An undefeated first three days in the Cricket South Africa U17 Cricket Week saw the Eastern Province side make up one of the two unofficial semi-final matches.
An undefeated first three days in the Cricket South Africa U17 Cricket Week saw the Eastern Province side make up one of the two unofficial semi-final matches.
After drawing their first match against KwaZulu Natal Coastal and cruising to victories against North West and KwaZulu Natal Inland, EP lost their last two games.
EP lost the unofficial semi-final match against Gauteng by 8 wickets. They then lost their final game to Mpumalanga by 150 runs.
The Grahamstown players selected for the Eastern Province U17 squad were Daine Kruger (Kingswood College), Keenan Viera (Graeme College), Jimmy Sholto-Douglas (Kingswood College) and Luyolo Tshongweni (Graeme College).
Vieera finished as the third on the most runs list with his 240 from 5 innings. Kruger made the top 13 most wickets list with his 10 wickets in five innings.
The Under-17 setup is divided in two categories; the Rural Cricket Association of South Africa (RCASA) week as well the National Week that is organised under the banner of Cricket South Africa (CSA).
The Rural week gives players that are from small disadvantaged areas a chance to also play competitive cricket. The U17 cricket week took place in Johannesburg with the Gauteng Cricket Union playing host. The headquarters for the event was Wits University with matches played at several schools in the Johannesburg region.
All the players were closely monitored by the selectors over the course of the week, with many of the Under-17s expected to feature at next year’s U19 Coke Week.
All the players at the U17 Week will be eligible for the next Under-19 World Cup (2016). Like all the CSA National Weeks and various national rugby weeks, there is no official tournament winner. However there is a main game on the final day that is considered the unofficial final as it is usually contested between the two strongest teams.
Participating teams: Boland, Border, Easterns, Eastern Province, Free State, Gauteng, Griqualand West, KwaZulu-Natal, KZN Inland, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northerns, North West, South Western Districts,Western Province, Zimbabwe.
EP U17 cricket week results:
Day 1
EP vs KwaZulu Natal Coastal – KZN 231/7 declared (Daine Kruger 4/76), EP 169/4 (Keenan Vieira 97, Daine Kruger 3). Match drawn.
Day 2
EP vs North West – EP 142/7 (Daine Kruger 59, K Viera 26, Jimmy Sholto-Douglas 8, Luyolo Tshongweni 3 not out), North West 96 all out (Daine Kruger 2/12, Jimmy Sholto Douglas 1/7). EP won by 46 runs.
Day 3
EP vs KwaZulu Natal Inland (50 overs) – EP 311/8 (K Vieira 85, Jimmy Sholto-Douglas 65, D Kruger 0), KZN 218 all out (Luyolo Tshongweni 1/29, Daine Kruger 2/34). EP won by 93 runs.
Day 4
EP vs Gauteng – EP 204/7 (Daine Kruger 29, K Vieira 28, Jimmy Sholto-Douglas 11), Gauteng 207/2. EP lost by 8 wickets
Day 5
EP vs Mpumalanga – Mpumalanga 238/9 (Daine Kruger 2/35, Jimmy Sholto-Douglas 1/15), EP 88 all out (K Vieira 4, D Kruger 2, Jimmy Sholto-Douglas 0, Luyolo Tshongweni 0). EP lost by 150 runs.
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