13 October 2026
Northwood enjoyed an outstanding run at the Wildeklawer North-South T20 over the weekend. The event features 16 elite teams from around South Africa and is surely the toughest T20 tournament in the country.
The Knights rose to the stern challenge, recording wins over Rondebosch Boys’ High, Paarl Boys’ High, and Menlopark twice, once in the group stage of the competition and the second time in the third-place playoff. They lost to Jeppe in a pool game and went down to the eventual champion, King Edward VII (KES), by just seven runs in the Cup semifinals.
While Northwood enjoyed an outstanding showing in Pretoria, Durban High School (DHS) was done in by inconsistency. They showed flashes of their ability, but seldom with more than one player shining at the same time as another.
They recorded only one win, beating Grey High School, and finished 13th overall.
Speaking of Grey High, the extraordinary level of competition was best shown by the 15th/16th playoff being between Grey High and Grey College, usually among the best teams in the country.
Grey College excelled at the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week, winning three of their four matches. Their lone loss was by one run against Northwood. In Pretoria, they ended last, and that was despite Wilhelmus van der Schyff receiving the Bowler of the Tournament Award.
As a side note, the Batsman of the Tournament went to Paarl Boys’ High’s Gillmer Horn. From Namibia, Horn is just 14 years old, and it’s worth noting that the event included St David’s Marist Inanda‘s Jason Rowles, the SA U19 skipper, who was recently bought for R2.9-million by the Joburg Super King at the SA20 auction.
Another of the teams that Northwood beat at the Michaelmas Week was King Edward VII (KES), the North-South T20 champions.
In many ways, Northwood and KES resembled one another, with their efforts in the field being most similar. They didn’t rely on one or two stars to do the hard work. Instead, theirs was an all-round team effort, with useful contributions from multiple sources.
Wildeklawer North-South T20 Scorecards
Jeppe 144/7 (Ethan van Dyk 50, Boitumelo Skunka 25; James Searle 3/16, Ryan van Zyl 1/10, Hamza Amla 1/10). Northwood 120/9 (David de Bruyn 50, Nick Slater 25; Zizi Mkhize 3/30, Goolam Ahmed 2/18, Chade Willemse 1/13). Jeppe won by 24 runs.
Rondebosch 103/9 (Eli Aufrichtig 25, Ethan de Heer Kloots 20; Oliver Anderson 2/13, James Searle 2/14, Ryan van Zyl 2/15). Northwood 105/5 (David de Bruyn 29, Ryan Willis 23; Zion van Rensburg 2/13, Ethan de Heer Kloots 2/19, Timothy Short 1/20). Northwood won by five wickets.
Northwood 185/4 (Ryan Willis 78*, Jamie Wimble 63; Verster Richter 1/23, Jordan Eck 1/24, Jan-Willem Pienaar 1/36). Menlopark 119/8 (Juan Lombaard 34, Heinrich Claassen 22; Cameron White 2/19, Keegan Reeves 2/21, Ryan van Zyl 1/15). Northwood won by 52 runs (DLS).
Cup Quarterfinal: Northwood 194/6 (Ryan van Zyl 91, Josh Mills 33, David de Bruyn 27; Roan Heyns 2/15, AB Jacobs 2/38). Paarl Boys’ High 96/10 (Aden Batt 20, Gilmer 20; James Searle 3/4, Oliver Anderson 2/33). Northwood won by 98 runs.
Cup Semi-final: KES 132/6 (Steele Grooteman 32*, Matthew Bromley 31, Troy Gordon 28; Keegan Reeves 3/29, James Searle 1/10, David de Bruyn 1/10). Northwood 125/7 (David de Bruyn 34, Jamie Wimble 32, James Searle 17; Ryan Erasmus 2/25, Connor Kuijers 1/14, Steele Grooteman 1/16). KES won by seven runs.
3rd/4th Playoff: Northwood 138/6 (Jamie Wimble 31, Keegan Reeves 29*, Josh Mills 28; Murray Hofmeyr 2/25, Jan-Willem Pienaar 1/10, Verster Richter 1/19). Menlopark 127/7 (Monré Koekemoer 27*, Jan-Willem Pienaar 24, Heinrich Claassen 23; Josh Mills 3/12, Cameron White 2/26, James Searle 1/22). Northwood won by 11 runs.
