Author: captainmorgan

Saturday, 9 December, day one of the 2023 Boys’ u19 Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament in Gqeberha was cold and wet, but a number of the favourites heated up the Grey High School pool with confident showings.

Catch all the action from the tournament live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

For the defending champions, Gauteng Central A, it was a smooth introduction to the event. They overpowered Eastern Gauteng 29-0 in their first outing and then romped to an 18-2 win over the Northern Tigers.

While they scored 47 times, it was their smothering defence that most caught the eye, and which accounted for numerous turnovers and goal-scoring opportunities.

KZN A, also, recorded two emphatic victories, downing Zimbabwe 20-3 and then handing Eastern Gauteng a 21-1 loss. The second time out, the KZN boys were far more cohesive – they seemed to barely get out of second gear against Zimbabwe – and they used their structure well to manipulate regular openings against Easterns.

Mitchell Slade produced a fantastic all-round performance for coach Jason Sileno‘s outfit, scoring four goals and also pulling off four steals. Like Central Gauteng, their dominance was based upon their smothering man-to-man defence.

Those two teams were, not unexpectedly, the class of Pool A, while in Pool B Western Province A, the tournament favourites, ran out 11-6 winners over Western Province B in a match that was closer than the score reveals.

The B team powered out the blocks, quickly snatching a 2-0 lead, but the A team, composed and assured in their ball movement, responded in style to build up a healthy 6-2 advantage. They appeared to be on course for a routine victory, but their B team, familiar with the A side’s players and approach, came roaring back into the contest.

They pulled to within 7-6 and then won a penalty, which gave them an opportunity to level the scores late in the contest. The penalty attempt was rejected, however, and with that missed chance the momentum swung back in the favour of the A team. They finished strongly, adding another four goals without reply to take an 11-6 win.

Buffalo City won a crucial early contest against Central Gauteng B 9-8. “It was a game that we really wanted to win,” coach Khanyisa Mpumlwana said. “There’s only five of us in our pool (there are six in Pool A), so every goal and every point counts right now.”

Mpulwana said getting pressure onto the ball and then trying to get it to the right places helped the team from East London to victory, but he lamented some lack of accuracy when passing, which could have led to a more convincing win.

Buffalo City had prepared for the tournament by participating in a camp that involved the Central Gauteng A and B teams, as well as the Central Gauteng u16 side, so that familiarity with the opposition was a challenge for both teams, but it also provided useful knowledge.

It was a big day for Buffalo City as they faced Nelson Mandela Bay in the final match of the day, under lights, in an Eastern Cape derby.

In the first chukka, it was Buffalo City that edged ahead by a 4-2 margin, but Nelson Mandela Bay then scored three times before Buffalo City levelled again at 5-5. The home team, with a good number of Grey High boys in their ranks, playing in their home waters, then edged ahead, but time after time the East London outfit pulled one back.

In the fourth quarter, Nelson Mandela Bay finally managed to open up a gap on Buffalo City. It had less to do with their offence than it had to do with an absolutely outstanding effort by goalkeeper Oliver Klatte, who pulled off a series of stunning saves to stymie Buffalo City.

At the same time, Buffalo City did themselves no favours by conceding five penalties. Nelson Mandela Bay scored four times from them, while not conceding any penalties themselves, and that made a crucial difference in the contest.

KwaZulu-Natal B launched their challenge in the early evening against Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean side started out strongly and raced into a two-goal lead, but KZN soon found their rhythm and ultimately won comfortably by 21 goals to nine.

Luca Di Vincenzo topped the goal-scoring charts in the contest, finding the back of the net on four occasions, while Ethan Lyne scored twice and was responsible for a couple of steals.

A big 12-game programme on day two includes Western Province A against Nelson Mandela Bay, and based on the opening day’s action second place in the pool could be between the home team and Western Province B, providing there is no shocking upset of the Western Province A side.

Western Province B vs Buffalo City likely favours the Western Cape line-up, but it is far from a foregone conclusion. KZN A take on KZN B, and matches between familiar opponents are often tricky encounters, but the A team should take the points from that clash.

