Author: wilouw

Despite a solid start by Oakdale Landbou on the first day of the World Schools Festival in Thailand, they had to dig deep to get over the line against their Welsh challengers, Cardiff & Vale.

Kurt Coetzee converted a difficult penalty within the first minute, which would ultimately prove crucial, as neither team managed to get a firm hold over the match.

A try by their Grant Khomo loosehead, Kai Pratt, swung the momentum in favour of the South Africans before a penalty try helped the Welsh team reduce the deficit before halftime after a period of sustained pressure on the Oakdale try line.

Dewald Jonck then finished off one of the best tries of the day as Oakdale returned a wayward clearance kick by the Welsh flyhalf, Tom Hughes.

The second half was a tense affair, with both teams doing their best to keep each other within arm’s length. The only try after the break came through Cardiff & Vale’s hooker, Ellis Richards, and Hughes slotted the conversion to get his team within five points of victory with 20 minutes left to play.

This is the second year the team from Wales’ campaign has ended at the hands of South Africans, last year they lost against Grey College by 14-11 on Day Two.

The Rugby Travel Academy came up short against the Irish powerhouse, St Michael’s by 35-12. Many of these boys were in action on the first day of the Open competition as well, where RTA has two teams competing.

As it stands, Oakdale and EG Jansen have progressed to the semi-finals on Friday, where they will have to deal with the Irish and the Kiwis.

Even though Westlake Boys were unable to break the deadlock against Hartpury College, they showed their potential with two great tries in the final ten minutes to book their spot in the penultimate round.

There is no doubt about the dangers St Michael’s holds, as they proved when their contingent of junior Irish international and regional representatives showed their class against the RTA Invitational team today.

The action continues with the Open and Girls Sevens on Thursday, before the Cup competition resumes on Friday.

Scorers:

Oakdale Landbou 18 (18) – Tries: Kai Pratt, Dewald Jonck. Conversions: Kurt Coetzee. Penalty: Kurt Coetzee (2). Cardiff & Vale 14 (7) – Tries: Penalty Try, Ellis Richards. Conversion: Tom Hughes.

St Michael’s 35 (20) – Tries: Duinn Maguire (2), Dylan McNiece, Dan Ryan: Joe Quigley (6). Penalty: Quigley (3). Rugby Travel Academy 12 (7) – Tries: Rigert Klok, Kian du Plessis Conversions: Jayden de Leeuw

After a thrilling start to the 2023 CSA u16 Girls Cricket Week on Tuesday, the action was cut short by rain in Pietermaritzburg today.

The action is set to resume tomorrow before the T20 playoffs begin on Friday.

Watch every moment live on SuperSport Schools – Register now – Link to the tournament

After huge victories on the first day, tomorrow’s matchup between the Gauteng Lions and Western Province could be the highlight of the week.

The local girls in the KZN Inland team will also be anxious to get a victory on record when they face Eastern Province, especially after their disappointment in the opening game.

Their coastal counterparts face Free State in their final 50 overs match of the week in what could also turn out to be an exciting contest.

 

Day 2, Cancelled fixtures
KwaZulu-Natal vs Limpopo
Free-State vs Border
Gauteng Lions vs Mpumalanga
Western Province vs Garden Route Badgers
Titans vs Boland
North-West vs Kei
KZN Inland vs Easterns
Eastern Province vs Northern Cape

Day 3, 14 December (50 Overs)
KwaZulu-Natal vs Free-State
Limpopo vs Border
Gauteng Lions vs Western Province
Mpumalanga vs Garden Route Badgers
Titans vs North-West
Boland vs Kei
KZN Inland vs Eastern Province
Easterns vs Northern Cape

Gauteng secured the top spot in their qualifying pool at the CSA u16 Week for boys in Oudtshoorn as they beat KwaZulu-Natal Inland by five wickets on the final day of the group stage fixtures.

They face the Titans in the semi-finals, who had a day to rest after their match against the Western Province team fell victim to the rain in George.

The two teams from KwaZulu-Natal will face each other for a spot in the final after KwaZulu-Natal emerged victorious against Eastern Province on the third day.

Watch all the action on SuperSport Schools – Register now – Link to the tournament

Despite a solid showing by KZN Inland’s Ben Hockley to reach his 50, accompanied by the support of Ethan Muir‘s 40, the Gauteng Lions managed to restrict their opponents with their bowling attack. Nkosana Sibiya and Alec Loveland spearheaded the onslaught, taking five wickets between the two of them.

Kyle Swanepoel backed up their fielding performance with a confident opening innings. He was resolute at the crease, staying 82 deliveries to give his side a platform to launch their run chase.

Kamogelo Phiri came in as the sixth batsman for Gauteng and raced to an unbeaten 35 to earn the secure victory for his side.

