Overview
This weekend saw Maritzburg College host the 2024 Nashua 7s rugby tournament at our Family Day. There was plenty of excellent sporting action with Glenwood winning the U15 section, and St Charles College taking the U18 trophy.
A massive congratulations to the College 1st XI soccer team, who are the 2024 Raw Cup Champions, beating DHS on penalties after a 4-4 draw at fulltime.
There was also plenty of other sporting action with the 1st XI cricket team taking part in the St David’s Fasken Timecricket Festival in Johannesburg, as well as canoe polo and cycling taking place over the weekend.
Soccer
On Friday and Saturday, 16 soccer teams travelled to Durban for a long-contested rivalry between two of KZN’s oldest and proudest boys schools. The 1st team fixture was for the Raw Cup – one of the oldest sporting rivalries in South African school’s sport (since 1889.). With 16 very tightly fought matches taking place at DHS, College won seven, drew 1 and lost eight.
1st team report (Nic Haswell, MIC Soccer)
This year’s battle for the Cup was enthralling, with both teams attacking at will. The boys and parents in the stands at DHS were kept thoroughly entertained and at the full-time whistle, a score of 4 – 4 meant they were in for more with a penalty shootout being needed to decide who would get their hands on the long sought after Cup. The College penalty takers kept their nerve to score from the spot and relied on their outstanding goalkeeper, CJ Sukraj to make crucial saves and emerged victorious by 4 – 2, reclaiming the Raw Cup in the process.
RESULTS vs DHS:
U14A lost 2-1
U14B won 1-0
U14C drew 0-0
U14D won 3-2
U15A lost 4-2
U15B won 1-0
U15C won 2-1
U15D lost 3-1
U16A lost 3-0
U16B won 4-0
U16C lost 2-1
U16D lost 2-1
4ths lost 3-2
3rds lost 1-0
2nds won 2-0
1sts drew 4-4 (won 4-2 on penalties.)
Best wishes to College’s 1st XI, who beat Westville in the Cowie Cup semi-final, and face Port Shepstone in the final later this week. College is currently ranked first in the SA School Sport Football rankings.
Rugby 7s
College’s U15 and U17 rugby 7s teams competed in the Nashua 7s tournament hosted by the school over the weekend.
The U15 team went through to the final and fought hard against a strong Glenwood side, eventually going down 26-31.
Cricket
Well done to Maritzburg College 1st XI Llewellyn Sutherland who took Batsman of the Festival award up at the Fasken Timecricket festival up at St John’s.
Maritzburg College vs. St John’s College
The Maritzburg College 1st XI travelled to a cold and windy Johannesburg for the annual Fasken Law Two-Day Cricket Festival, where they faced off against St John’s College in their first match.
St John’s won the toss and decided to bowl first, sending the Maritzburg College team in under challenging conditions. The College openers, Llewellyn Sutherland and Daniel Nadasan, showed tremendous resilience, working hard to put together a solid 100-run opening partnership. Sutherland was the first to depart, having played a composed innings of 66. His partner Nadasan followed soon after, scoring a patient 56.
The St John’s spinners bowled with precision, varying their pace and keeping the pressure on the College batters. Despite the difficult conditions, the 5th wicket partnership between Tian van Niekerk and Joesph Currie added a crucial 72 runs off 110 balls. Van Niekerk contributed a well-crafted 53, while Currie was the last man out after a determined 34. College declared their innings at 247 for 6, setting a competitive target.
College got off to a dream start with left arm seamer Samuel Hughes striking in his first over, clean bowling the St John’s opener with a superb inswinger. The College bowlers maintained their grip on the game, preventing St John’s from building any substantial partnerships.
St Johns were under early pressure at 43 for 3, however, St John’s fought back with a 5th wicket partnership of 63 and a 7th wicket stand of 62, allowing them to edge past the 200 mark. They declared their innings overnight at 221, trailing by 26 runs.
The College openers continued their strong form, once again laying a solid foundation with a 140-run opening stand. Nadasan was the first to fall, narrowly missing out on back-to-back fifties, dismissed for a well-played 47. Sutherland went on to anchor the innings with a brilliant century, eventually being dismissed for 132.
In an attempt to accelerate the scoring, College lost wickets regularly but managed to declare on 243, setting St John’s a target of 269 runs with a minimum of 39 overs left in the day.
St John’s needed to score at just under 7 runs per over to claim victory. Karl Dedekind provided an early breakthrough, dismissing the St John’s opener for his second duck of the match. Undeterred, the St John’s batters kept up the chase, with partnerships of 65 and 52 keeping their hopes alive. With 16 overs left, they required 142 runs, but the wicket of the St John’s captain, taken by Kyle de Bruyn shifted the momentum in College’s favour.