Results

Central Gauteng A 29-0 Eastern Gauteng

Central Gauteng A – Caleb van Loggerenberg (4), Nicholas Pearce (4), Samuel Lister (4), Trista Grimett (4), Marc Smith (3), Greg Pryce (2), Leonardo Perreira (2), Tanner Kleynhans (2), Ross Rovelli (2), Connor Flinn (1), Taeg Mosehla (1)

Central Gauteng B 8-9 Buffalo City

Buffalo City – Daniel Breetzke (2), Charles Caswell (2), Reece Miles (2), Philip Wagner (1), Matt Johnson (1), Sean Audie (1)
Central Gauteng B – Mark Hudson (2), Brogan McEwan (2), Jack Wilkins (2), Alessio Cimato (1) – (Only seven goals accounted for on the scoresheet)

KwaZulu-Natal A 20-3 Zimbabwe

KwaZulu-Natal A – Mitchell Slade (3), Oliver Ditz (3), Matthew Hayes (3), Warwick Field (3), Jed Poovan (2), Max Scully (2), Rhys Hall (2), Jamie Spence (1) , Meyer Malherbe (1)
Zimbabwe – Sonny Brebner (1), Joshua Covill (1), Codie Selman (1)

Central Gauteng A 18-2 Northern Tigers

Central Gauteng A – Connor Flinn (4), Tristan Grimett (3), Marc Smith (2), Caleb van Loggerenberg (2), Nicholas Pearce (2), Karabo Mamaregane (1), Greg Pryce (1), Leonardo Perreira (1), Anton Arwidi (1), Samuel Lister (1)

Northern Tigers – Benjamin Melville (1), Petrus van der Merwe (1)

Western Province A 11-6 Western Province B

Western Province A – Nicholas Fall (2), Ben Reibeck (2), Richard Skeeles (2), Conor Melling-Williams (1), Zack Cicero (1) Johannes Reyneke (1), Noah Bigara (1), Thomas Wiltshire (1)

Western Province B – Cosmo Enthoven (2), Paul Enthoven (1) Sebastiaan White (1), Salahuddin Khan (1), Mac Lecuona (1)

KwaZulu-Natal A 21-1 Eastern Gauteng

KwaZulu-Natal A – Mitchell Slade (4), Warwick Field (4), Meyer Malherbe (2), Stef Swart (2), Rhys Hall (2), Jamie Spence (2), Max Scully (1), Oliver Ditz (1), Matthew Hayes (1), Jedd Poovan (1), Jonathan Bregman-Frangos (1)

Easterns – Robert Carr (1)

KwaZulu-Natal B 21-9 Zimbabwe

KwaZulu-Natal B – Luca Di Vincenzo (4), Blake Kruger (3), Marnu Koekemoer (2), Josh Lortan (2), Ethan Lyne (2), Tallin Laas (1), Jared Byleveld (1), Troy Rees-Jones (1), Mitchell Wilson (1), Jack Slater (1)

Zimbabwe – Samuel Edwards (3), Garrick Duff (3), Codie Selman (2), Joshua Covill (1), Michael Chaniwa (1)

Buffalo City 8-11 Nelson Mandela Bay

Nelson Mandela Bay – Samuel Marston (4), Nicholas Franklin (3), Jon Hobson (2), Tawfiq Akomolafe (2)

Buffalo City – Charles Caswell (3), Reece Miles (3), Matt Johnson (2)

To the surprise of no one, the 2023 African Junior Swimming and Open Water Championships, being swum at the Cote d’Or National Sports Complex in Saint Pierre, Mauritius, has been largely dominated by South Africa and Egypt. The event runs from 6-9 December.

The South African team might have felt a twinge of trepidation when in the opening event, the men’s 14-18 400m freestyle, SA swimmers Keegan Wright and Aiden Nel, finished fifth and sixth, with the win going to Tunisia’s Rami Rahmouni, ahead of two Egyptian swimmers.

Very quickly, though, the South Africans had plenty to cheer when Georgia Els and Gabriella van den Berg finished one-two in the next event, the women’s 14-18 50m breaststroke, with Els clocking 32.42 to take the victory.

Els added another victory in the 400m individual medley, finishing over six seconds clear of the runner-up, Jasmine Eissa of Egypt, in 5:04.05.

South Africa’s girls continued to accumulate wins when Emma de Wet (feature photo) and Cassidy Burgess placed first and second in the 100m backstroke, with De Wet touching the wall in 1:03.67.

The Egyptians pulled one back in the 1 500m freestyle through Lamees Elsokkary, but SA’s Marony Jacobs and Zoe Griffiths took second and third.

Then, in the 400m freestyle relay, South Africa held off Egypt for the title, stopping the clock in 3:56.82, with the Egyptians only 0.34 behind, and Kenya, in third, almost 12 seconds behind the winners.

Victory in the individual 100m freestyle went Egypt’s way, however, with Nadin Mohamed pipping Lise Coetzee by 0.01 to take the title in 57.88.

There was nothing close about Jasmine Eissa’s 200m butterfly victory, though, as she cruised to the title in 2:22.05, close to four seconds clear of SA’s Marony Jacobs, in second.

Lise Coetzee had narrowly missed out on 100m freestyle gold, but in the much longer 800m she went unchallenged. Her time of 8:59.73 was well over 15 seconds clear of second-placed Lamees Elsokkary.