Eastern Province played well as they attempted to hand the KZN Coastal team their first loss of the tournament. Cayden Wilson snared four KZN wickets for only 29 runs and Sulaymaan Gangat also picked up a brace as they dismissed their opponents for 154.

Joshua van Biljoen was on form opening for the coastal team, top scoring 53 before he was finally run out.

Roxton Payne, Semal Pillay, and Ismaeel Omar then took matters into their own hands as the EP boys attempted to launch a chase.

Payne caused the Eastern Province batting lineup a lot of hurt, as he took three wickets and bowled three maiden overs to help cut their fightback short.

Otto Krause also had a stellar day with the ball in hand, adding four wickets to his tally in Free State’s win over Boland.

Despite only managing 111 runs, thanks largely to Aden Batt‘s 45, the Boland bowlers did well to get back into the game. They let it slip in the final moments though, when they allowed Free State to claim the win through an extra, with only a single wicket left to spare.

Summarised Scorecards:

KwaZulu-Natal Inland 154 (Ben Hockley 51, Ethan Muir 40; Nkosana Sibiya 3/22, Alec Loveland 2/36); Gauteng 155/5 (Kyle Swanepoel 60, Kamogelo Phiri 35*, Samrat Basu 25; D Naidoo 1/22). Gauteng won by five wickets.

KwaZulu-Natal 167 (Joshua van Biljoen 53, Extras 30, Tim Saulez 29; Cayden Wilson 4/29, Sulaymaan Gangat 2/36); Eastern Province 127 (Luphelo Mdyesha 26, Extras 25, Rhys Wiblin 20, Sulaymaan Gangat 20; Roxton Payne 3/13, Semal Pillay 2/12, Ismaeel Omar 2/20). KwaZulu-Natal won by 40 runs.

Boland 111 (Aden Batt 45, Extras 24; Otto Krause 4/33, Mosia 2/9); Free State 112/9 (Extras 23, Naude Botha 19; Marco Cato 3/26, Neil Barnard 2/11). Free State won by one wicket.

Northern Cape 82 (Extras 22, Daniel van der Merwe 15; Mahlodi Sekubu  3/23, Khoza 2/9, Aeron Vaidyan 2/17, Luka Heinlein 2/19); Limpopo 83/8 (Nhlamulo Shibodze 38*; Tumisho Lekoate 4/11, Tebogo Mgobo 3/37). Limpopo won by two wickets.

Titans vs Western Province – Match abandoned.

North West vs Border – Match abandoned.

Kei vs Mpumalanga – Match abandoned.

Garden Route Badgers vs Easterns – Match abandoned.

FIXTURES – DAY FOUR

Gauteng Lions vs Titans (Langenhoven Gimnasium – Oudtshoorn)
KwaZulu-Natal vs KZN Inland (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Free State vs Eastern Province (Bridgton A – Oudtshoorn)
Boland vs Western Province (Glenwood House – George)
Border vs Easterns (NMU – George)
North West vs Garden Route Badgers (Oudtshoorn High – Oudtshoorn)
Mpumalanga vs Limpopo (Rooirivier – George)
Northern Cape vs Kei (Outeniqua B – George)

EG Jansen made light work of Eton College in their first fixture at the World Schools Festival to book a spot in the semi-finals.

Eton College, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, is one of the oldest and most influential schools in the world with its long list of notable alumni including many royals and politicians, it has earned the reputation of foremost producer of British statesmen.

They returned from their tour to South Africa in July with an unblemished record, beating St Alban’s College (45-22) and St John’s College (19-17).

In fact, before the match against EG Jansen, the proud school from Berkshire had only lost one game in 2023, against Trinity School from the United Kingdom.

The South Africans opened the scoring with their fullback, R-Jay Pietersen‘s first touch of the ball to take an early lead. Pietersen then got his second of the day just before halftime as they continued finding space in the Eton defensive line to go into the break with a bonus point secured and a 20-point lead.

After the break, Jansen’s tall flanker, Reon Pretorius picked up another quick try after some strong running by his winger, Cameron van Wyk.

The two Eton wingers who are both signed at the Harlequins Academy, Chinonso Ogbunude and Izaak Manuel, were the standout players for the English side, but EG Jansen’s defence remained resolute. They also dominated the scrum, giving their backline a solid platform to launch their attack.

The other two tries were scored by Jeandré Jacobs (centre) and Danré Pike (hooker), as the South Africans controlled the match with their big forwards and solid defensive work.

The Etonian captain and future Saracen, Freddie Bracken-Smith (scrumhalf), salvaged a try in the final moments of the game with an opportunistic dart around the scrum, but by that point, the boys from Boksburg already had the game in the bag.

With a mix of some experienced campaigners who were already involved as part of the first team in EG Jansen’s Noordvaal campaign and some of the graduates from the 2022 u16 team that finished the year undefeated, the boys from Boksburg have an exciting season ahead.

