The South African College High School (SACS) are the new T20 champions.
SACS beat Bishops Diocesan College in a thrilling final to claim the Western Cape Cricket Association’s School’s under-19 Boys T20 Cup, at the Frank Reid cricket grounds at Bishops, on Saturday November 9.
En route to the final, SACS won against Gugulethu, Tygerberg and Wynberg Boys.
Chairperson of the Western Province Youth Cricket Association (WPYCA), Rodney Theys, said the champions; SACS, Victoria Girls Hub, and Bishops, will compete in the Western Cape play-offs in Oudtshoorn from January 24 to 26 next year, facing teams from Boland and the South Western Districts.
SACS’ head coach, Brendon Kleynhans, said they picked a young side, backed by a majority of the Grade-9 boys, who familiarised themselves with the T20 challenge in fine style.
“This is probably one of the hardest tournaments in the country. It is actually amazing for a young group like this to get stuck in. It has been a tough couple of weeks. We had a lot of critics in picking a young side above senior players. I am just glad it paid off today with the youngsters’ performance and their families being really proud of them,” said Kleynhans.
In the final on Saturday, SACS scored 144/6 in 20 overs. They had two crucial partnerships with the bat that enabled them to reach the total.
Luke Whitehead scored 34 runs of 32 balls. Aqeel Waggie scored five boundaries in his 37 runs off 34 balls.
Batting at number five, Jordaan Berry was unbeaten on 27 runs off 26 balls. Before the 20-over mark, Timothy Hodgkinson was run out for 23 runs off 17 balls.
In Bishops’ bowling attack, Luke de Klerk was the stand-out performer, taking three wickets for 23 runs off four overs.
Immediately after the break, Bishops took to the batting stand with dangerman, Adnaan Lagadien and Kyle Stirk.
The SA under-19 all-rounder, Lagadien, flexed his muscle in proper fashion, hitting a huge six in his five boundaries scored.
Bishops’ started like a house on fire, which saw SACS’ head of cricket, Allan Willows walking up and down the boundary, motivating his youngsters to stay sharp, one ball at a time.
Shortly after, Stirk was caught by Jordaan Berry to the bowling of Litha Kraai, for nine runs. Lagadien was caught-and-bowled for 24 runs off 15 balls to the bowling of Nic Oscraft.
Thereafter, Mogamat-Raaid Arendse (15 runs) and Waco Bassick (26 runs) built some momentum for Bishops, however, SACS’ duo Abhay Kalan (2/28) and Ben Blackburn (2/27) had other plans with the ball.
Co-coach at Bishops, Visser Gildenhuys, said they had enough fire-power to chase the total, however, they let themselves down with the bat at a crucial moment in the match.
“The team has done pretty well in terms of success. We won against Groote Schuur and Rondebosch by nine wickets. The team’s ability to bowl and bat was extremely helpful. We were only really tested in the semifinals and in the finals. It was a decimate total for us to chase down in the final,” said Gildenhuys.
“We are confident in our ability going forward to reach success in this tournament,” he said.
Bishops were bowled out for 98 runs in 15.1 overs.
SACS were crowned the new champions after a 46-run victory.