The South African girls continued their success with an emphatic victory in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Their winning time of 8:38.52 was over 10 seconds clear of Egypt, who secured the silver, and 43 seconds ahead of Mauritius, who bagged the bronze.

In the 400m mixed medley relay, it was Egypt ahead of South Africa for the gold, in 4:03.91, with Kenya a distant third.

While South Africa’s girls were comfortably the class of the women’s events, Egypt owned the men’s competition, stacking seven victories, while Tunisia’s Rami Rahmouni took two titles, and Ruben Smit claimed South Africa’s only victory, winning the 100m breaststroke in 1:04.26 ahead of Ahmed Hany of Egypt, with whom he had tied in the prelims when both stopped the clock in 1:05.04. Rahmouni’s second title came in the 800m freestyle, which he won in 8:15.53.

Meanwhile, Egypt produced two double winners, with Nasr Ahmed capturing the 100m butterfly in 53.03, and the 200m freestyle in 1:50.41. Abdelrahman Farag did the backstroke double, taking the 100m in 56.76, followed by 26.94 for the 50m, which was his time in both the prelims and the final.

South Africa’s Lance Cromhout was second to Farag in both the 50m and 100m backstroke.

Egypt added further victories in the 50m butterfly – which Mohamed Walid Abdel Aziz won in 24.70, with SA’s Joshua Esterhuysen third in 25.21 – and the 200m individual medley, with their swimmers taking a one-two. Youssif Ramadan won gold in 2:08.16, while Juan Boshoff added a bronze medal for South Africa after finishing third in 2:09.06.

The 4 x 100m men’s freestyle relay also ended in victory for Egypt.

 

Cricket South Africa on Friday named the 15-player squad that will represent South Africa at the ICC u19 Cricket World Cup, which will be played on home soil from 13 January to 4 February 2024.

The South African team will be captained by Central Lions’ batsman, David Teeger, who led SA u19 on a mid-year tour of Bangladesh, and who also captained the SA Emerging Team to the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge Division Two title in October.

The line-up includes the formidable St Stithians College grade 11 trio of Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Richard Seletswane (feature photo) and Kwena Maphaka. They’re joined by Esosa Aihevba, which gives Saints an astonishing four players in the 15-man squad.

Last year’s SA Schools’ skipper Juan James also cracks the nod, while Riley Norton, who was selected for the SA Schools rugby team this year will also run out in the green and gold for the u19 cricket team.

South Africa has been drawn in Group B along with England, Scotland and the West Indies.

As part of their preparations, coach Malibongwe Maketa and his charges will gather in Durban from Friday for a week-long camp, which will include two practice matches against Zimbabwe u19, on Saturday, 9 December, and Monday, 11 December, with both being played at the Chatsworth Oval in Durban.

They will also tackle the KwaZulu-Natal u19 team on Wednesday, 13 December, at the same venue.

Commenting on the selections, SA u19 Convenor of Selectors, Patrick Moroney, said: “I extend my congratulations to each player who has secured a sport in the World Cup squad; their inclusion is well-deserved.

“This group of young cricketers has demonstrated exceptional abilities and potential. We have full confidence in their capabilities and are excited to see them compete at the highest level, especially with the added pride of playing in front of a home crowd.

“We had initially selected three spinners in the provisional 18-player squad in anticipation of the sub-continent conditions in Sri Lanka. But with the tournament now taking place in South Africa and the change in conditions, we have named two specialist spinners and extra cover within our fast-bowling group.

“I would like to wish the players and the support staff well for the tournament, and I anticipate an exciting World Cup campaign.”

CSA Director of Cricket, Enoch Nkwe, commented: “After months of hard work, we are pleased to see such a well-rounded squad that will represent South Africa at the World Cup.

“The quality of this group shows the amount of work that is going on behind the scenes through the CSA pipeline, and I have no doubt they will do us proud next year.”

SA U19 SQUAD

David Teeger (Lions, captain), Esosa Aihevba (Lions), Juan James (Western Province), Martin Khumalo (Easterns), Kwena Maphaka (Lions), Dewan Marais (Easterns), Riley Norton (Boland), Nqobani Mokoena (KZN Coastal), Romashan Pillay (KZN Coastal), Sipho Potsane (Lions), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (Lions), Richard Seletswane (Lions), Oliver Whitehead (Western Province), Steve Stolk (Titans), Ntando Zuma (KZN Inland)

South Africa under-19 cricket captain David Teeger has been cleared of any wrongdoing after an independent inquiry into a statement he made at the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards was protested by the Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA), which lodged an official complaint with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).

After receiving the Rising Star Award at the event, which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Teeger was quoted as saying: “Yes, I’ve been [given] this award, and yes, I’m now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel. And I’d like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and every single soldier fighting, so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora.”

