24 February 2026
KwaZulu-Natal sides excelled at the Independent Schools Cricket Festival, hosted in Pretoria and Johannesburg, from 18-22 February, with Hilton College finishing as the only team with a perfect record of four wins from four matches. Muhammed Malek, of Clifton College, meanwhile, was the event’s leading batsman.
Malek hit back-to-back centuries in man-of-the-match performances against St George’s College (Harare) and Cornwall Hill College and topped the run-scoring charts with 256 at an average of 85.33.
He was also the leading points’ scorer on the performance charts. With 1024, he was the lone player with more than 1 000, thanks to his all-round game, which also brought him some success with the ball.
Interestingly, when examining the top 20 performers with bat and ball, Hilton College didn’t feature strongly, but that was evidence of the useful contributions they received from many sources. Obakeng Motsepa, however, was tenth on the points’ chart, behind only Malek and Michaelhouse’s Ben Heuer, who finished in fifth place.
‘House enjoyed a strong showing, winning three of their four matches. Clifton won two, lost one, and a fourth was abandoned. Kearsney College won two and lost two, but were extremely unlucky to go down to Helpmekaar Kollege on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method. Had the contest been played over the full 50 overs, the chances were strong that Kearsney would have won that one, too.
CLIFTON COLLEGE
Clifton’s tournament started poorly with a big 95-run loss to Helpmekaar Kollege, who put up 257/6 behind 101 from Zuan Joubert, 66 from Sebastian Kloek, 37 from Heinrich Minnaar, and 30 from Ewald Haasbroek.
Captain Shiraz Perumal was the best of the Durban school’s bowlers, returning 2/43 from 10 overs.
Clifton’s reply was impacted by one of their vulnerabilities in 2026: batsmen getting in but not pressing on. The top five all made it into double figures, but 39 from Hayden Drieselmann, 24 from Yusuf Ahmed, and 23 from Matthias Samuel were the highest scores in Clifton’s 162 all out. Keanu du Plooy did most of the damage, capturing 4/36 in 10 overs.
While Clifton’s batsmen failed to convert good starts into big scores, the setback on day one served to spur them on to much better things in their remaining matches.
On Friday, against St George’s College, coach Brandon Scullard‘s charges tallied 331/7 against Harare’s St George’s College, the highest total of the festival.
Muhammed Malek led the way with the event’s highest individual score, 115 not out from 95 balls. Shiraz Perumal added 64, Yusuf Ahmed 42, Daniel Rea 28, and Veer Ramouthar 22.
Clifton’s spinners, then, ran through St George’s, knocking them over for only 80. Perumal snared 3/15, Blake Johnson 2/6, and Keegan Watson 2/18. Left-arm seamer, Eli van Jaarsveld, chipped in with 2/21.
A tough challenge awaited on Saturday on the Van der Byl Oval – Cornwall Hill College would go on to win three of their four matches – and it featured another century from Muhammed Malek before a Highveld thunderstorm halted the contest.
Malek scored exactly 100 from 133 balls, while 29 from both Shiraz Perumal and Blake Johnson, helped the Durban boys to 223/8 from their 50 overs. They would have scored even more had it not been for three batsmen being run out.
Cornwall Hill was on 58/1 after 15.2 overs when the match ended.
The format changed to T20 matches on Sunday, and Clifton’s batting, their downfall on the first day, was, once again, a strength. This time, Daniyaal Klinck led the way, making 79 off only 55 balls at the top of the order. Shiraz Perumal, with 34, and Muhammed Malek, with 22, were the other main contributors to Clifton’s 177/5.
Woodridge College mustered 148/9 in reply, with Jack Feltham‘s 37 their top score. Blake Johnson undermined their reply with a sparkling return of 3/6 from four overs, while Keegan Watson went at nine runs per over, but retaliated with 4/36.
While Muhammed Malek topped the run-scoring charts, Shiraz Perumal occupied 16th place, with 127 at 31.75. He also batted at a healthy strike rate of 119.81. The Clifton skipper was also in 22nd place on the bowling list, with seven wickets for 92 runs at 13.14. He also boasted an excellent strike rate of a wicket every 15.43 balls.
If there is one criticism to be levelled at him, it is that he has, perhaps, not bowled himself enough this season. He finished 14th on the players’ points table.