College’s bowlers capitalized on the breakthrough, taking wickets at regular intervals and managing to bowl three extra overs due to their quick over rate. The match came down to the wire, with captain Chad Mason picking up the 9th wicket off the penultimate ball of the 41st and last over, leaving one delivery to win the game. Unfortunately, the St John’s number 11 managed to keep the ball out, and the thrilling match ended in a well-fought draw.
Scores in brief
Maritzburg College 247 for 6 declared St Johns 221 for 9 declared
Sutherland 66 Mason 3 for 43
Nadasan 56 Hughes 2 for 34
Van Niekerk 53
Currie 34
Maritzburg College 243 for 7 declared St Johns 188 for 9
Sutherland 132 de Bruyn 2 for 16
Nadasan 47 Senzere 2 for 38
Match drawn
Maritzburg College vs. Noordheuwel
The MC 1st XI faced off against NH in their second match of the Fasken Law Two-Day Cricket Festival. With the pitch already worn from two days of play, College captain Chad Mason won the toss and opted to bat first.
The innings got off to a shaky start when opener Daniel Nadasan was dismissed for just 1 in the first over. Llewellyn Sutherland and Brendon Senzere steadied the ship with a 40-run partnership, Senzere fell next, caught behind off a ball that bounced steeply from a length.
Captain Mason and Sutherland took control of the game, putting on a valuable 74-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. However, when Sutherland was run out at the non-striker’s end, to an outstanding piece of fielding, this triggered a batting collapse. College lost 6 wickets for just 16 runs, putting them in a precarious position of 132 for 9. Fortunately, Kyle de Bruyn and number 11, Nathan Pembridge, rescued the innings with a crucial last-wicket stand of 55 off 86 balls, giving College something to bowl at. De Bruyn was the last man out, for a well-played innings of 45.
College’s start in the field was disappointing, with two dropped catches and two clear edges not given out. Noordheuwel capitalized on these missed opportunities, reaching 179 for 3 and taking control of the match. However, College captain Mason refused to let his team be overwhelmed. Bowling with skill and precision, he picked up wickets at regular intervals, ending with figures of 6 for 41 from 17.3 overs. Thanks to his efforts, Noordheuwel lost their last 4 wickets for just 8 runs, finishing their innings at 217 for 10, with a lead of 38.
In their second innings, College faced another early setback with Sutherland being dismissed for just 1. Opener Nadasan and youngster Reece Willson then dug in, putting together a vital 53-run partnership in tough conditions to get College back on track. Nadasan showing great patience, reached 52 before being dismissed. Nadasan and Mason putting on 63.
Mason continued to build on the momentum with Luka Puddu, adding another 62 runs to the total. This solid partnership ensured that College was able to transfer pressure to the opposition. Mason declared the innings with a minimum of 43 overs left in the day, setting Noordheuwel a challenging target.
The Noordheuwel chase began shakily, but early dropped chances by College allowed them to withstand the initial pressure. Despite Senzere picking up two wickets and executing an excellent run out, they managed to hold on, putting together match-saving partnerships. The match was eventually called early, with the result being a hard-fought draw.
College showed resilience and determination throughout the match, but missed opportunities in the field ultimately cost them a chance at victory.
Scores in brief
Maritzburg College 187 all out Noordheuwel 225 all out
Sutherland 63 Mason 6 for 41
Mason 35 Hughes 2 for 23
De Bruyn 45
Maritzburg College 243 for 8 Noordheuwel 109 for 4
Mason 75 Senzere 2 for 39
Nadasan 52
Match drawn
Cycling
In the last race of the KZN school’s MTB cycling series, College’s Luke Newlands once again won the Junior Men’s category, retaining the category leader jersey throughout the series. Brent Foster took second position on the Junior Male category podium for the third time in a row. Well done boys!
Overall results:
Junior Men’s category:
1st L. Newlands
2nd B. Foster
4th C. Sellick
5th M. Jewaskiewitz
8th M. Barnardo
10th H. McIntyre
12th G. Jordan
Youth Men’s category:
4th K. Searle
7th D. Janneker
13th B. Fourie
26th K. Leonard
27th C. Wood
47th A. Naidoo
49th H. Dlamuka
Sub-junior High boy’s category:
2nd C. Baxter
Canoeing
College canoeists competed in the annual School Canoe Polo Champs at Lions River over the weekend. Maritzburg College’s A team finished 1st while the College B team took silver.
Maritzburg College A 1st
Matthew Van Heerden
Jack Odell
James Gotte
Scott Venniker
Simon Norton
Maritzburg College B 2nd
David Botha
Joshua Craig
Matthew Rawson
Brett Gotte
Fynn Venniker
Chris Craig
Todd Stone