CRICKET:
T20
Northwood 1st X1: 177/5 Mokoena 62, Nielsen 42 Jagga 41*
Kearsney 1st X1: Wiggett 39, De Beer 36
Kearsney won by one wicket
Northwood won the toss and elected to bat on what turned out to be a very good batting wicket at Kearsney College last Friday. It was evident that this was going to be a high-scoring T20 game when James Nielsen got Northwood off to a flying start, scoring 42 off 24 balls including 5 sixes, before being run out in the first over after the power play, with the score at 58.
Northwood kept attacking with the bat, regularly clearing the boundary, with Harlee Jagga scoring 41* off 34 and Nqobani Mokoena a devastating 62 off 30 balls. Northwood set an imposing 177/5 in their 20 overs with Asande Nyawose the pick for Kearsney only conceding 16 runs in his 3 overs.
Kearsney started their innings with real intent, with Adam Zeiler and Dylan Wiggett getting the hosts ahead of the rate, scoring 65 runs in the power play. Wiggett eventually fell for 39 off 24 balls but fortunately for Kearsney Michael de Beer was able to carry the momentum through, scoring 36 off 27 balls.
Wickets kept falling for Kearsney but with batters all scoring for more than a run a ball, it kept them in the chase. Harlee Jagga continued his great day for Northwood by bowling 4 overs 2 wickets for 13 runs and Jordan van Zyl took 3 for 24 in his 3 overs.
Jack O’Donovan scored a very fast 18 runs before he was dismissed getting the score close, but the total looked a little too far, until Cameron Veenstra came in. Kearsney needed 28 of the last 2.4 overs. A devasting 18 off 7 balls from Veenstra took Kearsney over the line on the last ball of the innings.
It was a great advert for the game with Kearsney ending victorious by 1 wicket.
BASKETBALL:
Hosts Kearsney are fortunate to have two indoor basketball courts, otherwise no fixtures would have taken place with the weekend’s heavy rainfall. Kearsney started the game fast and, with Northwood looking sluggish, by the end of the first quarter Kearsney had built a 14-2 lead, through some excellent defense and good execution on offence.
Kearsney continued playing well in the second quarter. Having to make changes to allow some starters to rest, allowed Northwood to find offensive rhythm, enabling them back into the game.
The teams went into the change rooms at half time with Kearsney still in the lead 23-13.
Northwood’s momentum continued into the third quarter and they managed to eat into Kearsney’s lead, with their veteran matric player and captain Kegan Best helping steady the ship. Kearsney’s lead was down to 5-points by the end of the quarter, to 25-30.
Northwood started the fourth quarter strongly and managed to tie up the game at 40. But after some defensive adjustments and clutch shooting, Kearsney managed to go ahead by six points 46-40. With the clock running out, this proved a bridge too far for Northwood to mount a comeback.
Kearsney ran out winners 46-42 in a hard-fought victory which could go down as their win of the season.
Top Performers:
Kearsney: Luca Borrageiro 16 points, Oliver Brazier 7, Andile Nomvete 7
Northwood: Chandley Hargreaves 12 points, Keagan Best 6, Lusanda Hlongwane 6, Nigel Kambasha 6
WATER POLO:
Kearsney’s U14 water polo team secured their second gold medal in consecutive weekends, with their win at the Northwood U14 tournament. This followed the previous weekend’s successful Top 10 event, where they asserted their dominance over other KZN U14 water polo teams.
The team went down 0-2 in the opening quarter of the final, but managed to rally and secure the win, coming from behind, to beat local rivals Hilton 3-2. The format of the tournament was a full round-robin competition where Kearsney emphatically won all eight games. Only the top two teams qualified for the final.
Results:
Final: Kearsney beat Hilton 3-2
Round Robin Games:
Kearsney beat Michaelhouse 11-4
Kearsney beat Hilton 6-1
Kearsney beat DHS 10-0
Kearsney beat Glenwood 8-0
Kearsney beat Clifton 5-2
Kearsney beat Maritzburg College 11-1
Kearsney beat Northwood 9-1
Kearsney beat Westville 10-1
Kearsney 1st water polo team beat Northwood 1st 13-8
Kearsney College hosted Northwood for the 1st team water polo fixture. The hosts got off to a perfect start, leading 5-1 as half-time approached. Two quick extra-man goals by Northwood brought the half-time score to 5-3 in favour of Kearsney.
In the third and fourth quarters Kearsney took the game from Northwood with some clinical finishes. James Francke was lethal on the right side with his dominant display with the ‘left-hand’, scoring three goals and assisting with another three.
Northwood never gave up though, continuing to dominate upfront, with both Kearsney centre backs being excluded for the duration of the game, and too many major fouls against them. The damage was already done however, and the hosts took a 13-8 win.
TENNIS
Eight of the country’s top tennis-playing schools competed in the Grey College stayers’ tournament over the weekend.
Kearsney’s team of John Bothma, Caleb Fyvie, Finn Coningham, Keegan Gevers, Ryan Smith, Connor van Heerden and Matt Lamplough played extremely well.
Special mention must be made of John Bothma, a Grade 8 pupil who played at number 1. He beat boys two and three years older, including the number 1 players from Paul Roos, Affies and Waterkloof, and narrowly lost to Grey College’s top player.
In the final Grey College beat Paul Roos by 5 matches to 4.
Sports report compiled by Sue Miles at Working Words.
Photographer: Tracey van den Aardweg
Image 1:Kearsney’s James Francke in the win against Northwood.jpg
Image 2: Kearsney 1st X1 captain Bryce Wigget in the T20 win over Northwood.jpg
Image 3: Kearsney’s top scorer Luca Borrageiro in the win against Northwood.jpg