21 September 2026
Kearsney College, Clifton College, and a Johannesburg Invitational XI, featuring players from St John’s College, Jeppe High School for Boys, and King Edward VII (KES), represented South African interests at the St John’s Rams T20 in Harare, which ended on Sunday.
All three made it to the semifinals, but Zimbabwe’s Peterhouse lifted the silverware, defeating Kearsney in the title game.
Captain Keegan de Jager and his side put together a strong campaign, but Peterhouse had their number, beating them comfortably in a pool game and in the final.
The Marondera side won by eight wickets, with two overs in hand, in their first meeting. In the final, they won by seven wickets, with 2.1 overs to spare.
Those defeats should not detract from a strong showing by coach Matt Savage‘s charges.
They posted a useful 150/6 in the final after being sent in to bat, led by Gary Verbaan‘s unbeaten 40 off 37 deliveries, while Asher Hollister weighed in with 37 from only 23 balls, striking four fours and two sixes.
In reply, Litha Gonya removed Isaac Hildebrand early, but his fellow opener, Ndiriwashe Munatsirei, played a match-winning knock to steer Peterhouse to victory. He scored an unbeaten 68 from 51 deliveries, which allowed Isaac Allott (25 off 18), captain Tyler Chapman (32 off 23), and Victor Watama (11* off six) to go after the Kearsney bowling.
Only Gonya was spared the onslaught. He even sent down a maiden and returned a tidy 3/11 from three overs, but there was no stopping Peterhouse’s march to the title.
Kearsney’s successes – an eight-wicket win over Prince Edward, a four-wicket defeat of St John’s (Harare), another four-wicket win over Hellenic Academy, and a seven-wicket victory against the Johannesburg Invitational XI in the semi-finals – were mostly built around their solid batting.
Asher Hollister, with 236 runs at 47.20 and a rapid strike rate of 168.57, was the third-highest run scorer of the tournament. Keegan de Jager, with 155 at 31, was the fourth highest run scorer, while Aaron Blackburn, with 145 at 72.50, which had him in sixth place, gave Kearsney three players in the top 10.
St John’s College matched that achievement, but Kearsney’s leading trio occupied higher positions.
Kearsney also produced the leading wicket-taker. Rivaan Moodley topped the charts, removing 11 batsmen at the superb average of only 6.75 per wicket. He destroyed Hellenic Academy, knocking over 5/10.
Clifton College captain, Shiraz Perumal, was in fifth position, with nine wickets at 9.89.
Kearsney also showed up well on the fielders’ leaderboard, with Asher Hollister taking seven catches in six matches and being part of two runs outs, while Aaron Blackburn claimed six catches and one run out.
The tournament’s MVP was the Johannesburg Invitational XI’s Lincoln Casais, the event’s leading run scorer, with 303 at an average of 151/50, which included 140 not out against St George’s College.
Second in the race for the MVP was Peterhouse’s wicketkeeper/batsman, Ndiriwashe Munatsirei, the Player of the Match in the final, just ahead of another wicketkeeper/batsman, Kearsney’s Asher Hollister.
Clifton College skipper, Shiraz Perumal, was fourth in the MVP standings. He and his side played well, scoring three convincing victories before coming unstuck against Peterhouse in the semifinals.
The spin twins, Shiraz Perumal and Blake Johnson, shared five wickets between them for only 21 runs in a big nine-wicket win over Churchill, and Perumal then snared 4/19 and scored 24 not out in a six-wicket defeat of CBC Bulawayo.
Perumal, with an unbeaten 56 off only 29 balls, which included five fours and three sixes, and Hayden Drieselmann, with 53 off 44, with three sixes and two fours, then lifted Clifton to a six-wicket win over St John’s Harare, with four balls to spare. Perumal also picked up two wickets. So, too, did Keegan Watson.
Unfortunately for coach Brandon Scullard and his charges, their batting failed to fire in their semifinal showdown with Peterhouse.
Only two batsmen – Muhammed Malek with 26 and Veer Ramouthar with 21 – made it into double figures as Peterhouse struck early and often. After 17.3 overs, Clifton was all out for 81.
Callum Scott-Elliot, the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 10 at 10.9, inflicted the most damage, capturing 4/16 in 3.3 overs. Jordan Gakanje, with 2/17 in four, and Nicholas Orphanides, with 2/21 in three, also enjoyed success.
In only 8.2 overs, Peterhouse booked their place in the final.
Kearsney faced the defending champs, the Johannesburg Invitational XI, in the semifinals and produced a good performance to claim a six-wicket win with seven balls to spare.
The Joburg boys won the toss and chose to bat, but were limited to 143/8. Casais, opening the innings, top-scored with 45 off 36 balls, cracking six fours and two sixes, while Herman Basson hit five fours in his 27 off 18, and James van Tonder chipped in with 24 not out off 24.
