Ashton International College Ballito emerged victorious in the inaugural iLembe High Schools Cricket T100 tournament last week.

Played over two months, the tournament drew 10 teams from across the iLembe district to compete in 20-over matches, although each over included five balls rather than the traditional six.

The action drew to an exciting close at Ashton last Friday, where the hosts faced off against Stanger Manor Secondary.

The visitors won the toss and put Ashton into bat but would soon regret their decision after opener James Wright started with a bang. Wright scored 57 not-out from 45 balls and led his team to a big score of 129/9 in their allotted 100 balls.

Stanger Manor’s Kayden Dewlall starred for the bowling side, registering impressive figures of 4-17 in his four overs.

The KwaDukuza team needed to score at 6.6 runs an over to chase the target but were limited by an excellent Ashton bowling attack. Jarrod Pullen grabbed three wickets from his two overs and did not concede a single run, while Gautam Govender took another two scalps. Stanger Manor batted out their overs but slumped to 57/9 to give Ashton a 72-run victory.

Wright was named batsman of the tournament and Dewlall bowler of the tournament after their combined finals heroics.

iLembe High School Cricket president, Umar Hoosen, said he was thrilled with the inaugural tournament and hoped it became a regular fixture on the calendar.

“This year’s tournament was not just a competition but a celebration of cricket’s growth in iLembe, bringing together players from HUB programmes, government schools and private institutions onto one platform,” he said.

“This tournament provided a platform for players from under-resourced schools and structured cricket programmes to compete alongside some of the best in the district.”

He thanked the iLembe District Municipality for their support and the ten schools who competed.

Aside from Ashton and Stanger Manor, the other eight schools involved were Tshelenkosi High School, Stanger Secondary School, Darnall Secondary School, Glenhills Secondary School, Zakariyya Muslim School, Symbezi Independent School, Mandeni Academy and Curro Salt Rock.

“Special recognition was given to Tshelenkosi High School from Shakaville, the only rural school to participate, proving that talent knows no boundaries when passion drives the game,” said Hoosen.

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