The St Andrew's College first cricket side lost to the Grey College firsts in the provincial final of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Schools Twenty20 (T20) Challenge last week. Winning the final now sees Grey moving to the final stages of the CSA T20 where they will represent the Warriors/Eastern Province against other franchise partner T20 winners.
The St Andrew's College first cricket side lost to the Grey College firsts in the provincial final of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Schools Twenty20 (T20) Challenge last week. Winning the final now sees Grey moving to the final stages of the CSA T20 where they will represent the Warriors/Eastern Province against other franchise partner T20 winners. The national finals of the competition take place in Potchefstroom from 17 to 19 February. In last week's provincial final, held at the St Andrew's Lower Field, Grey batted first and posted a competitive 153/5 in their 20 overs. This was also thanks to a few mishaps on the field by the St Andrew’s side, including a few missed catches. Chris Ford took three wickets for 18 runs. St Andrew’s got off to the perfect start in their run chase and at 50/0 in the sixth over, St Andrew's was in a sound position. Grey fought back as a unit, picking up three quick wickets, including a key wicket and running out a dangerous looking Mbulelo Mama. Grey continued the momentum, squeezing St Andrew’s out the game and finishing as comfortable winners by 44 runs to move into the final stages of the CSA T20 competition. Andrew Rushmere top scored for St Andrew's with 29 runs, while Mama made 26. St Andrew's made 109 runs from nine wickets in their 20 overs. The CSA Schools T20 Challenge is the only nationally co-ordinated schools cricket programme in South Africa, and forms a vital part of the CSA cricket development pipeline, which aims to give young cricketers the ideal preparation for life as a future Protea player. The inaugural challenge in 2009/2010 attracted 349 schools, and has grown to cater to over 600 schools. CSA youth manager, Niels Momberg, said the more competition there was among schools, the better the chances of identifying talent that could go on to higher levels.