Two run outs also played a big role in keeping the Johannesburg Invitational XI in check.
Kearsney lost Luke Grobbelaar before they had a run on the board, but Hollister and De Jager quickly took charge, adding 75 in 11.3 overs before the Kearsney skipper exited for 35 from 38 balls.
Asher Hollister, however, had the bit between his teeth, and he powered his team to victory with an explosive and unbeaten 86 from 51 deliveries, blasting seven fours and five sixes.
RESULTS
Final
Kearsney 150/6 (Gary Verbaan 40*, Asher Hollister 37; Callum Scott-Elliot 2/23, Victor Watama 1/26). Peterhouse 151/3 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 68*, Tyler Chapman 32; Litha Gonya 1/11, Ryan Staats 1/31). Peterhouse won by seven wickets.
Semifinals
Johannesburg Invitational XI 143/8 (Lincoln Casais 45, Herman Basson 27; Ryan Staats 2/37, Matthew Rice 1/2). Kearsney 147/3 (Asher Hollister 86*, Keegan de Jager 35; Tapiwa Chikwava 2/38, Matthew de Jong 1/17). Kearsney won by seven wickets.
Clifton 81/10 (Muhammed Malek 26, Veer Ramouthar 21; Callum Scott-Elliot 4/16, Jordan Gakanje 2/17). Peterhouse 82/1 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 34*, Isaac Elliot 25*; Blake Johnson 1/21, Caleb Naiker 0/10). Peterhouse won by nine wickets.
Other matches
Kearsney
Prince Edward 148/9 (Tapiwa Sengwe 38, Shayne Garwe 28; Rivan Moodley 3/24, Blake Pugh 1/7). Kearsney 152/2 (Keegan de Jager 59*, Asher Hollister 37; Shayne Garwe 1/23, Felix Munda 1/45). Kearsney won by eight wickets.
Hellenic Academy 85/10 (Alex Landman 34, Daniel Ellis 14; Rivan Moodley 5/10, Matthew Gorrie 2/15). Kearsney 86/6 (Aaron Blackburn 25*, Luke Grobbelaar 25; Kian Blignaut 2/15, Tijan Nicholson 2/17). Kearsney won by four wickets.
St John’s 175/5 (Riley Ettlin 71, James Manning 59*; Blake Pugh 2/17, Litha Gonya 2/28). Kearsney 176/6 (Asher Hollister 60, Aaron Blackburn 35*; Sean Price 1/21, Jetas Sai Maramreddy 1/31). Kearsney won by four wickets.
Kearsney College 141/8 (Aaron Blackburn 35, Luke Grobbelaar 22; Nicholas Orphanides 2/26, Cameron Oosthuizen 2/35). Peterhouse 144/2 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 69*, Isaac Hildebrand 43; Rivan Moodley 1/19, Keegan de Jager 1/11). Peterhouse won by eight wickets.
Clifton
Churchill 69/10 (Simbarashe Manzou 20, Zvikomborero Masango 18; Shiraz Perumal 3/15, Blake Johnson 2/6). Clifton 73/1 (Daniyaal Klinck 41*, Muhammed Malek 14; Andy Tabvura 1/28, Tadiwanashe Muzhira 0/11). Clifton won by nine wickets.
Christian Brothers College 108/10 (Joshua Armstrong 33, Presely Jere 21; Shiraz Perumal 4/19, Keegan Watson 2/3). Clifton 110/4 (Daniyaal Klinck 30, Shiraz Perumal 24*; Charles Thatha 1/12, Marshall Hamandishe 1/7). Clifton won by six wickets.
St John’s College 162/9 (Noah Mitchell 73, James Manning 24; Keegan Watson 2/32, Shiraz Perumal 2/35). Clifton College 163/4 (Shiraz Perumal 56*, Hayden Drieselmann 53; Jetas Sai Maramreddy 2/24, Sean Price 1/21). Clifton won by six wickets.
Johannesburg Invitational XI
Johannesburg Invitational XI 160/7 (Lincoln Casais 72, Joshua Hall 44; Panashe Mazai 2/18, Tadiwanashe Rusere 2/35). Wise Owl 143/7 (Ambitious Muduma 48, Praise Dube 47; Bryn Gilmour 3/20, Jared Gilmour 2/30). Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 17 runs.
Johannesburg Invitational XI 191/4 (Lincoln Casais 140*, Herman Basson 22; Ethan Zhou 2/24, Requan Mahwita 1/16). St George’s 116/6 (Abhiraj Singh 46, Michael Mukori 16; Kyle Hennene 3/12, Tapiwa Chikwava 2/6). Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 75 runs.