If they can continue to build on their dominant performance in the first match against Eton, they will be one of the favourites going into the penultimate round on Friday.

In the second playoff game for the Cup, New Zealand’s Westlake Boys’ High faced Hartpury College from England.

Hartpury controlled the match until the final 10 minutes when a late reply by Westlake, scoring two tries in the final five minutes by Isaac Murray-Macgregor, the NZ Schools fullback and his lightning-quick winger, Matareti Hoyt meant the game finished in a stalemate on their first outing.

Having scored first, the Kiwis will advance to the Cup semis, but both sides showed they have the potential to cause their opponents a lot of problems in the coming games.

Scorers:

Cup

EG Jansen 32 (20) – Tries: R-Jay Pietersen (2), Jeandre Jacobs, Danré Pike, Reon Pretorius, Riekus an der Merwe. Conversion: Cameron van Wyk. Eton College 5 (0) – Try: Freddie Bracken-Smith.

Westlake (7) 19 – Tries: Isaac Murray-Macgregor (2), Matareti Hoyt. Conversions: Murray-Macgregor (2). Hartpury (5) 19 – Tries: Shand Solomon, Louis Callow, Bailey Paetel. Conversions: Taite Fortey (2).

Open | 12 December

Southern Legion 50 – Tries: Lehan Jordaan, Ewan Korb, Happy Makate, Waylon Oncke, Waldt Stander, WJ Buitendag, Cody Peterson, Dehan Neethling. Conversions: Rynhardt Uys (3), Armand Griessel (2). Dubai Tigers 3.

RTA Invitational 20 – Tries: Raynard van Loggerenberg, Pieter Moller, Mangaliso Mwali. Conversion: Chad Leukes. Penalty: Luhan Janse van Rensburg. Odyssey Knights 0.

The Central Gauteng Lions stamped their authority on day two of the CSA 2023 u16 Boys Week, trouncing Boland after a dominant performance on the NMU Fields in George.

Both teams from KwaZulu-Natal remained unbeaten as well, setting up an exciting final group stage encounter between Gauteng and the KZN Inland boys to determine which side will top their pool before the T20 playoffs begin.

Watch all of the action on SuperSport Schools – Register now – Link to the tournament

Early on, Armaan Manack and Rushil Bhulla took the sting out of the Boland bowling attack with two solid innings to get the Lions into a good position, with Bhulla missing his half-century by a mere three runs after smashing six boundaries in a 92-ball stay.

The Lions’ total was bolstered further by Tahseen Hanslo‘s 39, before he was impressively run out by Owethu Moyi.

Neil Barnard and Zayd Abrahams snared three wickets apiece for Boland, but not before the boys from Gauteng had posted an imposing 225.

Corné Botha continued his fine bowling form from the first day, capturing 3/13. He combined well with Alec Loveland, who claimed two sticks, as the Boland line-up struggled to find a footing.

Boland Landbou’s Francois Prins played a fine innings of 54 in the face of a relentless bowling onslaught, but his team’s chase was ended, still 82 runs shy of the mark.

For the KZN Coastal team, Roxton Payne delivered with bat and ball to get his team over the line against the Titans.

Apart from contributing an unbeaten 27 at the crease, he also took a vital three wickets at a cost of only 10 runs.

Joshua van Biljon led the way with the bat for the victors, storming to 42 runs after a slow start by his side.

Following a solid win in their first match on the opening day, the Garden Route Badgers went down to Northern Cape after Hanru Rademeyer and Faizan Kajee turned the game for the visitors.

When the Badgers removed the first four Northern Cape batsmen for only 15 runs, it looked as if they might be able to defend their low total of 119, but Rademeyer’s 64 from 36 deliveries, which included eight sixes, quickly swung the momentum. With Kajee also contributing a confident unbeaten knock of 28 from 51, Northern Cape reached their target in just over 22 overs.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Baker removed five Free State batsmen for a mere 36 runs as the KZN Inland squad laid claim to the top spot in their pool.

The showdown with Gauteng promises to be a highlight of day three, while Boland and the Free State also lock horns in a game that has the makings of a good contest.

Summarised scorecards

Gauteng 225 (Rushil Bhulla 47, Tahseen Hanslo 39, Extras 30, Armaan Manack 28, Nkosana Sibiya 23, Morteza Manack 21; Neil Barnard 3/39, Zayd Abrahams 3/46, Luca Plekker 2/38); Boland 143 (Francois Prins 54, Liam Basson 21; Corné Botha 3/13, Alec Loveland 2/38). Gauteng won by 82 runs.

Eastern Province 201/9 (Randy Syce 54, William Beamish 36, Samuel Scheckter 35, Luphelo Mdyesha 29, Cayden Wilson 20; Noah Heath 3/26, Muhammad Schroeder 2/25); Western Province 202/6 (Daniel Cooke 51, Noah Heath 37, Daniel Bosman 35*, Adnaan Lagadien 35, Extras 31; Cayden Wilson 4/24, Sulaymaan Gangat 2/33). Western Province won by four wickets.

