It was a short but busy school holiday period for many of the Maritzburg College boys and staff involved in various sporting activities.
Maritzburg College was proud to host the 65th Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Festival, the biggest in the history of this prestigious event, which saw 26 schools from around the country take part.
College’s 1st XI played very well, securing three wins from four matches.
There was also plenty of basketball, water polo, shooting, cycling, table tennis and canoeing action
Cricket
Maritzburg College enjoyed a highly successful 2025 Michaelmas Cricket Week on Goldstone’s, producing some outstanding team and individual performances. The Red, Black, and White recorded three wins from four matches, defeating Pretoria Boys High, St John’s College, and Paarl Boys High, while falling only to a strong Grey College side.
1st team reports (Mr Robbie Coutts, 1st XI coach)
College began their campaign in emphatic fashion with a comprehensive 129-run victory over Pretoria Boys High. After winning the toss and electing to bat, captain Daniel Nadasan and Kyle de Bruyn set the tone with an opening stand of 101. De Bruyn was fluent for his 57 off 75 balls, while Nadasan added a patient 28. The platform allowed Karl Dedekind to unleash an attacking 74 from just 57 deliveries, striking four fours and four sixes. Late-order acceleration from Sphamandla Dzanibe (29 off 20) lifted College to a commanding 279 all out.
In reply, Pretoria Boys High struggled to find rhythm, and were dismissed for 150 in the 37th over. Pretoria Boys High were only able to put together two meaningful partnerships, that of 44 for the 5th wicket and 34 for the 6th wicket. Nadasan had a good day out in the field executing an excellent direct hit to break the 6th wicket partnership before knocking over the tail with 3 for 5 to seal a dominant win. Sam Hughes 2 for 26 and Nathan Pembridge 2 for 42 also contributed with the ball as College made the perfect start.
Scores in brief
Maritzburg College Pretoria Boys High School
279 all out 150 all out
Dedekind 74 Nadasan 3 for 5
De Bruyn 57 Hughes 2 for 26
Dzanibe 29 Pembridge 2 for 42
Maritzburg College won by 129 runs
On day two, College backed up their performance with a 41-run win over St John’s College. Batting first, they recovered from early setbacks to post 245 all out, thanks largely to a destructive lower-order innings from wicket keeper Joe Currie, who smashed 61 from 35 balls, including seven fours and two sixes. The total was set up earlier by Akhil Bharath (52) and Nadasan (30) who had laid a solid foundation, while Luka Puddu added a valuable 39.
St John’s found themselves in early trouble at 52 for 4, and it was the 9th and 10th wicket partnerships that gave the St Johns score card some respectability, at 118 for 8, the St John’s tail enders contributed 86 runs, as they were eventually bowled out for 204 in the 45th over. Hughes led the bowling attack with 3 for 37, while Pembridge picked up 2 for 61 as College recorded their second straight win.
Maritzburg College St Johns
245 all out 204 all out
Currie 61 Hughes 3 for 37
Bharath 52 Pembridge 2 for 61
Puddu 39
Maritzburg College won by 41 runs
Grey College proved too strong on day three, inflicting College’s only defeat of the week, a 163-run loss. Having been sent into bat, Grey were in early trouble at 31 for 3, but through three big middle order partnerships were able to set an excellent 292 for 7. Despite early breakthroughs from Hughes 2 for 23 and Reece Willson 2 for 49, Grey’s middle order dominated to set an imposing total.
College’s reply faltered under sustained pressure, managing only 129 all out, College would have been disappointed to have been bowled out in the 28th over. Captain Nadasan and Deolyn Naidoo the only two batters to pass 20, both players scoring 28.
Grey College Maritzburg College
292 for 7 129 all out
Hughes 2 for 23 Nadasan 28
Willson 2 for 48 Naidoo 28
Grey College won by 163 runs
College bounced back brilliantly in their final game, claiming a thrilling 18-run win over Paarl Boys High. Batting first, the top order once again delivered, with De Bruyn (57 off 47) and Dzanibe (54* off 40) ensuring a strong total of 168 for 3 in their 20 overs. Skipper Nadasan chipped in with 33 from 27 balls.
Defending the total, College’s bowlers maintained control as Dzanibe completed a superb all-round performance, taking 3 for 16 alongside Dedekind’s 2 for 18. College ensured there was no late drama, breaking dangerous partnerships before they could develop, restricting Paarl to 150 for 7.
Maritzburg College Paarl Boys High
168 for 3 150 for 7
De Bruyn 57 Dzanibe 3 for 16
Dzanibe 54* Dedekind 2 for 18
Nadasan 33
Maritzburg College won by 18 runs
The U17 stayers, U15A and U14 teams also took part in cricket tournaments over the holidays.
