The weekend saw Maritzburg College’s cricket, basketball and water polo teams up against respected rivals Northwood.
Cricket
1st team report (Mr Robbie Coutts, 1st XI coach)
At the start of the 1st team match, the Northwood captain won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision that didn’t disappoint College captain Daniel Nadasan.
Left-arm seamer Samuel Hughes struck early, taking three wickets in his opening spell. When Sphamandla Dzanibe picked up his first, Northwood were under pressure at 59 for 4 in the 17th over. However, a crucial partnership of 95 off 160 balls steadied the innings and helped the hosts reach a defendable total of 199 for 6. Hughes was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3 for 53 from his 10 overs, while Dom du Toit bowled an exceptionally tight spell, 5 overs for just 5 runs.
College’s chase began cautiously, and unfortunately, that set the tone for the innings. The boys struggled to build any meaningful partnerships and were continually under pressure on a slow wicket. Akhil Bharath was the only batsman to challenge the opposition attack with a well-compiled 47, but when he fell as the eighth wicket, College’s hopes faded. College was eventually bowled out for 141, handing Northwood a deserved 58-run victory.
Scores in brief:
Northwood – 199 for 6; S. Hughes 3 for 53 Maritzburg College – 141 all out; A. Bharath 47 Northwood won by 58 runs.
Summary of results
| Team | Result |
|
1st |
Northwood 199/6; Hughes 3-53 College 141/10; Bharat 47 College lost by 58 runs |
|
2nd |
College 169/10 Northwood 172/3 College lost by 7 wickets |
| 3rd | Northwood 178/9; Wiggil 6/34 |
| College 180/6; Wiggil 38, van Rooyen 39 College won by 4 wickets | |
| 4th | Northwood 167/6; Hellmerg 2-26
College 139/ 7; Smart 52* College lost by 26 runs |
|
5th |
Northwood 75 all out; Rajarathnam 4-22, Wilson 2-9 College 78/3; Aheer 34
College won by 7 wickets |
|
6th |
Northwood 206/4 College 88/10, Dunne 30 College lost by 118 runs |
|
15A |
Northwood 104/10, Johnson 5-16 College 105/6; Bishop 36
College won by 4 wickets |
|
15B |
Northwood 212/10; Addison 4-50, Ntshingila 3-27 College 196/10
College lost by 16 runs |
|
15C |
Northwood 198/6 College 153/5, Raghu 36* College by 46 runs |
|
15D |
Northwood 142/10 College 133/10 College lost by 29 runs |
|
15E |
Northwood 76/7; a Zama 2-1, Cohen 2-13 College 78/1; Borchers 35*
College won by 9 wickets |
|
14A |
Northwood 146/10; St John Ward 4-43 College 147/6; Seach 46
College won by 4 wickets |
|
14B |
Northwood 116/10; Jackson 5-34 College 117/6; Jackson 41*
College won by 4 wickets |
|
14C |
Northwood 132/8 College 135/6
College won by 4 wickets |
|
14D |
College 90 all out Northwood 91/5
College lost by 5 wickets |
|
14E |
Northwood 138/7
College 139/1; van Zuydam 42, Mthembu 41 College won by 9 wickets |
|
14F |
College 114/6; Reddy 44*
Northwood 68/10; Rajkumar 2-4, Msomi 2-9 College won by 46 runs |
Basketball
1st team report (Mr Jacques Wilcock, 1st team coach)
Playing Northwood at Northwood is never an easy task as the elements come into play by playing outdoors. The 1st team game was met with some hostility from the tip-off, with College hoping their team could produce a turnaround result, following the loss faced at the Westville Stayers Basketball Tournament, which knocked them out of the competition.
The first quarter was separated by 3 points in favour of Northwood, who then managed to use their home court advantage to push further ahead by the end of the 1st half with the score 24-32. The game was played in a physical manner as both teams were in foul trouble early in each quarter. The lack of shot clocks made it difficult to gauge the quality of basketball on offer, as it was possible to run down the clock by simply holding the ball. College could not make use of their 3rd quarter surge, and eventually lost the game 52-66.
Summary of results:
| Team | Opposition | Result |
| 1st | Northwood | L 52-66 |
| 2nd | Northwood | L 32-33 |
| 3rd | Northwood | L 20-25 |
| 4th | Northwood | W 39-24 |
| 16A | Northwood | L 34-38 |
| 16B | Northwood | L 23-24 |
| 16C | Northwood | L 22-27 |
| 16D | Northwood | L 7-33 |
| 15A | Northwood | W 26-23 |
| 15B | Northwood | W 47-09 |
| 15C | Northwood | L 18-28 |
| 15D | Northwood | L 20-24 |
| 15E | Northwood | W 40-26 |
| 14A | Northwood | W 23-18 |
| 14B | Northwood | L 17-26 |
| 14C | Northwood | L 22-27 |
| 14D | Northwood | W 31-15 |
| 14E | Northwood | L 6-33 |
Water polo
1st team report (Mr Darren Sherriff, Director Aquatics)
Maritzburg College travelled to Northwood for their final fixture of the season. College started strongly, taking an early 3-2 lead after the first chukka. Northwood, however, fought back with determination and managed to turn the game in their favour.
Despite College’s continued effort, Northwood maintained their momentum and extended their advantage. In a competitive and spirited match to end the season, Northwood claimed the win with a final score of 6-11.
Summary of results:
| Team | Opposition | Result |
| 1st | Northwood | L 6-11 |
| 2nd | Northwood | L 4-12 |
| 3rd | Northwood | L 3-10 |
| 4th | Northwood | L 2-8 |
| 15A | Northwood | L 1-6 |
| 15B | Northwood | D 2-2 |
| U14A | Northwood | L 2-5 |
| U14B | Northwood | D 4-4 |
Canoeing
Well done to two of our College canoeists who competed in the two-day Lions River race over the weekend.
U16
Josh Worthmann 2nd
U18
James Gotte 3rd
