2013 DANONE NATIONS CUP GETS UNDERWAY IN SOUTH AFRICA

The first steps on the road to London will be taken by one fortunate primary school football team as the Cluster level matches in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup tournament kick off.

The team to emerge as the winner at the end of what will be a six month process will represent South Africa at the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in London later in the yearand get to play before French ex national player, Zinadine Zidane.

The winners of the Cluster competitions go on to compete in the Regional finals, and those winners then play in the Provincial finals, culminating in the nine provincial winners playing in the National finals to determine the school that will represent South Africa at the World Finals.

The Beaufort West Cluster competition got underway at the Rustdene Stadium last weekend and will continue over the next couple of weeks.

Some of the schools that will be in action will include: AH Barnard Primary School, Teske Memorial Primary School,  Restvale Met  Primary School, HM Dlikidla Primary School, Beaufort-West Primary School,  St Mathew’s Primary School, Destiny Academy, Niko Brummer Primary School, John D Crawford Primary School and Murraysburg Primary School.

 

Andrew Louw, coach of AH Barnard Primary School, the reigning regional and provincial champions, believes his boys are mentally and physically ready to defend their title.

 

The school, located in Beaufort West Township, first participated in the tournament in 2002 and have reached the National Finals twice, in 2009 and 2012. Louw has a Level 1and 2, SAFA Grassroots and SAFA Football Introductory certificates. He also coaches a local amateur team, Rustville United. Seven players from the school team are in that side too. He is the school’s sports coordinator and also coaches the rugby team.

 

He says he is really looking forward to the 2013 Danone Nations Cup tournament. “This is an important tournament in our school calendar,” he said. “Last year we worked very hard and I am very happy that the hard work put in by the players eventually paid off. The same is expected from this year’s players. “

The team trains every day and Louw says they are fortunate to have training equipment so there is no excuse not to take part.

“Reaching the National finals is always a big achievement for me,” Louw said. “I always make sure that we participate in the tournament, not to put pressure on the boys to win but for them to enjoy it, to have the experience and meet with other boys their age. However, the tournament is about believing in their dreams and if they can win the National title that would be a dream come true for them.

“The World Finals are the ultimate goal of this tournament and every school would love to represent South Africa at that international level. It takes hard work, discipline and determination to achieve that. I am confident my boys can do it”.

Lowellen Appies, coach of Teske Memorial Primary School, situated in the heart of the Central Karoo, in Beaufort-West, says that, although the school has not reached the Provincial finals before, he is confident that they can do better this year.

 

The school was established in 1953, so it celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year and Appies would like the under-12 team to celebrate this with a bigger achievement.

 

“Our aim is to proceed to the Western Cape Finals and represent the province in the National Finals in June,” Appies said. “We have been training three times a week in preparation for the cluster games. I had to replace seven players from last year’s team, so hopefully the remaining four will help me motivate the team.

“If Teske qualifies for the Danone Cup World Finals it would be a wonderful opportunity for the players, the school, Central Karoo, Western Cape and the country. This would open a door for our players to be seen by the world and by professional football clubs. It would be an example of how sport can change lives.  At Teske Memorial Primary we believe that football is not just to kick a ball around but we teach norms and values through football. What a privilege it would be if my team could proceed to the finals.”

Teske sees his captain, Joze Van Rheenen as a key player. He was part of the team last year and is a much disciplined player and a good attacking midfielder.

Bentley Wyn, a striker, was also part of last year’s team. His pace and an eye for goals make him exceptional and he will also be a key player for the team this year.

The fixtures for the Beaufort West Cluster competition are:

 

 

Week 1  (Wednesday 27.02.2013 )

Time	Home Team	vs	Away Team	Venue
15H30	AHB	vs	TESKE	Rustdene
16H00	RESTVALE	vs	HM DLIKIDLA	Nelspoort
16H00	B/WEST PRIM	vs	ST.MATHEWS	Rustdene
16H00	MURRAYSBURGH PR.	vs	JOHN D CRAWFORD	Murraysbug
16h30	DESTINY	vs	NIKO BRUMMER*	Rustdene

 

 

Week 2  ( Wednesday 06.03.2013 )

Time	Home Team	vs	Away Team	Venue
15H30	DESTINY	vs	B/WEST PRIM	Rustdene
16H00	RESTVALE	vs	AHB	Nelspoort
16H00	ST.MATHEWS	vs	JOHN D CRAWFORD	Rustdene
16H00	MURRAYSBURGH PR.	vs	NIKO BRUMMER*	Murraysburg
16h30	TESKE	vs	HM DLIKIDLA	Rustdene