The inquiry was led by renowned Advocate Wim Trengrove SC. In a 44-page determination, he found Teeger had not breached the codes of conduct of either Cricket South Africa or the Central Gauteng Lions.

In the document, he wrote: “Mr Teeger’s comments were certainly not detrimental to the game of cricket in the eyes of his audience. Should he have guarded against the risk that his comments might become public and that others might find them offensive? I think not.

“He was entitled to assume that everybody would understand that his comments were made in a conversation with his fellow Jews. He did not purport to speak on behalf of cricket or cricketers generally.

“Others might find his statements offensive. But they would understand that the constitutional right to freedom of expression requires of us to be tolerant, even of views that we find offensive.”

Teeger is, therefore, cleared to continue his preparations to lead South Africa at the 2024 ICC under-19 Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted in South Africa from 13 January to 4 February.

In June, he captained SA u19 on a tour of Bangladesh, where he finished as the top run scorer in the five-match ODI series, which the hosts claimed by a 3-2 margin.

The King Edward VII Head Boy also skippered the SA Emerging Team to the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge Division Two title in October after an emphatic eight-wicket victory over the ITEC Knights in the final. On that occasion, Teeger finished unbeaten on 95 from only 70 balls.

Graeme College have tweaked the format of their annual rugby festival for 2024, but it, as always, still offers up a series of mouth-watering clashes to herald the start of the schools season next year.

What was once the Graeme Rugby Day, played over a Saturday in mid-March, has become a multi-day festival of the sport, providing the perfect platform for Eastern Cape teams to gauge their status for the forthcoming season.

The 2024 festival takes place from 14-16 March in Makhanda, but the region’s first teams will be in action only on Friday and Saturday (15-16 March).

Graeme 1st XV coach and festival organiser Jonty van der Meulen explained the format in a statement on Monday.

“Initially we planned to run the festival on the same lines as 2023, where we split the first team matches over three days, and some teams played twice,” he said.

“But it then came to light that Bishops are holding a festival to celebrate their 175th anniversary, the next weekend, and there is also the North-South Tournament that weekend.

“That is followed by the annual Easter festivals around the country and many of the teams were a little concerned at having too heavy a workload at this stage of the season.

“So, what we have done, is to provide the first teams with just one game each, playing on the Friday and Saturday.

“But we will still have three days of rugby because the age-group matches (from u14 to u16) will take place on Thursday and Friday on the Somerset and Marais fields.

“We have done this because of the u13 festival on the Saturday, which will take place on the Marais fields.”

Even with a slightly abbreviated programme, the festival will still deliver an exciting start to the season, with all of the Eastern Cape’s top schools in action. A number of fascinating contests catch the eye.

As is their way, Graeme have not shied away from setting themselves a proper challenge and they will wind up the festival against the always powerful Selborne College on the Saturday afternoon.

In fact, that match is a repeat of the finale to the 2022 Rugby Day, when the teams played to a 7-7 stalemate. No doubt, both will be motivated to complete unfinished business when their March date rolls around.

The first team matches on Friday throw up some intriguing encounters, finishing off with a clash between Grey High and East London’s Hudson Park, which was also on the 2022 programme.

On that occasion, the Gqeberha school enjoyed a 27-7 win, but the rematch presents a golden opportunity for Hudson Park to make a statement against one of the region’s perennial powers.

In the build-up to that match, Kingswood and Marlow have all the ingredients for a serious showdown, while running rugby will be the main drawcard of the clash between Dale and Nico Malan.

After a good 2023 season, Queen’s will be aiming for a positive start to 2024 against Pearson in a Saturday clash, while St Andrew’s and Brandwag should deliver a proper arm-wrestle in the main curtain-raiser.

FIXTURES

15 March, Somerset Field

09:00: Graeme 2nd v Port Alfred High 1st; 10.30: Port Rex v Mary Waters; 11.45: Union High v
Daniel Pienaar; 13:00: Kingswood v Marlow; 14:15: Dale v Nico Malan; 15:30: Grey High v
Hudson Park

16 March, Somerset Field
10.30: Cambridge v Muir; 11.45: Stirling v Framesby; 13:00: Queen’s v Pearson; 14:15: St Andrew’s v Brandwag; 15:30: Graeme v Selborne

Age-Group Fixtures

14 March, Somerset Field

09:00: Graeme u14A v Selborne; 10:00: Mary Waters u15A v Port Alfred; 11:00: Graeme u15A
v Selborne; 12.00: Pearson u16A v Port Rex; 13:00: Brandwag u16A v Cambridge; 14:00: Stirling u16A v Muir; 15:00: Graeme u16A v Selborne