KZN Coastal 202/6 (Joshua van Biljon 42, Semal Pillay 29, Roxton Payne 27*, Ismaeel Omar 22; Eckard Struwig 1/22), Titans 148 (Logan Weetman 44, Xander Venter 33, Tshepang Laka 23; Roxton Payne 3/10, Akhil Maharaj 3/33). KZN Coastal won by 54 runs.

Free State 156 (Naude Botha 41, Henru de Wet 30, FG Botha 26, Extras 25; Nicholas Baker 5/36), KZN Inland 157/2 (Siposethu Ngcobo 45, Ethan Muir 41, Ben Hockley 26*, Rico Honiball 25*, Extras 20; Nikhil Sukraj 1/20). KZN Inland won by 8 wickets.

North West 157 (Jahndre Coetzee 32*, Eduard Dreyer 29, Issa Bulbulia 26, Extras 21; Asemahle Madikazi 5/23, Asithandile Madikazi 2/14); Kei 30 (Sinawo Nongalo 10; Themba Sontjane 4/8, Jahndre Coetzee 3/15, Olefa Padi 2/3). North West won by 127 runs.

Border 88 (Reece Wait 40; Adil Larya 4/22, Eduan Strydom 2/24); Mpumalanga 70 (Extras 24, Janco Breyl 16; Lihlume Naku 4/13, Hattingh 3/14). Border won by 18 runs.

Garden Route Badgers 119 (Trent Huisamen 38, Extras 27; Omphile Jonas 4/20, Tebogo Mgobo 3/22, Ikanyeng Mothloko 2/32); Northern Cape 124/6 (Hanru Rademeyer 64*, Faizan Kajee 28*; Trent Huisamen 2/12, Ducayne Plaatjies 2/32). Northern Cape won by 4 wickets.

Easterns 214 (Extras 54, Stian de Villiers 39, Jaden Govender 33, Stian van Breda 30; Teddy Khoza 5/32, Aeron Vaidyan 3/15); Limpopo 196 (Muaz Muhammed 75, Jannes van Zyl 60, Extras 30; Cruz Pillay 3/63, Mark Munava 2/20). Easterns won by 18 runs.

 

Fixtures, Day Three

Day Three – 12 December 2023
Gauteng vs KZN Inland (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Titans vs Western Province (Outeniqua HS A – George)
KZN Coastal vs Eastern Province (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Free State vs Boland (Bridgton A – Oudtshoorn)
North West vs Border (NMU – George)
Easterns vs Garden Route Badgers (Glenwood House – George)
Mpumalanga vs Kei (Outeniqua HS B – George)
Limpopo vs Northern Cape (Langenhoven Gimnasium – Oudtshoorn)

The CSA U16 Girls Cricket Week kicks off on Tuesday, with teams from across the country convening in Pietermaritzburg for a showcase of the best young talent in South Africa.

Watch the action live on SuperSport Schools – Register now

The complete lineup of all 16 teams has been officially revealed, and the stage is set for an action-packed week in KwaZulu-Natal.

The teams will battle it out in 50-over matches during the group stage before switching to T20 playoffs, which begin on Friday.

The KZN Inland girls, who enjoy a home-field advantage, begin their campaign against Northern Cape on Tuesday, before taking on Easterns, followed by Eastern Province.

As a move towards the CSA Professional Domestic Women’s League continues to gain traction, the event will shine a light on the potential available in the women’s youth ranks. After South Africa finished as runners-up in the ICC T20 Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil in February, enthusiasm for the game in the country is at an all-time high.

THE GROUPS

Pool A: KZN Inland, Free State, Limpopo, Border.
Pool B: Gauteng Lions, Western Province, Mpumalanga, Garden Route Badgers.
Pool C: Titans, North West, Boland, Kei.
Pool D: KZN Inland, Eastern Province, Easterns, Northern Cape.

FIXTURES

Day 1, 12 December (50 Overs)
KZN Coastal vs Border
Free-State vs Limpopo
Gauteng Loins vs Garden Route Badgers
Western Province vs Mpumalanga
Titans vs Kei
North-West vs Boland
KZN Inland vs Northern Cape
Eastern Province vs Easterns

Day 2, 13 December (50 Overs)
KZN Coastal vs Limpopo
Free-State vs Border
Gauteng Lions vs Mpumalanga
Western Province vs Garden Route Badgers
Titans vs Boland
North-West vs Kei
KZN Inland vs Easterns
Eastern Province vs Northern Cape

Day 3, 14 December (50 Overs)
KZN Coastal vs Free-State
Limpopo vs Border
Gauteng Lions vs Western Province
Mpumalanga vs Garden Route Badgers
Titans vs North-West
Boland vs Kei
KZN Inland vs Eastern Province
Easterns vs Northern Cape

The first day of action at the 2023 CSA u16 Boys Cricket Week in George saw the local boys put up the highest total of the day, while the Central Gauteng Lions and the Titans emerged as early favourites after their victories over the Free State and Eastern Province respectively.

