POWERHOUSE BOYS SCHOOLS TO HOTLY CONTEST PHASE 2 IN KWAZULU-NATAL

Of all the Schools SA20 Phase 2 regional tournaments, KwaZulu-Natal’s is sure to be hotly contested.

With only two provinces facing each other, KwaZulu-Natal Coastal and KwaZulu-Natal Inland, there will be no place for any slip-ups. Not least for the girls teams, Dr JL Dube High School from KwaMashu and Bonginhlanhla High School from Pongola, who will have a straight shootout – on Saturday, 17 January 2025 – for a place in the National Finals.

Dr JL Dube played six matches on their road to Phase 2, and all but their final against a KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Invitational XI (by 14 runs) was won convincingly. Conversely, Bonginhlanhla only have three Schools SA20 matches under their belt, including overcoming Imbali Hub by 36 runs in their final. That decider, and the semifinal the week before, was played at Howick High School so Bonginhlanhla can claim to understand the midlands conditions they’ll play in better than Dr JL Dube.

If the knowing the conditions is going to be an advantage then Maritzburg College will be all for it, as they will host some of the fixtures (UKZN Pietermaritzburg and Maritzburg Oval being the other venues) during the two days of action in the ‘City of Choice’. That being said, College only played one Phase 1 match at their hallowed Goldstone’s oval – a 9-wicket win over Imbali Hub but qualified for the regional competition as runners-up to Hilton College. They made full use of hosting the playoffs, beating Osizweni Hub in the quarterfinals (by a massive 250 runs), Michaelhouse in the semifinals (by 4 wickets) and Maritzburg by 18 runs in the decider.

The school badges of Hilton College, co-hosts Maritzburg College, Northwood School, Glenwood High School, Bonginhlanhla High School and Dr JL Dube High School respectively.

Meanwhile, Northwood School and Glenwood High School will arrive in Pietermaritzburg eager to show why they ‘coasted’ to the Coastal final to secure their places.

Eventual winners, Northwood had to wait until round 2 before joining the competition, when they beat Ashton International College Ballito by 176 runs. Further wins over Umlazi Comtech (92 runs) in the quarterfinals, Clifton School (6 wickets) in the semifinals and Glenwood (8 wickets) sealed their qualification. Glenwood, for their part, reached the final via wins over Reservoir Hills Hub (10 wickets), Umlazi Comtech (136 runs), Hoërskool Suid Natal (168 runs) and Westville Boys’ by ‘just’ 10 runs.

READ MORE: How Northwood and Glenwood reached Phase 2

All told, the four pool matches promise high-intensity cricket as the teams battle for a spot in Phase 3 – the national finals.

SCHOOLS SA20 PHASE 2 KWAZULU-NATAL FIXTURES

• Thursday, 16 January 2025: Northwood vs Hilton College (09:00, Pietermaritzburg Oval - live on SuperSport Channel 216)
• Thursday, 16 January 2025: Glenwood vs Maritzburg College (09:00, Goldstone’s – Maritzburg College)
• Thursday, 16 January 2025: Maritzburg College vs Northwood (13:30, Pietermaritzburg Oval - live on SuperSport Channel 216)
• Thursday, 16 January 2025: Hilton College vs Glenwood (13:30, Goldstone’s – Maritzburg College)
• Friday, 17 January 2025: Dr JL Dube vs Bonginhlanhla (09:00, Pietermaritzburg Oval - live on SuperSport Channel 216)
• Friday, 17 January 2025: Hilton College vs Maritzburg College (09:00, Goldstone’s – Maritzburg College)
• Friday, 17 January 2025: Glenwood vs Northwood (09:00, Barns' – Maritzburg College)
• Friday, 17 January 2025: Boys Final (13:00, Pietermaritzburg Oval - live on SuperSport Channel 216)