14 March, Marais A Field

10am: Brandwag u14A v Cambridge; 11:00: Stirling u14A v Muir; 12:00: Stirling u15A v Muir; 13:00: Pearson u14A v Port Rex; 14:00: Brandwag u15A v Cambridge; 15:00: Pearson u15A v Port Rex

15 March, Marais A Field

09:00: Nico Malan u14A v Dale; 10:00: Kingswood u15A v Marlow; 11:00: Nico Malan u16A v
Dale; 12:00: Union High u16A v Daniel Pienaar; 13:00: Queen’s u14A v Framesby; 14:00:
Queen’s u16A v Framesby

15 March, Marais B Field

09:00: Union High u14A v Daniel Pienaar; 10:00: Nico Malan u15A v Dale; 11:00: Kingswood
u14A v Marlow; 12:00: Union High u15A v Daniel Pienaar; 13:00: Queen’s u15A v Framesby;
14:00: Kingswood u16A v Marlow

Kearsney College, in Botha’s Hill, hosts preseason cricket in early January, with four schools from KZN, two from Zimbabwe, and one each from Mpumalanga and Gauteng, participating in the iHlobo Cricket Festival.

Previously, the event had been hosted at various venues around South Africa, but in recent years Cape schools withdrew due to rising travel costs. The result was Kearsney and Michaelhouse taking over as co-hosts.

At the start of 2023, Michaelhouse hosted the event. It has since been agreed that Kearsney College will become the permanent home of the annual festival.

Local schools joining Kearsney include Clifton College, Michaelhouse and DHS. St Alban’s College makes the journey from Pretoria, while Uplands College takes the long road from White River. Two of Zimbabwe’s best, St John’s College (Harare) and Falcon College (Bulawayo), cross the border to test their skills.

Kearsney will host all the matches, with the action starting on Monday, 8 January, and finishing on Thursday, 11 January.

The format for the festival is declaration cricket on day one, followed by 50 overs on day two. All schools will play two T20s on the third day, with the event wrapping up with a single T20 on the last day.

FIXTURES

Monday, 8 January (Declaration)

Kearsney vs St John’s, Matterson
Clifton vs St Alban’s, Osler
DHS vs Michaelhouse, AH Smith
Uplands vs Falcon, Silcock

Tuesday, 9 January (50-over)

Kearsney vs St Alban’s, AH Smith
Clifton vs Uplands, Matterson
St John’s vs Michaelhouse, Silcock
DHS vs Falcon, Osler

Wednesday, 10 January (T20)

Clifton vs Falcon, AH Smith
Kearsney vs Michaelhouse, Matterson
St John’s vs Uplands, Osler
DHS vs St Alban’s, Silcock

Wednesday, 10 January (T20)

St John’s vs St Alban’s, AH Smith
DHS vs Uplands, Matterson
Kearsney vs Falcon, Osler
Clifton vs Michaelhouse, Silcock

Thursday, 11 January (T20)

Kearsney vs Clifton, AH Smith
Falcon vs Michaelhouse, Matterson
St Alban’s vs Uplands, Osler
DHS vs St John’s, Silcock

Plans are well underway for an extended 2024 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, with next year’s event showcasing additional high school teams, as well as a primary schools’ festival for the first time.

The Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival is recognised by players and coaches as one of the best organised and most prestigious South African schoolboy rugby festivals, which has been reflected in the participation of many of the country’s best rugby-playing schools over the years.

Next year’s event in Botha’s Hill will see 14 high school teams and 10 primary school sides participating over three days of play – Thursday, 28 March; Saturday, 30 March; and Monday, 1 April.

The festival celebrates its 15th year in 2024, and since 2013 it has enjoyed the backing of Standard Bank, who will, once again, be the headline sponsor.

Four teams from the host province, KwaZulu-Natal, will be in action, and they’re familiar participants in the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival: Glenwood High School, Durban High School (DHS), Westville Boys’ High School and Kearsney College.

The line-up also features three newcomers, much to the delight of the organisers: Rondebosch Boys’ High, from Cape Town; Hoërskool Rustenburg, from the North-West; and Hoërskool Brandwag, from Benoni.

They will be joined two powerful Gauteng veterans of the Kearsney event, Hoërskool Monument (Krugersdorp) and Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen (Boksburg).

After an excellent inaugural outing last year, during which they impressed with their running rugby and good sportsmanship, Worcester Gimnasium, from the Western Cape, will be back to showcase their skills.

Three Eastern Cape regulars – Hoërskool Framesby (Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth), Hoër Landbouskool Marlow (Cradock) and Nico Malan High School (Humansdorp) – will also make the trip to Kearnsey.

Kimberley’s Hoërskool Noord-Kaap, like Worcester Gimnasium, a team that likes to run the ball, will also grace the festival once more.