Watch all the CSA Youth Week action live on SuperSport Schools – Register now – Link to the tournament

The Garden Route Badgers’ captain from Outeniqua High, Joof Enslin, opened the proceedings in George with a well-constructed innings of 78 to lead his team to the highest score of the day (205) against Limpopo.

Despite a fine bowling performance by Limpopo’s Njabulo Maseko (Ben Vorster), who snapped up five wickets, the home team was able to score at a steady rate to bypass the 200-run mark.

They backed up their solid batting performance with a good outing the field and some exceptional bowling by Liviwe Bawulie (Thembalethu High School), who captured 4/7. The Bridgton Secondary duo of Keano Coericius and Ducayne Plaatjies also bagged a brace each, to guide the hosts to an emphatic victory.

Affies’ young first-team star, Ruben Groenewald, struck an unbeaten 55 runs as the Titans made quick work of Eastern Province’s challenge.

Groenewald has put together some big innings for the Pretoria school and looks like to be a very exciting young prospect.

The Gauteng Lions blasted through the Free State batting to send them packing for only 68, which provided the Lions with few obstacles as they overhauled the low total with ease. Noordheuwel’s Corné Botha, who trained with the SA u19 team earlier in the year, spearheaded the Lions’ attack by knocking over 3/4.

The KZN Inland team had to rely on their bowlers to protect a low total and they managed, just, to steal a four-run victory from Boland.

They kept the extras to a minimum, while Maritzburg College’s left-arm seamer Sphamandla Dzanibe and Hayden Hewlett from Michaelhouse combined well in the latter stages of the contest to take five wickets for 21 runs between them.

The action continues on Monday with the Titans and KZN Coastal teams set to face one another in an eagerly anticipated clash in George. Meanwhile, the hometown Garden Route Badgers will be eyeing a second successive victory when they tackle Northern Cape in Oudtshoorn.

Summarised scorecards, Day 1

Free State 68 (Lebohang Mohloni 17; Corné Botha 3/4, Samrat Basu 2/11, Tahseen Hanslo 2/11); Central Gauteng Lions 70/1 (Armaan Manack 30*, Rushil Bhulla 25*; Otto Krause 1/15). Central Gauteng Lions won by nine wickets.

Eastern Province 96 (Samuel Sheckter 31*; Tiaan Serfontein 3/20, Xander Venter 3/29); Titans  100/4 (Ruben Groenewald 55*; Logan Fleetwood 3/26). The Titans won by six wickets.

KZN Coastal 136/7 (Ismaeel Omar 65; Hlumelo Mgweba 2/8, Noah Heath 2/12); Western Province 98 (Daniel Cooke 22; Roxton Payne 3/10, Akhil Maharaj 2/13). KZN Coastal won by 38 runs.

KZN Inland 100 (Extras 22, Ben Hockley 21; Neil Barnard 3/22, Aden Batt 2/9, Ghrislan Louw 2/19); Boland 96 (Marco Cato 29; Sphamandla Dzanibe 3/14, Hayden Hewlett 2/7, Nicholas Baker 2/19, Luke Campbell 2/33). KZN Inland won by four runs.

North West 189/9 (Issa Bulbila 54, Eduard Dreyer 53, Extras 32; Vaughn van Zyl 3/34); Mpumalanga 131 (Vaughn van Zyl 33, Pieter Viljoen 23, WJ Enslin 22; Themba Sontjane 3/19, Ompile Rangwaga 2/13, Eduard Dreyer 2/21, Olebogeng Sebakwane 2/24). North West won by 58 runs.

Kei 93 (Extras 29, Sinakekele Sele 25; Lihlume Nchunkana 4/8, Reece Wait 2/29); Border 95/2 (Owam Malika 29, Reece Wait 27, Extras 21; Indiphile Jezile 1/19). Border won by eight wickets.

Garden Route Badgers 205 (Joof Enslin 78, Extras 38, Keano Coericius 23, Hlumelo Hlangani 22; Njabulo Maseko 5/20, Ntsuxeko Sebata 2/34); Limpopo 67/9 (Muaz Muhammed 21; Liviwe Bawulie 4/7, Keano Coericius 2/12, Ducayne Plaatjies 2/26). Garden Route Badgers won by 138 runs.

Easterns 164 (Clayton Horlick 56, Extras 29; Tebogo Mgobo 3/19, Arno Mostert 2/23, Ikanyeng Motlhoko 2/24); Northern Cape 107 (Arno Mostert 31, Hanru Rademeyer 29, Extras 21; Cruz Pillay 5/11, Abdullah Tadwalla 5/20). Easterns won by 57 runs.