Summary of Results:
U17 Stayers – Michaelhouse Played 5, lost 4, 1 no result Individual performances:
Vs Jeppe: Katz 62, D Naidoo 45
Vs PBHS: Schirge 84, Hosking 3/58 Vs St Albans: Hosking 3/27
U15A – PBHS
Played 4, lost 3, drew 1 Individual performances:
Vs Waterkloof: Greaves 50*, Bishop 3/38 Vs Paul Roos: Bishop 3/22, Palmer 3/36 Vs Affies: Palmer 3/49, Johnson 3/65
U14A – Hilton
Played 4, lost 3, drew 1 Individual performances:
Vs Grey College: Seach 3/34, Mahmoud 3/48
Vs Wynberg: Mahmoud 5/20, Seach 3/22, Puddu 41 Vs St Stithians: St John-Ward 3/18
Basketball
Congratulations to the College Stayers basketball team who took part in the Westville Stayers Basketball Tournament producing excellent results, and finishing in 2nd place overall.
Vs Glenwood won 69-14 Vs ESCA lost 49-57
Vs Jeppe won 61-23
Vs Parktown won 66-32 Vs Northwood won 59-53 Vs ESCA lost 51-54
1st team placed 2nd in the tournament.
Special congratulations to M Ntlakana who was named for the All Star team.
The U15A and U14B basketball teams also took part in events over the holidays. The U15A team finished in 4th place at the Northwood U15 Home Turf Hoops tournament, winning four of their six matches, while the Michaelhouse Basketball Festival gave the College U14B team some valuable learning experiences.
Northwood U15 Home Turf Hoops tournament
Vs Kearsney won 31-21 Vs Clifton won 61 – 2
Vs Queens won 65 – 19
Vs MHS won 37 – 15
Vs ESCA lost 26 – 36.
Vs St Stithians lost 38 – 39
Played 6, Won 4, Lost 2
Placed: 4th
Michaelhouse Basketball Festival U14B
Vs Jeppe A lost 38-24
Vs St John’s A lost 25-37 Vs St Albans A lost 15-27 Vs St Stithians B lost 28-29
Vs St David’s A lost 21-45 Vs St John’s B won 23-21 Vs Saheti B lost 22-32
Vs MHS B won 28-8 Vs Hilton B won 29-11
Water polo
College’s U16 water polo teams faced tough competition at the DHS Nick Rey u16 Water Polo Tournament, finishing in 11th place.
Vs Thomas More 1st lost 3-6 Vs Kearsney lost 4-13
Vs Wahoo lost 2-9 Vs Westville lost 4-9
Vs St Stithians lost 5-9 Vs St Charles won 3-7
Play off vs Glenwood won 9-2
Play off vs Jeppe lost 5-6 (penalties) Play off 11th/12th vs St Charles won 9-2
Cycling
Three College cyclists competed in the Cycle Lab Schools MTB Series: National Finals held at Piet Retief.
Saturday 4 October:
R Champkins 47th out of 72, Sub junior u14 B Fourie 36th out of 68, Junior u17
K Searle 9th out of 68, Junior u17
Sunday 5 October:
R Champkins 46th out of 70, Sub junior u14 B Fourie 30th out of 63, Junior u17
K Searle 8th out of 63, Junior u17
Canoeing
Well done to all the College canoeists who competed in the Fish River Canoe Marathon and SA K2 River championships held in Cradock, EC.
U18
S Venniker and partner 2nd and 10th overall
J Jv Rensburg and L O’Connor 4th and 17th overall J Gotte and partner 5t h
U23
J Odell and Nathan Curry 1st and 25th overall J Craig and partner (mixed) 7th
B Gotte and partner 57th
Shooting
Competing in the U21 category at the SA Shooting Competition held in Gauteng, Maritzburg College boys posted the following very good results:
3P Sporter Men’s U21 13th Niyal Naidoo 15th Milan Naidoo
10m Sporter Men’s U21
5th Niyal Naidoo 6th Milan Naidoo
Table Tennis
There were some excellent individual performances from the College table tennis team at the SA Junior Table Tennis Championship.
S Redlinghuys – Bronze medal U19 team event
S Bandu – Bronze medal U19 team event
T Royappen- Bronze medal U19 singles event and Silver medal U19 mixed doubles event
S Moodley – Gold medal U15 Boys doubles event
S Ince -Gold medal U15 boys doubles and Silver medal U15 mixed doubles event
Congratulations to Y Singh who represented Umgungundlovu as an umpire for the duration of the SA National Junior and Senior Table tennis Championships.
