Kearsney Triumph Over St Charles in school sports fixtures over the weekend.
CRICKET
On Saturday St Charles hosted Kearsney, and elected to bowl in seamer-friendly conditions after having won the toss.
St Charles’ seamer made good use of the conditions and bowled exceptionally well, with Ryan Clarke 3/17 in 10 overs and Jayden Saville 3/21 being the stand out performers. Kearsney struggled to get any momentum in their innings, with only Rivan Moodley scoring a composed 40 runs, before he was removed by fellow leg spinner Keegan Vermaak. At 91/7 Kearsney were in trouble, but some gutsy batting from the lower order saw them reach 139 all out in 46.3 overs.
St Charles started positively and lost their first wicket with the score on 29 after 7 overs, when Daniel Miskey removed Vermaak. The introduction of Kearsney’s spinners turned the tide, after St Charles looked comfortable at 59/1 at drinks. Moodley put in a match winning performance, taking 4/30 in his allotted overs, including removing the key wicket of the St Charles captain, who recently returned from CSA Cubs week, for 17. Moodley was well supported by captain Keegan de Jager and Mathew Gorrie who each took two wickets.
The game looked all but over when the hosts were 113/9, but a last wicket partnership of 17 runs kept the game in the balance, before Michael Groom removed Kaiyuran Naidoo to give Kearsney a slender nine-run victory in what was an exciting encounter of schoolboy cricket.
Kearsney College 139/10 (Moodley 40, Clarke 3/17, Saville 3/21, Vermaak 2/24)
St Charles 130/10 (Prinsloo 27, Moodley 4/30, De Jager 2/15, Gorrie 2/23)
Kearsney won by nine runs
Basketball
St Charles 1st team lost 61-84 to Kearsney 1st team
Kearsney travelled to St Charles for the opening fixture of the season. Of late St Charles has won most of the matches the two schools have played, and were seen as the favourites, being notoriously difficult to beat at home.
Kearsney started the match fast and were up by 15 points before St Charles scored their first point. The offense was difficult for the home team as Kearsney were playing like men possessed. The scoreboard read 23-12 to Kearsney at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw St Charles find their rhythm as their superior height began to grind down Kearsney’s defense. Their post players were in foul trouble, and coaches were forced to substitute them. The pace was brutal in the wilting heat and the game was very physical as St Charles ramped up their defense. St Charles won the quarter 16-15 but still had a lot of work to do in the second half.
St Charles closed the gap on Kearsney, even managing to tie the score during the third quarter with some good outside shooting and well-worked baskets. Towards the end of the quarter, however, the work that they’d put in began to tell, and Kearsney was able to find some scoring rhythm. Kearsney ended the half 64-49 ahead.
Kearsney did not let up the pressure and St Charles’ best players fouled out of the game, which extinguished any possible comeback. Kearsney ran out comfortable winners 84-61.
Top performers
Kearsney: Pabatso Sithole 26 points, Kwa Sibya 15, Kabo Ramidebedi 8, Abake Moyo 9, Daniel Prinsloo 8
St Charles: Tivadar Maphosa 22 points, Kwezi Simelane 10, Thingo Makhathini 8
WATER POLO
Kearsney water polo participated in a full set of fixtures over the weekend, pairing up with Michaelhouse, St Charles, Curro Hillcrest, DHS and Thomas More to create a festival-style event and get more game time, before the season kicks into full swing.
Kearsney’s 1st team faced DHS and Michaelhouse, going away with one win and one draw. They beat DHS 10–5 and drew with Michaelhouse 9–9.
Photo credit: Photographer: Ndaramo Sithole (grade 12).
