Date Added : 2010-03-04
Independent Schools Cricket Festival
25-28 February 2010
Kingswood 1st XI Cricket Results
Match 1: vs St Johns Harare
Venue: Murray Field, St Albans Date: 26 February 2010
Toss Won By: St Johns, and chose to field.
Format: Declaration/ Time.
The match was scheduled to be a two-day match – however, rain washed out any possibility of play on day one. Day two then, started in very damp conditions with overcast skies, although the track looked magnificent. The Kingswood batters got off to a steady start putting on 50 for the first wicket. All the batsmen seemed to get in but did not convert their starts until Scot van Breda showed his potential as a batter and reached his first 50 after lunch. Hansel (59) and Hornbuckle (50) would both have been upset to get out after doing all the hard work. With a declaration looming, van Breda tore into the bowling attack and reached his first century for Kingswood 31 balls after getting to his 50. Kingswood declared as he was dismissed, with the score on 297 for 9. Steven Loock (18 not out) did well to keep one end up while van Breda was working his way towards his fifty, in a partnership which eventually totalled 96.
The pitch seemed to actually get quicker as the day progressed and a brilliant opening spell from Greg Evans and van Breda pegged St Johns back from the start. Evans produced his best figures for Kingswood as he picked up 5 for 26, and van Breda was also well rewarded in his spell, with figures of 3 for 14. Some spectacular catching was also one of the highlights just after tea. St Johns, simply found a rampant Kingswood side on the day and were dismissed after tea for 54. To put the bowling effort into perspective, the side St Johns fell 20 runs short of chasing down 280 against St Albans the following day. It was arguably a near perfect performance.
Summary of Scores:
Kingswood 297 for 9 declared.
Scot van Breda 103 M Sinclair 3 for 37
Steven Hansel 59
Neil Hornbuckle 50
St Johns 54 all out.
Greg Evans 5 for 26
Scot van Breda 3 for 14
Kingswood won by 243 runs.
Match 2: vs St Davids
Venue: St Davids Date: 27 February 2010
Toss Won By: Kingswood, chose to bat.
Format: Limited, 50 over match.
The Kingswood batters got off to a perfect start, getting to 100 for 3. Again, everybody seemed to get in but then managed to get out just as easily; Hornbuckle again doing well to get to 42 but not pushing on. A solid partnership between Nicholas Gailey (38) and Warwick Bradfield (34) steadied the ship after a flurry of wickets. But Kingswood continued to lose wickets after the partnership was broken. The side eventually limped to 214 all out. We thought we were about 20 runs light but at least had something to defend, if they bowled well.
A good start was vital in order to limit the St David’s batters and the side were certainly pumped up after receiving a fair amount of verbal banter during the batting innings. Greg Evans and Scot van Breda, again, seemed to thrive on the bounce that the wickets up north provided and made life very difficult for their batsmen. A solid partnership got St David’s back in to the game, after losing three early wickets, and set them up nicely at the drinks break. The Kingswood side though, then found the same rhythm that they had the day before and created huge pressure for the St David’s batsmen. Lihleli Xoli produced his best spell for Kingswood, and along with John Hale’s best bowling performance of the year (3 for 24) – St David’s started to crack under a growing required run-rate. Wickets started to tumble and St David’s were eventually dismissed for 152. Again, fantastic catching and pressure bowling were very impressive during the innings. The winning margin probably does not reflect how tight the game actually was.
Summary of Scores:
Kingswood 212 all out.
Neil Hornbuckle 42 D Greaves 4 for 38
Nicholas Gailey 38 K Brady 3 for 24
Greg Evans 34
St Davids 152 all out.
Scot van Breda 3 for 15 K Steyn 38
John Hale 3 for 24 M Sheratt 37
Kingswood won by 60 runs.
Match 3: Kearsney College
Venue: Baloyi Field, St Albans Date: 28 February 2010
Toss Won By: Kearsney, chose to field.
Format: Limited, 45 over match.
It is always fantastic to play our sister school and the guys were looking forward to testing themselves against a fine Kearsney side. Sadly we were not able to produce three consecutive days of victory.
The Kingswood side capitulated to a meagre 98 all out. And all seemed lost at lunch when Kearsney had raced to 50 without loss.
The typical Kingswood fight came through after lunch, where they claimed 4 wickets for 10 runs to save some form of credibility. An almost impossible catch, went down straight thereafter, which might have caused a few flutters but the Kearsney side did make it home safely, without losing another wicket.
Summary of Scores:
Kingswood 98 all out.
Steven Hansel 40 D Ahern 4 for 16
C Bowes 2 for 6
C Kirsten 2 for 16
Kearsney 100 for 4.
John Hale 3 for 29 C Bowes 41
R Penticost 21 not out
Kingswood lost by 6 wickets.