In keeping with a formula, which they have very successfully implemented in football and hockey tournaments, the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival is expanding to include primary schools, who will be in action alongside the high school teams.

Referencing their decision to invite primary schools, Kearsney said in a press release: “Schoolboy rugby plays an invaluable role in the development of South Africa’s rugby culture, and instils the values of sportsmanship, teamwork and respect in young players. As such, Kearsney is delighted to be launching a primary schools festival in 2024.”

Kearsney Headmaster Patrick Lees said he was delighted that the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival was still growing, particularly now that it includes a primary schools’ section.

“We eagerly anticipate some thrilling schoolboy rugby, camaraderie and family fun. It promises to be an event not to be missed,” he said.

The 2024 ICC u19 Cricket World Cup, which had been scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka from 13 January to 4 February, was on Tuesday awarded to South Africa after the International Cricket Council suspended the Sri Lanka Cricket Board.

This follows allegations of government interference in the running of the federation. No longer will the island nation be the hosts of the u19 event, but their teams are, however, allowed to continue to compete internationally.

Commenting on the change of venue, in Colombo, Sri Lankan Cricket Board Assistant Secretary Krisantha Kapuwatte told reporters: “This decision is something that makes the entire nation sad.”

South Africa hosted the ICC u19 Cricket World Cup for a second time in 2020. It had previously welcomed the world’s best u19 players in 1998, when the event expanded to 16 finalists for the first time.

At the 2020 event, South Africa finished only eighth on home soil, with Bangladesh beating India by three wickets in the final to win the title for a first time.

That South African team included Gerald Coetzee, who was recently named in the Team of the Tournament, along with Quinton de Kock, at the conclusion of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Coetzee, when he was in grade 11, had made the Team of the Tournament at the 2018 u19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, but struggled with injury in 2020.

South Africa has won the u19 Cricket World Cup once previously. In 2014, the team, captained by Aiden Markram, who was named the Man of the Series, took the title after a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final.

That side also included Kagiso Rabada and Andile Phehlukwayo, who both did duty at the recent World Cup in India.

The u19 Cricket World Cup is held biennially. India which, remarkably, has never hosted the event, despite it being held 14 times, has won the most titles, with five victories.

Australia has been crowned the champions on three occasions, while Pakistan has twice taken the honours. Along with South Africa and Bangladesh, England and the West Indies have won the u19 Cricket World Cup once each.

India is the defending champion, having beaten England by four wickets in the 2022 final, played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

The provisional South African squad for the 2024 u19 Cricket World Cup was announced on 10 November:

David Teeger (captain, Lions), Esosa Aihevba (Lions), Adam Cannata (Titans), Bennie Hansen (Western Province), Juan James (Western Province), Martin Khumalo (Easterns), Kwena Maphaka (Lions), Dewan Marais (Easterns), Riley Norton (Boland), Nqobani Mokoena (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Romashan Pillay (KwaZula-Natal Coastal), Sipho Potsane (Lions), Lhuan-dré Pretorius (Lions), Richard Seletswane (Lions), Juan Steyn (Easterns), Oliver Whitehead (Western Province), Steve Stolk (Titans), and Ntando Zuma (KwaZulu-Natal Inland).

Management

Malibongwe Maketa (Head Coach), Blanche Conradie (Team Manager), Thabang Kumalo (Fielding Coach), Justin Sammons (Batting Coach), Paul Adams (Bowling Coach), Curtly Diesel (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Salih Solomon (Team Doctor), Sheenagh Jordaan (Physiotherapist) and Kyle Southgate (Performance Analyst).

Arguably the most interesting game of day one of the 2023 Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament in Gqeberha, on Saturday, 9 December, features a clash between two teams that are very familiar with one another, Western Province A and Western Province B.

While Western Province A are the favourites to win the boys’ u19 title, based mostly on the outstanding successes of SACS this season, and the fine performances of Paul Roos, who pushed the Cape Town school hard throughout, contests between teams from the same region, who are very familiar with one another, are notoriously difficult to predict, much like traditional rivalries, where previous form often counts for nought.

Giving Group B a bit of a hometown vibe and joining the two Western Province sides in the group, are Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay. Central Gauteng B completes the group.

Neighbours Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay meet in the last match on day one. It starts at 19:35 and should draw a bit of a crowd.

Group A has six sides, one more than Group B, and features the KwaZulu-Natal A and KwaZulu-Natal B teams, along with Eastern Gauteng, Northern Tigers, Zimbabwe and Central Gauteng A. One imagines the battle for the top spot will be between KZN A and Central Gauteng A.

KZN A features players from only three schools – Clifton College, Hilton College and Westville Boys’ High – but that could well be an advantage for the team from the east coast. Combinations and familiarity among the players should prove to be a positive for the side.