Left-arm spinner Blake Johnson was a standout performer for Clifton, surrendering just over three runs per over while picking up 7/78. That was good for 14th on the bowling chart. Keegan Watson, with 7/90, ended in 18th place.
Results
Helpmekaar Kollege 257/6 (Zuan Joubert 101, Sebastian Kloek 66, Heinrich Minnaar 37, Ewald Haasbroek 30; Shiraz Perumal 2/43); Clifton College 162/10 (Hayden Drieselmann 39, Yusuf Ahmed 24, Matthias Samuel 23; Keanu du Plooy 4/36). Helpmekaar Kollege won by 95 runs.
Clifton College 331/7 (Muhammed Malek 115*, Shiraz Perumal 64, Yusuf Ahmed 42, Daniel Rea 28, Veer Ramouthar 22; Kundanashe Mushonga 2/43, Kudaishe Nyatsanza 2/61). St George’s College 80/10 (Shiraz Perumal 3/15, Blake Johnson 2/6, Eli van Jaarsveld 2/21). Clifton College won by 251 runs.
Clifton College 223/8 (Muhammed Malek 100, Shiraz Perumal 29, Blake Johnson 29); Cornwall Hill College 52/1. Match abandoned.
Clifton College 177/5 (Daniyaal Klinck 79, Shiraz Perumal 34, Muhammed Malek 22; Daniel Darlow 2/28); Woodridge College 148/9 (Jack Feltham 37, Ithi Arosi 22; Keegan Watson 4/36, Blake Johnson 3/6, Shiraz Perumal 2/33). Clifton College won by 29 runs.
HILTON COLLEGE
With a perfect record, Hilton College will take plenty of confidence and optimism into the Switch Schools SA20 Volume Two Final Showdown in Pretoria. They showed during the ISCF that they enjoy the wickets in the South African capital city.
Hilton opened on Thursday against Kingswood College and romped to a 136-run victory. Barack Munawa, with 28, and Ben Wilson, with 39, gave them a good start to their innings, but it truly took flight only towards the end of their 50 overs, led by an unbroken 60-run partnership between Obakeng Motsepa (52*) and Cameron Hargroves (23*). That was just two runs less than the openers, Munawa and Wilson, achieved.
Sange Qangule and Anthony Crossley, then, bowled Hilton to victory. Qangule captured 4/24 in six overs, while Crossley snapped up 3/9 in 3.5 as Kingswood was skittled for only 91.
On Friday, Hilton had their closest shave, edging out St John’s College by one wicket after losing their ninth wicket on 111, the same score as the St John’s total.
St John’s captain Nkosana Sibiya carried his bat for only 28 runs in his side’s 111 all out. Sechaba Gude led the Hilton attack with 3/18. Then, 26 from James Peattie and 20 from Obakeng Motsepa saw Hilton across the line. They also conceded six less extras than St John’s, which proved pivotal.
On Saturday, Hilton headed to Johannesburg for a showdown with St David’s Marist Inanda on the La Valla Oval. The sides produced a cracking contest.
Batting first, Hilton tallied 238 all out in 49 overs. Man of the match, Barack Munawa, led the way, with 82, while the middle order chipped in with scores in the teens and twenties, including 27 from captain Rob Burman. Hayden Campbell starred for St David’s, returning 4/33 from 9.1 overs.
St David’s received solid scores from many batsmen during their run chase, but none pushed on as Munawa had done for Hilton. Jonah Gruskin, the festival’s second-highest run scorer, made 48. The next best was Michael Smithyman, with 34, and opener Sohail Seonath, with 32. Their innings ended after 50 overs on 221/8.
The victory spoke volumes about Hilton’s collective bowling effort, with all six bowlers picking up at least one wicket, and none more than two.
Up against the festival host, St Alban’s College, on the TC Mitchell Oval on Sunday, Hilton flexed their muscles in the T20 format.
St Alban’s made a decent start to their innings, with Reabetswe Mokoka and Kyle Block putting up 38 for the first wicket within five overs, but coach David Griffiths‘ boys clamped down on them. Soon, wickets fell regularly.
By the 14th over, St Alban’s was on the rack, on 76/9, but an unbroken 32-run tenth-wicket stand between Ethan Nel (23*) and Luke Ward (19*) lifted them to 108/9. Obakeng Motsepa inflicted major damage, taking the new ball and nabbing 4/19 in his four overs.
