There was plenty of action on the cricket fields as 14 schools' first teams from across the country took part in this year's Grahamstown Schools Cricket festival.
There was plenty of action on the cricket fields as 14 schools' first teams from across the country took part in this year's Grahamstown Schools Cricket festival.
A number of provincial players were among those representing their various schools. St Andrew's College hosted the event, with Graeme College, Kingswood College and a Grahamstown Rural side among the participants.
The other teams were Cambridge High School (East London), St Albans College (Pretoria), Wynberg Boys' (Cape Town), St Andrew's School (Bloemfontein), Hudson Park (East London), Dale College (King William's Town), Trinity House (Johannesburg), Woodridge College (Port Elizabeth), St Dominics Priory (Port Elizabeth), Die Hoerskool Menlopark (Pretoria).
Carl Bradfield, organiser of the festival and director of cricket at St Andrew's, said the festival was a great success, with a number of good matches and close games throughout the three days. The festival started on Thursday and ended on Saturday.
Matches on the first two days were all declaration format, while the format for the final day's play was decided by the various coaches. Most of the teams played 40-over games on Saturday, because of travel arrangements.
“There were many lessons learnt during the three days, a sound format of the game for a young team to grow in,” said director of cricket at St Andrew's, Carl Bradfield. He said it was great to see the St Andrew's side creating opportunities for victory. “I'm sure they'll begin to convert those opportunities, as they settle into a tight unit under some sound leadership from their captain, Michael Rushmere”.
Chris Ford took six wickets against Menlopark, while Ian Herold made 106 runs against Wynberg. Graeme College coach Ian Suttie was pleased with his side's performance. They ended with two wins and a rain-affected draw. “It was a good start to the season,” said Suttie, who said he was pleased to see Odwa Xonxa performing well as a spinner, taking four wickets for 52 against St Andrew's Bloem and six wickets for 20 against Cambridge.
Xonxa is among a few players to make the first team, after playing for the U15 side last season. Graeme has a young side, with only two matrics in the current team.
Gregg van Molendorff, Kingswood coach said overall the side performed well and, as with St Andrew's and Graeme, the Kingswood side also had a young side. Van Molendorff said the bowling attack was “phenomenal”, with Connor Thorpe bowling particularly well.
Van Molendorff said captain Nick Gailey also had an outstanding festival. Anselm Castelyn made 104 not out against St Albans. The Grahamstown Rural side had their best festival to date, winning one match, drawing one and losing one. The side beat Cambridge in their first match. The Grahamstown Rural side is made up of players from Mary Waters, Nathaniel Nyaluza, Nombulelo and – this year – four players from Tiger Titans in Bathurst. Grahamstown Rural coach, Boss Naika, said the performance of the boys had been good.
Results from the Grahamstown Schools' Cricket Festival: Day 1, Thursday 13 January: St Andrew's vs Menlo Park – Menlo Park 161 all out. St Andrew's 136 (Chris Ford took 6 wickets). St Andrew's lost by 25 runs. Kingswood vs St Andrew’s Bloem – Kingswood 157 all out (Jason Davidson 61), St Andrews Bloem 158 for 6 (Luvuyo Adams 3 for 31). Kingswood lost by 4 wickets. Graeme vs Dale – Graeme 127 (Kashka Crampton 70), Dale 121 (Abongile Hashe 4/8). Graeme won by 7 runs. Grahamstown Rural vs Cambridge – Grahamstown Rural 200 all out (Luvuyo Frans 67, Zukisani Simanga 36), Cambridge 181 all out (Bongalethu Draai 4/31). Grahamstown Rural won by 19 runs. Hudson vs Wynberg – Wynberg 241 all out, Hudson 208 for 9. Match drawn. Day 2, Friday 14 January: St Andrew's vs Wynberg – St Andrew's 226/5 (Ian Herold 106, Gregg King 70 not out), Wynberg 90/5 before rain stopped play. Kingswood vs St Albans – St Albans 185 all out (Connor Thorp 3/30 Jason Davidson 2/18), Kingswood 186/1 (Anselm Castelyn 104 not out, Nick Gailey 63 not out). Kingswood won by nine wickets. Graeme vs St Andrew’s Bloem – St Andrew's Bloem 180 (Odwa Xonxa 4/58, Abner Accom 3/41), Graeme 56/5 before rain stopped play. Grahamstown Rural vs Dale – Dale 264/8 declared, Grahamstown Rural 105/5 before rain stopped play. Cambridge vs Trinity – Cambridge 81 all out. Trinity 82/3. Trinity won by 7 wickets. Hudson vs St Dominics – St Dominics 88 all out, Hudson 92 for 1. Hudson won by 9 wickets. Day 3, Saturday 15 January: St Andrew's vs St Albans – St Alban's 226 all out, St Andrew's 120/5. Match drawn Kingswood vs Wynberg – Wynberg 198 all out (Connor Thorp 4/21, Jason Davidson 2/10, Nick Gailey 2/15), Kingswood 125 all out (Anselm Castelyn 42). Kingswood lost by 73 runs. Graeme vs Cambridge – Cambridge 125 all out (Odwa Xonxa 6 for 20), Graeme 129 for 6, (Abner Accom 44, Alveno Douglas 49). Graeme won by 4 wickets. Grahamstown Rural vs St Andrew’s Bloem. St Andrew's Bloem 264/8 in 50 overs, Grahamstown Rural 125 all out. Grahamstown Rural lost by 139 runs. Hudson vs Trinity – Trinity 130/9 in 40 overs, Hudson 131/9. Hudson won by 1 wicket.