FIXTURES

Day Two – 11 December 2023
Western Province vs Eastern Province (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
KZN Inland vs Free State (Outeniqua HS A – George)
Gauteng vs Boland (NMU – George)
Titans vs KZN Coastal (Glenwood House – George)
Garden Route Badgers vs Northern Cape (Langenhoven Gimnasium – Oudtshoorn)
Border vs Mpumulanga (Outeniqua B – George)
Easterns vs Limpopo (Oudtshoorn HS – Oudtshoorn)
North West vs Kei (Bridgton A – Oudtshoorn)

Day Three – 12 December 2023
Gauteng vs KZN Inland (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Titans vs Western Province (Outeniqua HS A – George)
KZN Coastal vs Eastern Province (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Free State vs Boland (Bridgton A – Oudtshoorn)
North West vs Border (NMU – George)
Easterns vs Garden Route Badgers (Glenwood House – George)
Mpumalanga vs Kei (Outeniqua HS B – George)
Limpopo vs Northern Cape (Langenhoven Gimnasium – Oudtshoorn)

 

Lhuan-dre Pretorius, the South African u19 opening batsman from St Stithians, steered his side to a comfortable victory over Zimbabwe on Saturday in preparation for the 2024 ICC u19 Cricket World Cup.

Pretorius’ unbeaten 85 enabled SA to reach the winning total within 22 overs, with nine wickets to spare.

The squad is in Durban where they will play another warmup match against Zimbabwe u19 on Monday before travelling to Pietermaritzburg to face the KZN u19 team on 13 December, ahead of the latter’s Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week campaign.

Martin Khumalo, who was instrumental for the Northern Champions in January when they won the CSA Cubs Week, captured five wickets on Saturday to help restrict Zimbabwe to a modest 140.

Kwena Maphaka, another exciting talent from St Stithians, made a decisive contribution, knocking over three wickets for only 21 runs. He brought the innings to a close by palming a catch off his own delivery in the 35th over.

The visitors struggled to build any momentum in the face of the relentless onslaught by Khumalo and Maphaka. Their captain, Ryan Kamwemba from Prince Edward School in Harare, played well to get to 45 before he was caught behind by Pretorius.

South Africa responded well, with Steve Stolk and Pretorius putting on 66 before Mashford Shungu claimed Zim’s solitary wicket. With Pretorius batting at a rate of more than a run per ball, and his captain, David Teeger, playing an anchor role at the other end, the home team sped to the victory target in less than half of the allotted overs.

Pretorius drove them over the line in style with a well-played boundary, giving South Africa u19 a positive start to their build-up, and some momentum to carry forward into their remaining warm-up matches and the World Cup, which starts on 13 January.

Summarised scorecard

Zimbabwe u19 140 (Ryan Kamwemba 42, Connor Lovatt 27, Extras 22; Martin Khumalo 5/51, Kwena Maphaka 3/21); South Africa u19 143/1 (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 85*, Extras 25; Mashford Shungu 1/27). South Africa u19 won by nine wickets.

The World Schools Festival returns to the Pattana Sports Resort in Thailand for the second time under its revised format. From 12-18 December, eight teams from around the world will vie for the prestigious Cup.

This year also sees the debut of the Girls’ Sevens competition, taking place alongside the Cup and the Open tournament.

Dr EG Jansen will fly the South African flag, with a youthful team, consisting of many of the players from their u16 A side that went unbeaten in 2022. More experienced campaigners like their first-team flanker, Reon Pretorius, will provide some stability in the group as the boys from Boksburg look to make their mark on an international stage ahead of what promises to be an exciting season next year.

They begin their campaign against the renowned Eton College. Eton visited South Africa in July and recorded a 45-22 win over St Alban’s College, followed by a 19-17 victory over St John’s College. Their only loss in 2023 was at the hands of one of last year’s WSF entrants, Trinity School, who beat them by 21-14 earlier in December.

Oakdale Landbouskool from Riversdale is another contender from South Africa eyeing the top prize. With a blend of experienced players, like Craven Week centre Kurt Coetzee, and exciting young talent like their big loosehead prop, Kai Pratt, who impressed at the u16 Grant Khomo Week this year, they will be eyeing a spot for the trophy on the farm. Pratt was one of eight Oakdale players in the SWD team at the annual Youth Week.

Their initial challenge is against Wales’ Cardiff & Vale College, who will be seeking redemption after Grey College edged them out in the previous edition’s semi-finals.

Last year’s champions, Hamilton Boys’, are absent, but New Zealand is represented by Westlake Boys’ High School, who will want to emulate their fellow Kiwis. They suffered a narrow three-point loss in the National First XV Championship final against Southland Boys in September.

Westlake’s character is not in question. It’s what brought them their regional championship title, after they sneaked a heart-stopping 32-31 victory over Sacred Heart in a thrilling title-decider in August.

