First XI Cricket Rankings: 06/02/2023

On this week’s SA School Sports First XI Cricket Rankings there is virtually nothing between the two front runners with SACS narrowly hanging onto the No.1 position after suffering a defeat to St.Stithians.

Saints who toured the Western Cape, came home with a mixed bag of results, beating SACS but then losing out to both Rondebosch and Wynberg by narrow margins. Their match against Wynberg went down to the final over where, requiring an improbable 20 runs for the win, fell 4 runs shy of the victory despite the heroic efforts of Kwena Maphaka who swung the willow ferociously.

Wynberg will be happy with their performance over the weekend which saw them take on Rondebosch as well and win by 2 runs at the end. Giyan Sulcas did all he could to give ‘Bosch a winning total with a fine 101 runs but Wynberg’s Divan Linde bowled brilliantly earning a return of 5/43 which hamstrung the Rondebosch run chase and ended in their first defeat of the season.

In KZN, Kearsney College continue to impress with an unbeaten run of 9 matches and climb into the unchartered territory of the Top 3 zone following a couple of comfortable wins over Westville and DHS. Ross Boast led his Hilton College team to a nail-biting 1 wicket win over Maritzburg College as Brett Cutting manufactured a boundary on the penultimate ball to keep Hilton in the Top 5.

Graeme College also produced a memorable win over St Andrews College thanks in part to a 92 run partnership between Marcus Williams and Ethan Beyleveld which helped to set up a total that proved unattainable for St Andrews College.

Some other notable performance from the past week included Murray Baker from Michaelhouse who was unbeaten on 103 in their match against St.Charles College. Westville’s Yasheen Khan took 5/36 in their win over Northwood and the St Stithians left arm quick Ethan Jacobs, destroyed SACS with a devastating spell of 4/12.

Callum Croome with figures of 6/28 helped Pretoria Boys High beat Grey College whilst Matthew West from St Davids Inanda struck 101 runs against Parktown.

Please ensure your results are submitted to [email protected]

Check out the 2023 Cricket Honours Board