Grahamstown is the venue for the national Rural U17 cricket tournament, hosted by Eastern Province Cricket next week. Teams from various provinces will arrive in town on Sunday, with matches starting on Monday.
Grahamstown is the venue for the national Rural U17 cricket tournament, hosted by Eastern Province Cricket next week. Teams from various provinces will arrive in town on Sunday, with matches starting on Monday.
Twelve teams will take part, with matches at Kingswood College (two fields), St Andrew's College (two fields), Rhodes University (two fields), Graeme College (one field) and Albany (one field). With the exception of Tuesday's matches, all others will be played at these fields.
Tuesday's games will be played on country fields – Manley Flats, Salem, Cuylerville and Southwell. Three formats of cricket will be played during the week. Monday's and Tuesday's games will be declaration, while Wednesday will be over the shorter 20/20 format and Thursday's and Friday's games will be 50 overs.
Tournament director Leon Coetzee, representing Schools Cricket South Africa, described the tournament as a “big stepping stone for the rural cricketer”, adding that if players perform well during the week they may be taken up by their province to play during the Coca Cola Khaya Majola Under 19 Cricket Week.
Coetzee said a Rural U17 team, as well as a manager and coach, would be selected at the end of next week's tournament. That team would play in a provincial match. Coetzee said Grahamstown was chosen to host the national event because of its cricket history, its schools, facilities and hospitality.
The teams will be welcomed during a dinner at the City Hall on Sunday night, where former provincial cricketer and director of cricket at St Andrew's, Carl Bradfield, will address the players. The tournament will end with a prize-giving function after the final day's play.