DHS 123/9 (Bonga Maphanga 28, Taine Havemann 25, Extras 20; Wilhelmus van der Schyff 4/13, Jano Venter 2/19). Grey College 123/6 (Bergh Vorster 30, Albert Liebenberg 24*, Daniel Hattingh 23, Aiden Dodd 20; Joshua Morley 2/26, Bonga Maphanga 2/27). Grey College won by eight runs via Super Over.
DHS 132/8 (Ismaeel Omar 35, Bonga Maphanga 26; AB Jacobs 2/14, Aden Batt 2/18). Paarl Boys’ High 133/2 (AB Jacobs 57, Christo Muller 31*, Gillmer Horn 27*; Rameez Asmall 2/15). Paarl Boys High won by eight wickets.
Affies 190/6 (Zian Labuschagne 57, Paul Bester 34*, Vihan Pretorius 29; Jeremiah Joseph 3/18, Sharav Reddy 2/33). DHS 154/3 (Ismaeel Omar 63, Joshua van Biljon 54, Extras 24; Zian Labuschagne 2/7). Affies won by 16 runs on the DLS Method.
Plate QF: Jeppe High School for Boys 135/4 (Lincoln Cassias 32*, Boitumelo Skunka 29*, Goolam Ahmed 24; Joshua Morley 1/17). DHS 132/3 (Joshua van Biljon 84*, Sulaimaan Jadwat 20*; Chad Willemse 2/8). Jeppe won by three runs.
Grey High 140/9 (Marcus Potgieter 24; Bonga Maphanga 4/18, Shaun Stumke 2/11). Durban High School 131/6 after 17.5 overs (Joshua van Biljon 58, Jeremiah Joseph 20; Frederick Jansen 2/14). DHS won by nine runs via the DLS Method.
CSA Hub Invitational XI 152/5 (Tshepang Laka 44, Deverick Peterson 31*, Bulumko Magatya 26, Moeketsi Beya 20; Bonga Maphanga 1/6). DHS 143/8 (Jeremiah Joseph 52, Bonga Maphanga 26; Lastio Williams 3/13, Ripfumelo Mabunda 3/13). CSA Hub won by nine runs.
Matches played between Northwood and DHS favoured Northwood. They ruled the U19 and U15 age groups, but DHS had the better of the U14 games, with their U14A side especially impressive.
RESULTS
2nd XI
DHS 100/10; Northwood 102/7
Northwood won by three wickets
3rd XI
DHS 55/10: Northwood 56/1
Northwood won by nine wickets
4th XI
DHS 108/9: Northwood 109/3
Northwood won by seven wickets
5th XI
DHS 84/10; Northwood 85/1
Northwood won by nine wickets
6th XI
Northwood 242/3: DHS 110/19
Northwood won by 132 runs
U15A
DHS 164-10; Northwood 165/5
Northwood won by five wickets
U15B
Northwood 142/6; DHS 82/10
Northwood won by 60 runs
U15C
DHS 87/10: Northwood 89/2
Northwood won by eight wickets
U15D
DHS 133/3: Northwood 137/4
Northwood won by six wickets
U14A
DHS 320/6; Northwood 201/10
DHS won by 119 runs
U14B
DHS 157/10: Northwood 158/9
Northwood won by one wicket
U14C
Northwood 83/10; DHS 84/6
DHS won by four wickets
U14D
Northwood 129/3; DHS 132/2
DHS won by eight wickets
WATER POLO
Both Northwood and DHS were in action at the KZN Top 10 Water Polo tournaments, with Northwood’s 1st team making a big splash.
They produced one of the event’s big upsets, beating Kearsney College 8-7 to finish top of Pool B, which left Clifton College with the unenviable task of taking on Kearsney in the semi-finals. The Knights, meanwhile, faced the Clifton Water Polo Tournament champions, Hilton College, for a place in the final.
They were outplayed by Hilton, going down 3-10, but then pushed Kearsney to the brink again in the third-place playoff, losing 9-10 in a second meeting with the Botha’s Hill powerhouse. Still, the event was a triumph for Northwood. It followed a strong showing by the Knights at the SACS Water Polo Tournament.
DHS was competitive, but finished eighth after a 10-11 loss to Maritzburg College in the playoffs.
In the U15 competition, Northwood placed fifth and DHS seventh, while Northwood was fourth in the U14 event and DHS eighth.
For full details, including results and standings, please click this LINK.
In other matches played between DHS and Northwood, Northwood won three games to one.
RESULTS
2nd: Northwood 9-7 DHS
15A: Northwood 6-7 DHS
14A: Northwood 8-4 DHS
14B: Northwood 12-5 DHS