The City Derby
St Charles College vs Maritzburg College
It felt like summer had arrived in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday as the temperatures soared for the City Derby. With the Top 10 tournament taking place for water polo, the Blue, Gold and White locked horns with the Red, Black and White on the basketball courts and the cricket ovals. The 1st XI game was reported on by Saints Head Coach Lucky Dladla. The Saints, on home soil, won the toss and batted first, starting the day in full control with Fortmann and Riley scoring at 5 runs per over. Their 87-run partnership for the 1st wicket set Saints up for a decent total. Fortmann was the first to go, driving the ball in the air, and getting caught at long on for 53. Skipper, Marcell Wellman joined Riley, and the pair steadied the ship, and got the total over the 100 runs mark before Riley was run out for 32. The Saints men kept the momentum going as Sunguro and Zama both contributed powerfully with attacking half-centuries. St Charles College, for the first time this season recorded a decent total on The Oval of 273 for the loss of 6 wickets.
In reply Maritzburg College got off to a shaky start, losing a wicket in the first over. The visitors batted slowly, scoring at 2 to 3 runs per over. St Charles College remained patient and bowled with discipline. Connor Vogt made a break- through in the 8th over. The College captain, Chad Mason, came to the crease and batted with maturity and control. With wickets falling at one end, Mason’s century was not enough and the Saints piled on the pressure, restricting Maritzburg College to 189 all out in the 45th over. St Charles College won by 84 runs.
Scores in brief:
St Charles 273 for 6 in 50 overs Maritzburg College 189 for 10
- Zama 60 B. Sunguro 4 for 17
- Sunguro 54 C. Vogt 3 for 30
- Fortmann 53
Basketball Report by head Coach, Darren Holcomb
This weekend saw the Maritzburg Derby take place in front of a packed SK Arena at St Charles College. Arguably the most watched game of basketball at the school-boy level, the home team were hoping to have a strong showing for their first home game of the season.
While St Charles College drew first blood with a corner three-pointer, the majority of the first half belonged to the visiting team. With slick transition defence and excellent outside shooting, College was able to score at will and put the Saints’ defence under immense pressure. While College’s defence and offence were excellent, the real game-changer was their offensive rebounding. The visitors dominated in this area and regularly gave themselves second and third chances to convert the basket.
With the Saints under pressure, they were not able to keep the score close enough and this added to the confidence of the visitors, who ran away with a comfortable victory, 81-45.
The young Saints team will look to bounce back this week as they travel to Glenwood.
Sports report sent from St Charles Marketing Department.