Westlake takes on Hartpury College from the UK on the first day. The prestigious school in Gloucestershire is among the top producers of professional players in the world. The school’s list of international players includes Welsh internationals Louis Rees Zammit, Alex Cuthbert and Ross Moriarty, and England’s Jonny May, Harry Randall, Ellis Genge and Jonny Hill. They retained their English Champions title this year but will be eager to add more silverware to their collection.

The Rugby Travel Academy (RTA) returns to replace a last-minute withdrawal and has sent two squads to Thailand this year. One will compete for the Cup while the Barbarians team plays in the Open Championship.

The Invitational Team, with players from some of the top rugby-playing schools in South Africa, will be eager to test themselves against international competition, and hope to cause a stir. The St Alban’s centre and Head Boy for 2023, Luke Sass, will have a major role to play in the squad’s success, along with the likes of Helpmekaar‘s Pieter Moller (winger) and Jaedon de Leeuw (fullback) from Midstream College.

After placing second at the WSF last year, Grey College went on to post an undefeated season in 2023, winning all of their matches, to finish the year as the undisputed number one school team in South Africa. Though they are not at this year’s competition, they will be represented by Chad Leukes and Zadian du Preez in the RTA team.

They face one of the top rugby feeder schools in Ireland, St Michael’s College. The Irish powerhouse will also be looking to improve on their performance at last year’s festival. They went down to England’s Sedbergh, sneaked a one-point win over Trinity, and then came out on the wrong side of a one-point game against Cardiff & Vale.

With only a couple of days to go before the kickoff, the excitement is tangible ahead of the end-of-year rugby bonanza.

FIXTURES (Local time = SA time +5h)

Cup
Day One, 13 December
12:15 – Dr EG Jansen (South Africa) vs Eton College (England)
13:30 – Hartpury College (England) vs Westlake Boys’ High School (New Zealand)
14:45 – St Michael’s College (Ireland) vs Rugby Travel Academy (South Africa)
16:00 – Oakdale (South Africa) vs Cardiff & Vale College (Wales)

Open League
Day One, 12 December – 13:30 – Dubai Tigers vs Southern Legion; 14:45 – Odyssey Spartans vs RTA Barbarians; 16:00 – RTA Invitational vs Odyssey Knights.
Day Two, 14 December – 13:30 – Odyssey Knights vs Southern Legion; 14:45 – RTA Invitational vs Odyssey Spartans; 16:00 – Dubai Tigers vs RTA Barbarians.
Day Three, 16 December – 13:30 – Dubai Tigers vs Odyssey Spartans; 14:45 – Odyssey Knights vs RTA Invitational; 16:00 – Southern Legion vs RTA Barbarians.

Girls Sevens
Day One, 13 December – 09:30 – Mabyangporn Wittayakhon vs Omnoi; 09:46 – Hartpury Oaks vs Odyssey; 10:02 – Thai Invitational vs NRDP Malaysia; 10:18 – Hartpury Acorns vs Omnoi; 10:34 – Thai Invitational vs Mabyangporn Wittayakhon; 10:50 – NRDP Malaysia vs Hartpury Oaks; 11:06 – Omnoi vs Odyssey; 11:22 – Hartpury Oaks vs Thai Invitational.
Day Two, 14 December – 09:15 – NRDP vs Omnoi; 09:32 – Odyssey vs Mabyangporn Wittayakhon; 09:49 – Thai Invitational vs Hartpury Acorns; 10:06 – Mabyangporn Wittayakhon vs NRDP Malaysia; 10:23 – Omnoi vs Hartpury Oaks; 10:40 – Hartpury Acorns vs Odyssey; 10:56 – Hartpury Oaks vs Mabyangporn Wittayakhon; 11:12 – Odyssey vs Thai Invitational; 11:28 – NRDP Malaysia vs Hartpury Acorns; 11:44 – Omnoi vs Thai Invitational; 12:00 – Odyssey vs NRDP Malaysia; 12:16 – Hartpury Acorns vs Hartpury Oaks.

The South African teams are:

Dr EG Jansen: 15 R-Jay Pietersen, 14 Jean-Dre Claassen, 13 Jeandré Jacobs, 12 Steven Williams, 11 Cameron van Wyk, 10 Matthew Bergman, 9 Riekus van der Merwe, 8 Zaide-Leigh Rippenaar, 7 Reon Pretorius, 6 Damian Kruger, 5 Gerhard van Aswegen, 4 Divan Francis, 3 Duwan Potgieter, 2 Danré Pike, 1 Zian Marais. Replacements: 16 Marco Ventura, 17 Deveraux Weideman, 18 Ettienne Smit, 19 Zandré Naude, 20 Dillan Williams, 21 Gordon Smith, 22 Christopher Combrink, 23 TK Ngobese, 24 JP Jooste, 25 Jacques van Tonder, 26 Ruan Rossouw.