Hilton’s run chase didn’t go particularly smoothly, but only one of the six batsmen who visited the crease was out for a single-figure score, and 39 not out from Ben Wilson guided the Midlands boys to 110/4 after 15.2 overs.
Ben Wilson and Barack Munawa were the only Hilton batsmen to feature among the festival’s top 20 run scorers. Their success opening the innings has been one of the areas in which Hilton has improved in 2026; a sound platform upon which to build an innings goes a long way.
Their leading all-round performer, though, Obakeng Motsepa, was a match-winner. In fact, he was named the Man of the Match twice.
What has stood out for Hilton in 2026 is that they’re a tougher team than they were last year. Too often, they suffered collapses in 2025 and, while there have been one or two misfires this season, they’ve shown themselves to be a good team.
Results
Hilton College 227/7 (Obakeng Motsepa 52*, Ben Wilson 39, Cameron Hargroves 29, Barack Munawa 28, Luke Wilson 23; Edwin Geldenhuys 3/19, Daniel Jakin 2/21, David Loudon 2/34). Kingswood College 91/10 (Christopher Zimmerman 52; Sange Qangule 4/24, Anthony Crossley 3/9). Hilton College won by 136 runs.
St John’s College 111/10 (Nkosana Sibiya 28*, Connor van der Walt 20; Sechaba Gude 3/18, Anthony Crossley 2/30); Hilton College 112/9 (James Peattie 26, Obakeng Motsepa 20; Ethan Robinson 4/28). Hilton College won by one wicket.
Hilton College 238/10 (Barack Munawa 82, Ben Wilson 31, Rob Burman 27, Extras 25, Luke Wilson 21; Hayden Campbell 4/33, Miles Pegg 2/34); St David’s Marist Inanda 221/8 (Jonah Gruskin 48, Michael Smithyman 34, Sohail Seonath 32, Maru Challies 25, Kyle Butler 21; Cameron Hargroves 2/31, Oakeng Motsepa 2/40). Hilton College won by 17 runs.
St Alban’s College 108/9 (Reabetswe Mokoka 26, Ethan Nel 23*, Kyle Block 21; Obakeng Motsepa 4/19, Cameron Hargroves 2/13); Hilton College 110/4 (Ben Wilson 39*). Hilton College won by six wickets.
KEARSNEY COLLEGE
Kearsney College, like Clifton, began with a loss but rebounded strongly. Up against St John’s College in their opener, they tallied 210/8 in their 50 overs, with wicketkeeper/batsman Asher Hollister continuing his fine season with 81 runs.
Six of the first seven batsmen made it into double figures, but, besides Hollister, the next highest score was 25 from captain Keegan de Jager. They needed more.
An outstanding 106* from St John’s captain, Nkosana Sibiya, guided his side to a convincing seven-wicket win, with 39 from his fellow opener, Luke Fry, and 38 from number three, Herman Basson, emphasising what was missing from Kearsney’s innings.
Coach Matt Savage‘s boys rebounded in superb style on Friday, beating St Stithians College by 36 runs. In a low-scoring game, Kearsney mustered only 153 all out. It could have been much worse. Ryan Staats and Matthew Rice, with a 61-run last-wicket stand, delivered a match-winning partnership.
Staats, with an unbeaten 43 off 29 balls, appeared to be playing on a different wicket to everyone else. Rice was circumspect and effective, contributing 22 off 57, and the skipper, Keegan de Jager, set a fine example with the innings’ top score of 52 while all around him batsmen fell cheaply.
Nqaba Matunda led the Saints’ attack with 3/28, while his new ball partner, Tendai Kadyamadare, claimed 2/34, and leg-spinner, Zaakir Hanslo, took 2/38.
It was Kearsney’s leg-spinner, Rivaan Moodley, though, who delivered the contest’s decisive spell. He sent down 10 overs and snapped up 4/16, laying waste to the St Stithians’ top- and middle-order. Matthew Rice claimed 2/18, and Michael Groom 2/21, to provide the necessary support, and the Johannesburg powerhouse was bowled out for only 117.
Matthew Katzenstein made 32, Ombesa Matsha 21, and Thomas Collins 20, but there was little else from the Saints‘ batsmen beyond that.