Johannesburg Invitational XI 168/7 (Sean Rowles 51, Lincoln Casais 46*; Leo Clarkson 3/35, Reed Merick 2/34). Falcon College 81/10 (Nathan Kaufman 19*, Liam Nel 19; Herman Basson 2/14, Lincoln Casais 2/13). Johannesburg Invitational XI won by 87 runs.
Zimbabwean schools
St John’s (Harare) 183/5 (Riley Ettlin 57, Luca Spagnuolo 54, James Manning 26; Nqobizitha Mpofu 2/24); CBC Bulawayo 69/10 (Pilate Ndlovu 27; Sean Price 3/6, Hayden Saunders 2/2, Luca Spagnuolo 2/10, Jetas Sai Maramreddy 2/16). St John’s won by 114 runs.
Prince Edward 138/7 (Donell Madongo 23*, Felix Munda 23, Thando Mashava 22; Nicholas Orphanides 2/23, Ryan Moyo 2/26); Peterhouse 139/6 after 17.3 overs (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 32, Isaac Allott 26, Ryan Moyo 20*; Takuna Kaitano 3/24). Peterhouse won by four wickets.
Falcon College 225/4 (Luke Rosenfels 112, Callum Orford 69, Joshua Engelbrecht 25; Kundanashe Mushonga 4/23); St George’s College 103/8 (Abhiraj Singh 29, Allen Masiya 22; Leo Clarkson 3/13, Christopher Thomas 2/9, Daniel Buckby 2/10). Falcon College won by 122 runs.
Hellenic Academy 180/8 (Daniel Ellis 43, Ben Lashbrook 38; Simbarashe Rombera 2/20, Joseph Mutumbi 2/26). Prince Edward 107/9 (Mike Takodza 47, Keith Mabena 14; Kian Blignaut 3/21, Alex Landman 2/7). Hellenic Academy won by 73 runs.
St George’s College 99/10 (Munashe Muchatukwa 34, Abhiraj Singh 17; Tadiwanashe Rusere 4/17, Tinodaishe Pasipamire 1/1). Wise Owl 102/5 (Takunda Rakabopa 30, Ambitious Muduma 18; Tanaka Murahwa 2/10, 2/39). Wise Owl won by five wickets.
St John’s College (Harare) 202/4 (Luca Spagnuolo 63, Jetas Sai Maramreddy 26; Ryan Madzima 1/16, Zvikomborero Masango 1/32). Churchill 179/4 (Tatenda Ushe 51*, Zvikomberero Masango 47; Luca Spagnuolo 2/28, Kai Yatras 1/25). St John’s won by 23 runs.
Hellenic Academy 142/5 (Michael Blignaut 75*, Ben Lashbrook 32*; Victor Watama 3/18, Cameron Oosthuizen 1/31). Peterhouse 147/3 (Isaac Allott 38*, Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 30; Kirby Madaramete 1/24, Alex Landman 1/24). Peterhouse won by seven wickets.
Falcon College 177/7 (Reed Merick 114, Liam 21; Takunda Rakabopa 2/16, Pharrell Makunura 2/38). Wise Owl 179/7 (Brendon Senzere 33, Denzel Phiri 32; Leo Clarkson 2/26, Reed Merick 2/31). Wise Owl won by three wickets.
Wise Owl 67/8 (Pharrell Makunura 22*, Delroy Nzuma 15; Cameron Oosthuizen 3/10, Victor Watama 2/9). Peterhouse 68/0 (Ndiriwashe Munatsirei 46*, Isaac Hikdebrand 19*; Pharrell Makunura 0/10, Panashe Mazai 0/14). Peterhouse won by 10 wickets.
Falcon College 161/7 (Joshua Engelbrecht 55, Imbirai Guzha 33; Alex Landman 3/42, Kirby Madaramete 1/21). Hellenic Academy 165/6 (Kian Blignaut 51, Michael Blignaut 30; Leo Clarkson 2/21, Liam Nel 2/30). Hellenic Academy won by four wickets.
St George’s College 122/9 (Allen Masiya 28, Jayden Petersen 28; Tadiwanashe Mushira 3/11, Gilbert Magwaza 1/18). Churchill 123/8 (Ricardo Msipa 50*, Simbarashe Manzou 22; Ethan Zhou 4/16, Jayden Petersen 1/27). Churchill won by two wickets.
Prince Edward 153/4 (Felix Munda 69, Donell Madongo 28*; Joshua Armstrong 1/21, Charles Thatha 1/20). Christian Brothers College 125/7 (Pollock Mubobo 33*, Ross Schmahl 19; Shayne Garwe 3/21, Donell Madongo 1/14). Prince Edward won by 28 runs.