Central Gauteng A, meanwhile, features six players from St John’s College, who proved that they remain among the country’s elite teams with a string of strong performances at the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, SACS Water Polo Tournament and St Stithians Invitational.

Of course, SACS stole the show in those three, capturing the silverware on each occasion. In the first two, they beat Paul Roos in the finals, while they narrowly defeated St John’s 7-6 in the latter event. That’s why Western Province are the favourites.

Six players from SACS are in the Province A team, including Nicholas Fall and Noah Bigara, who will give their team a sharp edge on the offensive end. They’ll surely have a big role to play in their team’s challenge for the honours.

Throughout the season, and consistently just behind the Western Province big guns of SACS and Paul Roos was Clifton, who placed third in their home pool and third in the SACS’ pool, where they also handed SACS their only defeat in the three events during a clash in the group stages. Much of the reason for the Durban powerhouse’s successes during the season was their cohesion and familiarity with one another.

Hilton College twice had to settle for fourth after losing out to Clifton, but they contribute four strong players to the KZN squad, while Westville brings five players into the mix, including goalkeeper Nathan Jacob, who has the ability to be a match-winner on his day.

Much like day one’s clash between the two Western Province teams will be a fascinating showdown, so, too, will day two’s meeting of KZN A and KZN B.

Day three, Monday, 11 December, will feature the biggest of the group stage matches, when KZN A and Central Gauteng A meet at 11:00. That duel will likely decide who tops Group A and who finishes second. The runners-up will then have to play the third-place team from Group B for a shot at the Group B winners, which will likely be Western Province A.

That, of course, is if the expected results unfold. On paper that’s what should happen, but games are played in the pool and not on paper, and predictions seldom prove 100 percent accurate.

The Inter-Provincial competition wraps up on Wednesday, 13 December, with the final being played at Grey High School at 13:25.

FIXTURES

(First teams mentioned in white caps. All games at Grey High unless otherwise stated)

Saturday, 9 December

B1 – 12:00 – Eastern Gauteng vs Central Gauteng A, Group A
B2 – 13:05 – Central Gauteng B vs Buffalo City, Group B
B3 – 14:10 – KwaZulu-Natal A vs Zimbabwe, Group A
B4 – 15:15 – Northern Tigers vs Central Gauteng A, Group A
B5 – 16:20 – Western Province B vs Western Province A, Group B
B6 – 17:25 – KwaZulu-Natal A vs Eastern Gauteng, Group A
B7 – 18:30 – KwaZulu-Natal B vs Zimbabwe, Group A
B8 – 19:35 – Buffalo City vs Nelson Mandela Bay, Group B

Sunday, 10 December

B9 – 07:00 – KwaZulu-Natal A vs Northern Tigers, Group A
B10 – 08:05 – Central Gauteng B vs Western Province B, Group B
B11 – 09:10 – Zimbabwe vs Eastern Gauteng, Group A
B12 – 10:15 – KwaZulu-Natal B vs Central Gauteng A, Group A
B13 – 11:20 – Western Province A vs Nelson Mandela A, Group B
B14 – 12:25 – Zimbabwe vs Northern Tigers, Group A
B15 – 13:30 – Western Province B vs Buffalo City, Group B
B16 – 14:35 – KwaZulu-Natal A vs KwaZulu-Natal B, Group A
B17 – 15:40 – Central Gauteng B vs Nelson Mandela Bay, Group B
B18 – 16:45 – Northern Tigers vs Eastern Gauteng, Group A
B19 – 17:50 – Zimbabwe vs Central Gauteng A, Group A
B20 – 18:55 – Western Province A vs Buffalo City, Group B

Monday, 11 December

B21 – 08:50 – KwaZulu-Natal B vs Northern Tigers, Group A
B22 – 09:55 – Western Province B vs Nelson Mandela Bay, Group B
B23 – 11:00 – KwaZulu-Natal A vs Central Gauteng A, Group A
B24 – 12:05 – Western Province A vs Central Gauteng B, Group B
B25 – 13:10 – KwaZulu-Natal B vs Eastern Gauteng, Group B

Tuesday, 12 December

B26 – 10:40 – Group A 6 vs Group B 5, progression qualifier
B27_CO1 – 11:45 – Group A 2 vs Group B 3, Crossover 1
B28_CO2 – 12:50 – Group B 2 vs Group A 3, Crossover 2
B29_SF1 – 17:35 – Group B 1 vs winner game 27 (CO1), semifinals 1
B30_SF1 – 18:40 – Group A 2 vs winner game 28 (CO2), semifinals 2
B31 – 18:50 – Group A4 vs loser game 27 (CO1), middle qualifier 1, Newton Park
B32 – 19:55 – Group B4 vs loser game 28 (CO2), middle qualifier 2, Newton Park