On Saturday, Kearsney went down to Helpmekaar Kollege by two wickets on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method. It was one of those occasions when it felt as if the method hadn’t properly reflected the state of the game when it ended early.
The Botha’s Hill boys posted 213 all out, batting first, with six batsmen making between 22 and 33. The highest score came from opener, Gary Verbaan. The consistency was good. The follow-through, perhaps, was a little lacking.
That didn’t matter much, though, when Kearsney bowled. Rivaan Moodley, again, was excellent, snapping up 4/17 in four overs. Four others chipped in with a wicket each. Zuan Joubert, the scorer of a century against Clifton, top-scored for Helpies with 35, while Heinrich Minnaar was next-best with 22. Only one other batsman reached double figures.
However, when the contest was cut short after 25.2 overs, with Helpmekaar tottering on 113/8, they were the winners by two wickets despite still being 110 runs shy of Kearsney’s total. It seemed somewhat unfair, but that’s cricket.
On Sunday, Kearsney wrapped up their schedule with a bang, charging to an 88-run T20 win over St John’s College (Harare).
Luke Grobbelaar was explosive, smashing 83 from only 39 balls, with eight sixes and three fours, while Blake Pugh struck three of each in his unbeaten 61 from 49, which helped Keegan de Jager and company to a challenging 210/6.
Luke Manning responded with a fine 71 from 45 deliveries, but only Noah Mitchell and Shivaan Chouhan also reached double figures, and St John’s was dismissed in the last of their 20 overs for 122.
Matthew Rice, who took the new ball, led the way with 3/11 from his four overs. Daniel Miskey, Keegan de Jager, and Blake Pugh picked up two wickets apiece as Kearsney finished strongly.
Grobbelaar’s big innings lifted him to 20th in the run-scoring charts, with 120 at 30. Asher Hollister, though, was tops among the Kearsney batsmen, the 11th highest run scorer of the festival, with 137 at 34.25.
Rivaan Moodley, with two four-wicket hauls, was Kearsney’s leading bowler, picking up nine wickets in total at only 11.89. He ranked sixth on the wicket-taking table.
Results
Woodridge College 113/10 (Stefan Ferreira 28, Jeandré Strydom 20; Ben Heuer 3/18, Liam O’Dwyer 3/27, Rendani Nonge 2/14); Michaelhouse 114/1 (Graydon Leslie 66*, Riley Muir 39*). Michaelhouse won by nine wickets.
Michaelhouse 194/10 (Ben Heuer 63, Cody Sander 59; Heindré Serfontein 3/25, Jonathan Hickley 2/0); St Andrew’s School 138/10 (Heindré Serfontein 39*; Ben Heuer 3/13, Preston Green 2/23, Liam O’Dwyer 2/25). Michaelhouse won by 56 runs.
Michaelhouse 159/10 (Victor North 50, Riley Muir 37; Ethan Robinson 4/34, Tapiwa Chikwavha 2/29); St John’s College 119/3 after 25 overs (Nkosana Sibiya 46*, Tapiwa Chikwavha 32*; Rendani Nonge 2/17). St John’s College won by seven wickets on the DLS Method.
St Benedict’s College 101/10 (Ollie Brown 27, Keeghan Greensmith 21; Liam O’Dwyer 4/10, Preston Greene 2/20); Michaelhouse 102/1 (Ben Heuer 51*, Graydon Leslie 51*). Michaelhouse won by nine wickets.
MICHAELHOUSE
Michaelhouse’s strong season continued in Pretoria, with three wins from four matches.
They blew past Woodridge College in their opener in double-quick time, dismissing the Eastern Cape side for only 113 in 40 overs before chasing that target down in almost half that number of overs for the loss of only one wicket.
Ben Heuer, with 3/18, and Liam O’Dwyer, with 3/27, led the ‘House attack. They would go on to front the Michaelhouse challenge throughout the festival. Rendani Nonge also played his part with 2/18.
Michaelhouse lost an early wicket in their reply, but captain Graydon Leslie (66*) and Riley Muir (39*) then partnered for 107 runs for the second wicket to power the Balgowan boys to victory.
