South Africa won their first away T20I series under Shukri Conrad, and second successive bilateral series, with a convincing performance over New Zealand in Christchurch. Put in to bat, they posted the highest total of the series of 187 for 4- and defended it with a six-player attack to seal the series 3-2.

After poor batting performances in the second and third T20Is,2 South Africa went from good to better in the next two. Three of South Africa’s four highest partnerships of the series came in this match, and they have unearthed a potential future star in Connor  Esterhuizen.  He scored back-to-back fifties in matches four and five and anchored their efforts in the decider. While Zak Foulkes and Josh Clarkson were economical, the rest of their attack conceded at over nine runs an over. Offspinner Cole McConchie’s 0 for 48 was the most expensive.

New Zealand were without their first choice top five and also had to do without Tom Latham, who was due to lead them but fractured his thumb in the third T20I. They were never really in the chase against a disciplined South African effort. None of their batters scored more than Bevan Jacobs’ 36 and they only had one partnership which threatened: 52 between Jimmy Neesham and Jacobs for the fifth wicket.

Overall it was a messy affair on both sides, with nine dropped catches in the game, the most for any men’s T20I as per ESPNCricinfo’s ball-by-ball data logs since June 2018

Rubin Hermann has been involved in half of South Africa’s top stands and looked set for a big one today. Early in his innings, Hermann took down Ben Sears no matter what length he bowled and took 14 runs off four balls. Later, he showed his strength against spin when he joined Esterhuizen in targeting McConchie. But then Hermann did not hit a boundary for 12 balls and needed to take it on. When Sears went hard length, Hermann pulled but got his timing wrong and skied the ball towards mid-off. Nick Kelly ran from mid-on, made his ground and then stuck out one hand to take a superman catch, flying low to the ground. Hermann was out for 39, and the second-wicket partnership was broken on 59.

While Hermann’s promise only peeped through, Esterhuizen went from excellent to exceptional and topped up his maiden international half-century from game four with a new career-best: 75 off 33 balls in the finale. His on-side dominance was on display, as he scored 52 runs in that half of the ground, including five of his six sixes. The biggest ones came off McConchie who he hit back over his head, then over midwicket and over square leg. In total, Esterhuizen scored 21 runs off 8 balls but wasn’t shy to show what he could do against the quicks either. In the last two overs, he took 25 runs off Kyle Jamieson and Sears. His innings ended when he tried to send a Sears full toss to Neesham with two balls to go and he ended the series with a total of 200 runs, 100 more than his nearest competitor, Devon Conway.

Kingswood College are riding high on confidence after ending a decades-long wait for victory against arch rivals Dharmaraja in their annual Big Match, but the Kandy school has little time to celebrate as they now shift focus towards securing promotion to Division I in the Under-19 Schools Cricket tournament.

‎Following their historic triumph on Sunday, Kingswood will next compete in the knockout stage of the Division II Tier ‘A’ competition. Victories in both the quarter-final and semi-final will secure the much-anticipated promotion to the Division I of the premier Under-19 cricket tournament.

‎Kingswood had spent several seasons in Division II before coming under the guidance of coach Susantha Basnayaka. Their steady progress over the last few years saw them reach the final of the Division II Tier B tournament last season, which earned them promotion to the Tier ‘A’ segment. That gradual development has now placed them on the brink of Division I status.

‎The school has also gained recognition for producing players capable of performing at the national junior level. One such product is Kavija Gamage, who represented Sri Lanka at the last ICC Under-19 Youth World Cup.

‎Gamage delivered a remarkable all-round performance to lead Kingswood’s historic win — their first Big Match victory over Dharmaraja in more than 60 years — and was undoubtedly the standout performer of the contest.

‎No player in the big match season had dominated a game as comprehensively as Gamage, whose contributions with both bat and ball helped Kingswood punch above their weight against a side competing in a higher division.

‎Despite Kingswood’s growing strength, Dharmaraja entered the encounter as favourites, having held the Big Match trophy for an unprecedented 68 years.

‎Gamage’s influence was felt from the very first innings. Batting on a difficult surface, he produced a superb knock of 112 — the only score above 20 in the Kingswood innings. His 149-ball effort included 13 fours and two sixes as Kingswood struggled against the bowling of Sasith Bandara (5/80), Sumeda Prasad (2/37) and Keshan Gunawardhana (3/53).

‎Coach Basnayaka later described the innings as the turning point of the match.

‎”The century in the first innings was the turning point. We were six wickets down for 99 runs at one stage. Kavija’s century helped us recover and post a formidable total on a difficult wicket,” Basnayaka told The Island.

‎In the second innings, Kingswood adopted a more aggressive approach as they aimed to accelerate the scoring before declaring. Gamage once again rose to the occasion.

‎”Our plan was to score as much as possible in the first 15 overs in the morning and declare. Kavija was in his 90s at the end of those overs and we decided to declare after he reached the century,” Basnayaka explained.

‎Opening batsman Aadhel Sheriff provided excellent support during that phase. Sheriff — the team’s leading run scorer of the season with more than 700 runs — shared a valuable 70-run stand with Gamage for the third wicket.

‎Gamage went on to complete his second century of the match with an unbeaten 100 off just 80 deliveries, striking six fours and five sixes as Kingswood declared soon afterwards.

‎Dharmaraja, chasing the target, were eventually bowled out for 166. Spinner Kenula Pihilianga delivered a match-winning spell to claim a remarkable match haul of 11 wickets, while Gamage capped off his outstanding performance by finishing with eight wickets in the match.

‎While Kingswood now look ahead to the possibility of earning promotion to Division I, Dharmaraja face a contrasting challenge. They currently sit at the bottom of their Division I Tier ‘B’ group and are battling to avoid relegation.

Kingswood team celebrate after recording a historic victory. Coach Susantha Basnayaka is seen in the centre with the trophy.

by Reemus Fernando