Oakdale: 15 Waylon Kortjie, 14 Duraan Janse van Rensburg, 13 Kurt Coetzee, 12 Christiaan Vorster, 11 Lee-Winn Pretorius, 10 Warren Labuschagne, 9 Jandrian Goosen, 8 Migail Barnard, 7 Johannes Snyman, 6 Anrich Scheffer, 5 Roy Viljoen, 4 Ruan Swart, 3 Izak van Heerden, 2 Gustav van der Merwe, 1 Kai Pratt. Replacements: 16 Sinesihle Mdlankomo, 17 Siegfried Stander, 18 Tiaan Turck, 19 Liam Lightley 20 Bernard Erasmus, 21 Lohan Gerber, 22 Dewalt Jonck, 23 Charles Vosloo, 24 Reinhardt Viljoen.

Rugby Travel Academy: Jaedon de Leeuw (Midstream College), Jedri Swart (Waterkloof), Pieter Moller (Helpmekaar), Divan de Villiers (Monument), Mashile Matsebatlela (Curro Hazeldean), JJ Jonker (Lichtenburg), Mukhetwa Musundwa (Merensky), Zadian du Preez (Grey College), Chad Leukes (Grey College), Taboka Makhotboltloane (Trinity House), Janneman Benson (Hans Strydom), Cobus Erichssen (Hoërskool Nelspruit), Steflin van den Heever (Bergvlam), Kian du Plessis (Hans Strydom), Pedri van Heerden (Diamantveld), Rigert Klok (Diamantveld), Morne van Aswegen (Potchefstroom Gimnasium), Matthew Zondag (Ferrum), Ewean van Zyl (Hoërskool Nelspruit), Luke Sass (St Alban’s College), Raynard van Loggenberg (Curro Hazeldean), Marno du Plessis (Hoërskool Nelspruit), Alejandro dos Ramos (Monument).

Cricket South Africa‘s annual national youth weeks kick off on Sunday with the u16 Boys’ Week visiting George and Oudtshoorn this year.

Watch the action live on SuperSport Schools – Register now 

Sixteen regional teams will be competing on the Garden Route from 10-14 December, playing five 50-over games each.

The encounter between the Free State and Gauteng at the Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn will set the tone for this season’s end-of-year action, while the home team, the Garden Route Badgers, open their campaign against Limpopo in George.

The locals’ supporters can look forward to a week full of exciting cricket as the Badgers go on to face Northern Cape and Easterns over the following two days, before the playoffs are decided.

Western Province battle Eastern Province on day two, while the Titans tackle KZN Coastal. Both clashes present as highlights of this year’s programme, with the four provinces boasting some of the finest young talent in the country.

The regions are divided into two groups based on their performances over the previous five years, with the finals on day five also acting as the decider for the promotion and relegation of next year’s contestants.

The matches are scheduled to begin at 09:30 every day.

GROUPS

Platinum
Pool A: Gauteng, KZN Inland, Free State, Boland
Pool B: Western Province, Titans, KZN Coastal, Eastern Province

Gold
Pool A: North West, Border, Mpumalanga, Kei
Pool B: Easterns, Garden Route Badgers, Northern Cape, Limpopo

FIXTURES

Day One – 10 December 2023
Gauteng vs Free State (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Eastern Province vs Titans (NMU – George)
Western Province vs KZN Coastal (Outeniqua HS A – George)
KZN Inland vs Boland (Bridgton A – Oudtshoorn)
North West vs Mpumulanga (Langenhoven Gimnasium – Oudtshoorn)
Border vs Kei (Oudtshoorn HS – Oudtshoorn)
Garden Route Badgers vs Limpopo (Glenwood House – George)
Easterns vs Northern Cape (Outeniqua B – George)

Day Two – 11 December 2023
Western Province vs Eastern Province (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
KZN Inland vs Free State (Outeniqua HS A – George)
Gauteng vs Boland (NMU – George)
Titans vs KZN Coastal (Glenwood House – George)
Garden Route Badgers vs Northern Cape (Langenhoven Gimnasium – Oudtshoorn)
Border vs Mpumulanga (Outeniqua B – George)
Easterns vs Limpopo (Oudtshoorn HS – Oudtshoorn)
North West vs Kei (Bridgton A – Oudtshoorn)

Day Three – 12 December 2023
Gauteng vs KZN Inland (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Titans vs Western Province (Outeniqua HS A – George)
KZN Coastal vs Eastern Province (Recreation Ground – Oudtshoorn)
Free State vs Boland (Bridgton A – Oudtshoorn)
North West vs Border (NMU – George)
Easterns vs Garden Route Badgers (Glenwood House – George)
Mpumalanga vs Kei (Outeniqua HS B – George)
Limpopo vs Northern Cape (Langenhoven Gimnasium – Oudtshoorn)