Christian School u14A
WATER POLO
Glenwood took victory in the meeting of the 1st teams, but Saints sneaked a win in the 2nd team game, and the 3rd sides shared the spoils. There was little to separate the schools in the open age group.
Saints, though, cruised to victory in the u14A game.
Results
1st: St Charles 4-8 Glenwood
2nd: St Charles 7-6 Glenwood
3rd: St Charles 6-6 Glenwood
15A: St Charles 7-11 Steyn City School
15A: St Charles 9-6 St David’s Marist Inanda
15A: St Charles 13-2 Crawford College Lonehill
14A: St Charles 15-1 Glenwood
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