 

Week 3  ( Wednesday 13.03.2013 )

Time	Home Team	vs	Away Team	Venue
15H30	DESTINY	vs	TESKE	Rustdene
16H00	RESTVALE	vs	B/WEST PRIM	Nelspoort
16H00	AHB	vs	HM DLIKIDLA	Rustdene
16H00	MURRAYSBURGH PR.	vs	ST.MATHEWS	Murraysburg
16h30	JOHN D CRAWFORD	vs	NIKO BRUMMER*	Rustdene

 

 

About Danone

Danone Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the world.  Danone is present in over 120 countries across all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

RONDEBOSCH WIN COCA-COLA T20 SCHOOLS CHALLENGE

Rondebosch Boys' High School are the 2013 Coca-Cola T20 Schools Challenge champions.  They beat Waterkloof by 10 runs in the final at Newlands on Sunday to take home the  R110 000 in prize money and the title of top school in the country in the twenty over format.

Six schools, representing the Cricket South Africa franchises have been in action in Stellenbosch over the past three days, with Rondebosch (Cobras) and Waterkloof (Titans) topping the coastal and inland pools, respectively, to advance to the final.

All the schools involved - the others being St Stithians (Lions), Westville (Dolphins), St Andrew's (Knights) and Framesby (Warriors) - earned        R66 000 in prize money for reaching this stage of the competition.  Winnings are to be spent on cricket facilities and equipment at their schools.

The final was a low-scoring affair as the big Newlands outfield made for fewer runs than  were scored on the smaller Maties grounds in the earlier stages.

Rondebosch batted first and could only get 112/8 in their 20 overs. Zubayr Hamza was their top scorer, with 50.

It looked well short of a winning total, but the Rondebsoch bowlers rose to the occasion. Dayyan Galiem was outstanding, taking 3/15 in his four overs, and the rest of the attack assisted in keeping Waterkloof's run-rate down.

The Pretoria side lost wickets at regular intervals and as the pressure mounted they started going for big hits that were never on. This led to them losing their last four wickets for just 10 runs and they ended up all out, 10 runs short of the target with one over to go.

The man of the match in the final was Zubayr Hanza for his 50 runs off 43 balls, while the player of the series award went to Matthew Christensen, also of Rondebosch, who was the top runs-scorer at the event, making 232 runs in the five games he played.

“Words fail me.  It was a great team effort.  We have worked hard and winning this tournament was the cherry on the top,” said 16 year old Christensen, who is hoping his performance will get him into the Western Province team that will compete in the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week taking place in December 2013.

Scores

Rondebosch 112/8 (Commins 20, Hamza 20; Pretorius 2/20, Vorstman 2/20, Grobbelaaar 2/17). Waterkloof 102 all out  (Van Rensburg 26, Rossuw 13, Vorstman 24; Galiem 3/15, Sader 2/21, Skovaard-Petersen 2/19, Stevens 2/27). Rondebosch won by 10 runs.  

 

RONDEBOSCH TO PLAY WATERKLOOF IN COCA-COLA T20 SCHOOLS CHALLENGE FINAL

Hoërskool Waterkloof will meet Rondebosch Boys’ High School in the final of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge at Newlands on Sunday (starting at 11.45am).

The two teams, representing the Titans and Cobras franchises, respectively, beat St Stithians (Lions) and Framesby (Warriors) in their final outings in the round-robin phase of the competition in Stellenbosch on Saturday afternoon to progress to the final.

Waterkloof lost once in the competition – to Dolphins representatives Westville Boys’ High - while Rondebosch were beaten by The Knights representatives, St Andrew’s, on the first day. That meant that Rondebosch ended up on the same number of points as Westville, but they went through to the final by virtue of winning the pool game between the two.

Waterkloof were too strong for St Stithians in their last pool game. They restricted the Joburg side to 124/9 in their 20 overs, with Henco Vorstman again getting among the wickets, taking 3/26 in his four overs.

For once the Saints run machine, Ryan Rickelton failed to fire and Marques Ackerman was their top run-scorer with 28.

Waterkloof then chased the target down for the loss of five wickets, although they were put under the pressure in the end and they got the winning runs with just one over to spare. Waterkloof’s Wynand Grobbelaar was named man of the match for taking 2/14 in his four overs.

Rondebosch, batting first against Framesby, made 134/4, with Matthew Christensen getting 46 – his fourth big score of the weekend, which earned him the man of the match award.

Framesby were then restricted to 100/9, thanks mainly to some fine bowling by Kay Skovaard-Petersen, who took 3/6 in his four overs.

