Kearsney celebrates double win against Hilton

KEARSNEY College’s first match of the school term was played in perfect conditions at home on the Smith Oval against Hilton, a side ranked second in the country.

It followed Kearsney’s promising start to the season at the Independent Schools Cricket Festival which was held at Hilton, where they recorded excellent wins against St David’s, St Johns (Zimbabwe) and against Churchie (Australia).

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After losing the toss, Kearsney were soon in trouble at 13/3. A tenacious knock from Taine Muirhead (56), augmented by similar efforts from Steven Conway (27) and Jordan Bamber (46), got Kearsney back on track. The tail chipped in and Kearsney were all out for 220. Although respectable it was felt that this was perhaps 20 short as the track had evened out.

Hilton started well and were going at 6.8 an over. Some inspired fielding, coupled with defensive bowling from Robbie Koenig and Michael Brokensha, reined in the Hilton batting significantly and wickets started to tumble. There were some excellent catches which added to the pressure as well. An aggressive double stint from Carl Heunis (4/41) ripped the heart out of a competent and highly rated Hilton batting line-up with only Schreuder (33) making a significant score.

Hilton were bowled out for 171 and Kearsney won by 49 runs in a hard-fought encounter which saw dominance in the game switch between the two sides on a number of occasions.

Basketball
The start of the season saw Kearsney host Hilton in the first round of basketball. Both had good seasons during the second half of last year, so the stage was set for a good encounter.

Kearsney countered their bigger opponents with skill and speed, as well as some good accurate shooting.

Hilton scored the first basket of the match and then struggled to penetrate the Kearsney defence, only managing to convert another two baskets during the quarter, while Kearsney managed to score eight times, giving them a 16 – 6 first quarter lead.

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The second quarter was evenly contested with the visitors trailing 15 – 12 during the quarter, but Kearsney still lead 31 – 18 on the score board at the half time break.

Kearsney took control of the match from that point on with their opposition visibly wilting, which allowed the fringe players some game time to help build their experience. Kearsney won comfortably 71-35.

Top performers:
Kearsney College – Levi Donjeany 22 points; Rabasotho Lenkoe 10 points; Dylan Wimbush 10 points; Ruben Darby and Preston Barr 8 points each.
Hilton College – John Geissing 20 points.