Rhodes University's College Knights are hoping to go one step further in this year's Rhodes Internal Premier League (RIPL) 20/20 cricket tournament.
Last year the team representing Founder’s Hall was unfortunate to have met the eventual 2010 winners, The Bashers, in the semi final, but they remain upbeat about their chances in 2011.
A big problem for the Knights is continuity, as only six players from last year’s squad have stayed on. Big losses are that of Matty Helm, whose allround abilities caught the eye of RIPL giants, the Bashers, who snaffled him up in a heartbeat. Another big loss is that of Craig Dargie, who moves to the Tops Awkward Turtles, having been amongst the top wicket-takers and highest run scorers in last year’s tournament for the Knights.
Rhodes University's College Knights are hoping to go one step further in this year's Rhodes Internal Premier League (RIPL) 20/20 cricket tournament.
Last year the team representing Founder’s Hall was unfortunate to have met the eventual 2010 winners, The Bashers, in the semi final, but they remain upbeat about their chances in 2011.
A big problem for the Knights is continuity, as only six players from last year’s squad have stayed on. Big losses are that of Matty Helm, whose allround abilities caught the eye of RIPL giants, the Bashers, who snaffled him up in a heartbeat. Another big loss is that of Craig Dargie, who moves to the Tops Awkward Turtles, having been amongst the top wicket-takers and highest run scorers in last year’s tournament for the Knights.
That said, the young Knights side has some exciting prospects for the third edition of the RIPL: Tom Nicholson and Jonty Rawlins have been tipped by skipper, James Stirk, as being the players to look out for in his youthful outfit.
But the strength of the Knights team lies in their two local heroes, James Stirk and Jonty van der Meulen. They were schooled at Kingswood College and Graeme College respectively, and both represented the Eastern Province U18 team. Stirk and van der Meulen have played for the Rhodes 1st XI for over a year and will be key to the team’s success.
Several Knights players will be donning the cherry red kit for the first time and will be relishing the opportunity to play in the exciting RIPL. The inexperienced Knights are entering the tournament as outsiders due to them being a relatively unknown entity. However, if Stirk and van der Meulen can keep things together at the top, there is no doubt that this team could very well feature in the play-offs again this year.
Knights Squad: James Stirk (c), Jonty van der Meulen (vc), Michele Coppola, Chris Cragg, Chris Sewry, Jonty Rawlins, Cameron Braans, Alex Du Cane, Murray King, Mark Lovatt, Dylan Druce, Adam Sack, Tom Nicholson and Kenyan van Breda.