Wednesday, 13 December

B33 – 10:10 – Loser game 29 (SF1) vs Loser game 30 (SF2), 3rd/4th, Newton Park
B34 – 11:15 – Winner game 31 vs Winner game 32, 5th/6th, Newton Park
B35 – 12:20 – Loser game 31 vs Loser game 32, 7th/8th, Newton Park

13:15 Introduction of Boys’ u19 Tournament Finalists

B36 – 13:25 – Winner game 29 (SF1) vs Winner game 30 (SF2), Final
B37 – 13:25 – Group A 5 vs Winner game 26, 9th/10th, Newton Park

Michaelhouse captain Murray Baker concluded his career for the Balgowan school with a bang, scoring a century on Saturday at Saint Charles College, to lead his team to a comprehensive 101-run victory.

Batting first in the 35-over-a-side contest, House lost Seb Hofmeyr early, but Dylan Hewlett then joined Ethan Muir in the middle and the pair put on 73 for the second wicket before Muir was caught off the bowling of leg-spinner Nathan Beaumont at the start of the 14th over.

Muir’s dismissal, though, brought Baker to the wicket, and he went after the Saints’ bowlers. At the other end, Hewlett played a fine innings as he and the skipper shared a stand of 88 runs for the third wicket.

When Hewlett was out, caught by Sam Brown off the bowling of Stefan Veldsman, 11 overs remained, with Michaelhouse on 167 for 3. Hewlett had made 70 from 65 balls, with five fours and a six.

Murray Hall-Jones didn’t last long, but Murray Baker was on fire. When Hall-Jones fell for six, the pair had put on 34 runs as Baker got stuck into the home team’s bowlers.

He continued to score all around the wicket and went to three figures, but was out shortly after that, having contributed 102 from just 65 deliveries, striking three sixes and nine fours. During his time in the middle, Michaelhouse had added 181 runs, including 59 from his last partnership with West Mitchell-Innes.

Mitchell-Innes lasted until the second-last ball of the innings, when Rowen Rajah had him caught by Matthew Urquhart for 28 from 20.

Two runs from the final delivery, scored by Cameron Strudwick, took the visitors to an outstanding 270 for 6 from their 35 overs, leaving Saints needing to score at 7.74 runs per over to win.

Off-spinner Brendon Sunguro did a tidy job for the home team, opening the bowling alongside Rajah, picking up 3 for 42 in seven, as most of the rest of the attack received some tap.

Saint Charles faced a big ask to win, but whatever small chance they had of victory went out of the window within the first five overs of their run chase as they stumbled to 12 for 3.

Sam Brown was the first to go down, caught behind by wicketkeeper Baker off the bowling of Tom Mitchell for seven. Two runs later, it was 10 for 2 when Brendon Sunguro was run out by Cameron Strudwick.

Then, with the total having advanced by only two more runs, Cian Fortmann, so often an anchor at the top of the Saints’ order, was on his way, caught by Michael Thornton off of the left-arm spin of Strudwick for two.

Marcus Wellman shared a 23-run partnership with Saints’ skipper Matthew Urquhart, but he was caught off the bowling of Ross Moller for eight.

Urquhart stood firm, but all around him the Saints’ batsmen departed quickly. Connor Riley, Rico Honiball and Rowen Rajah all went relatively cheaply, with Honiball’s 14 the best they had to offer. Urquhart, meanwhile, sent 10 deliveries to the boundary before he was bowled by Mitchell for 69 from 77 balls. His exit saw Saints slump to 127 for 8.

Nathan Beaumont and Stefan Veldsman showed some fight, but Beaumont was then the ninth man out, another victim of Mitchell, caught behind for 12.

Veldsman hit out, finishing with an unbeaten 21 from 16 deliveries, but there had been few innings of substance when the last St Charles wicket went down with their total on 169 in the 34th over.

Mitchell had put the skids under the Saints’ reply, knocking over 3 for 39 in seven, while Cameron Strudwick, who took the new ball, dialled up the pressure with a return of 2 for 17 from his seven.

Ross Moller, who more often than not opens the bowling, sent down only three overs, but he made quite the impact, bowling two maidens and finishing with 1 for 1.

In the end, it was a very good all-round performance and a very convincing win for Michaelhouse, which, no doubt, would have delighted coach Darryn Mortimer.

Summarised Scorecard

Michaelhouse 270/6 (Murray Baker 102, Dylan Hewlett 70, Ethan Muir 39, West Mitchell-Innes 28, Brendon Sunguro 3/42); St Charles College 169/10 (Matthew Urquhart 69, Stefan Veldsman 21*, Tom Mitchell 3/39, Cameron Strudwick 2/17, Ross Moller 1/1)

Michaelhouse won by 101 runs