On Friday, faced a tougher challenge from Bloemfontein’s St Andrew’s School. At first, the KZN side was on the back foot, on 33/4 in the 11th over. Ben Heuer and Cody Sander turned the tide, though, combining for exactly 100 runs for the sixth wicket. Sander was the more attacking of the pair, striking two sixes and six fours in his 59 from 70 balls, while Heuer held the innings together with a committed 63 from 104. Thanks to their crucial contributions, Michaelhouse tallied 194 all out.
A pressure-packed bowling performance then set ‘House on course for victory. Saints struggled to build momentum with the Michaelhouse bowlers enjoying regular success. By the time they reached 100, they were seven wickets down. In the end, they mustered 138 all out.
Once again, Heuer and O’Dwyer were to the fore, with the former knocking over 3/13 in seven overs and the latter returning 2/25 from 10. Preston Greene sparkled, too, with 2/23 from 9.4, and Michaelhouse won by a comfortable 56-run margin.
On Saturday, though, they came unstuck against St John’s College. Playing in Houghton, on Mitchell Field, Michaelhouse lost the toss and St John’s inserted them to bat. That was a good call.
At first, though, the visitors made steady progress, with Victor North and Riley Muir sharing an 84-run second-wicket stand. North top-scored with 50 from 45 balls, hammering five fours and three sixes, while Muir produced a watchful 37 from 64.
Ethan Robinson, the festival’s top wicket-taker, with 11, captured 4/34.
When the weather intervened, St John’s was set a revised victory target, and they took advantage of that, reaching 119/3 in 25 overs to win by seven wickets. Their captain, Nkosana Sibiya, who lost his wicket only once in the festival, despite opening the innings, was unbeaten on 46 off 71 balls. He and Tapiwa Chikwavha (32*) saw the home team to victory with an unbroken partnership of 46 runs.
That left only a T20 clash against St Benedict’s College on Sunday, and Michaelhouse made short work of Bennies, racing to a nine-wicket win after only 14 overs of their innings.
St Benedict’s started encouragingly, with openers Ollie Brown (27) and Keeghan Greensmith (21) putting on 46 for the first wicket in seven overs. Once their partnership was broken, the Bennies’ innings quickly lost steam, and they spluttered to 101 all out.
Liam O’Dwyer had their number, snaring 4/10 from his four overs, while Preston Greene weighed in with 2/20.
‘House’s reply began with the loss of a wicket to the second ball of their innings. No problem! Graydon Leslie and Ben Heuer split the workload in half, with both scoring 51 not out as they hurried their team to another win.
Leslie finished as the festival’s 15th highest run scorer, with 129 at 64.50, which he scored at a healthy 107.50 runs per 100 balls faced. Heuer was right behind him, in 18th place, with 125 at 62.50. Leslie was also 17th on the points table.
O’Dwyer led the Michaelhouse bowling attack with 10/82 in 27 overs. That made for an average of only 8.20 per wicket and an economy rate of 3.04, along with a strike rate of a wicket every 16.20 balls.
The success of Michaelhouse and that of their arch-rivals, Hilton, sets the schools up for a tasty showdown on Saturday in Balgowan.
Results
Woodridge College 113/10 (Stefan Ferreira 28, Jeandré Strydom 20; Ben Heuer 3/18, Liam O’Dwyer 3/27, Rendani Nonge 2/14); Michaelhouse 114/1 (Graydon Leslie 66*, Riley Muir 39*). Michaelhouse won by nine wickets.
Michaelhouse 194/10 (Ben Heuer 63, Cody Sander 59; Heindré Serfontein 3/25, Jonathan Hickley 2/0); St Andrew’s School 138/10 (Heindré Serfontein 39*; Ben Heuer 3/13, Preston Green 2/23, Liam O’Dwyer 2/25). Michaelhouse won by 56 runs.
Michaelhouse 159/10 (Victor North 50, Riley Muir 37; Ethan Robinson 4/34, Tapiwa Chikwavha 2/29); St John’s College 119/3 after 25 overs (Nkosana Sibiya 46*, Tapiwa Chikwavha 32*; Rendani Nonge 2/17). St John’s College won by seven wickets on the DLS Method.
St Benedict’s College 101/10 (Ollie Brown 27, Keeghan Greensmith 21; Liam O’Dwyer 4/10, Preston Greene 2/20); Michaelhouse 102/1 (Ben Heuer 51*, Graydon Leslie 51*). Michaelhouse won by nine wickets.
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