Christenen said he is delighted his side is in the final. “When we first started the tournament we gave away too many extras and the ball was going all over the place, but we settled down and did our best.

“We had home ground advantage, but we didn’t get arrogant and we went into the last game knowing our rival was Westville as we both had a chance to go to the final. We kept our focus on the game in progress against Framesby, however, and kept our heads level and we came through in the end.”

Westville needed a bonus point win against St Andrew’s to make it into the final, and although they won quite comfortably they did not do enough. St Andrew’s made 144/3, with Jacobus Pienaar top-scoring on 64. Westville reached the target in the 19^th over, for the loss of six wickets. Louis Snyman smashed 37 runs off 17 balls to earn him the man of the match award.

Snyman said his team had a fantastic tournament. “We won three of our four games which is good. We did much better than last year so we are going home happy,” he said.

“The Coca-Cola T20 Schools national finals is good for us as it gives the school great exposure. It was an honour wearing our Dolphins gear but it didn’t put us under pressure. We played for the team and we all gave it our all.”

Scores

St Andrew’s 144/3 (Pienaar 64, Du Plessis 47; Rugbar 2/20). Westville 146/6 (Pentz 32, Schlemmer 32, Snyman 37; Rous 2/26). Westville won by four wickets.

Rondebosch 134/4 (Christensen 46, Van der Berg 24, Hamza 20; Tait 2/29). Framesby 100/9 (Swanepoel 22, Tait 24; Galiem 2/11, Skovan-Petersen 3/6, Dawood 3/18). Rondebosch won by 34 runs,

St Stithians 124/9 (Ackerman 28, Rabada 18; Vorstman 3/26, Van Rensburg 2/52, Grobbelaar 2/14). Waterkloof 127/5 (Strauss 22, Rossouw 32; Glover 2/21). Waterkloof won by four wickets.

Cape Cobras represented by Rondebosch Boy High School celebrate after beating Highveld Lions represented by St Stithians College

Johannes Malan of the Titans represented by Hoerskool Waterkloof gets under the ball to take the catch and get Luke Stanger of the Highveld Lions

Matthew Christensen - Cape Cobras represented by Rondebosch Boy High School during the match between the Highveld Lions and Cape Cobras

 

HOËRSKOOL WATERKLOOF IN THE COCA-COLA T20 SCHOOLS CHALLENGE FINAL!

Hoërskool Waterkloof, representing the Titans franchise, booked their spot for Sunday’s final at the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge by beating Knights representatives, St Andrew’s of Bloemfontein, by nine wickets on Saturday morning.

They earned a bonus point in the process, their second of the tournament, which means they now have six points and cannot be passed in the Inland group of the competition.

The Coastal section is still open, with Rondebosch (Cobras) and Westville Boys’ High (Dolphins) still in the running.

Rondebosch beat Lions representatives, St Stithians, on Saturday morning, while Westville beat Framesby (Warriors) by 58 runs. That win gave Westville a bonus point, while Rondebosch earned an extra point when they beat Westville comfortably in their first outing.

So, the two schools are level pegging going into Saturday’s second games and should they earn equal points there, Rondebosch will go through by virtue of winning the game between the two.

St Stithians made a bright start against Rondebosch, getting to 71 before they lost their first wicket. Ryan Rickleton was again in devastating form, smashing 56 off 31 balls. Saints lost their way after he was run out, however, and they could only get to 152/7 in their 20 overs.

It was never going to be enough and Rondebosch reached the target with four balls to spare. Hayes Van der Berg was 68 not out, which earned him the man of the match award, and Matt Christensen was 64 not out in the end.

Van der Berg said afterwards that the tournament has been a great opportunity for him and his team mates to showcase their talents.

“I hope my school gets to the final as we want to get the title of the best school in the country,” he said. “I also want to get to the final so that we can play in front of millions of people as the game will be televised.”

Van der Berg says the game against St Stithians was extremely close. “We got to the target with one wicket standing and three balls to go so it was a bit tight.”

His goal is to get into the Coca-Cola South African under-19 team and play in the World Cup in 2014.Before that, he has to pass matric “I want to take a gap year and play overseas and then come back and start studying sports psychology or physiotherapy,” he said.

Westville posted 160/7 in their 20 overs, with Louis Snyman top-scoring with 39. They then bowled Framesby out in the final over for 102. Framesby’s Ernst Stapelberg was named the man of the match for his 29 runs and 2/15 with the ball.

Waterkloof, the 2011 champions in the Coca-Cola Schools T20, are looking like a good bet to become the first school to win it twice. They demolished St Andrew’s in Saturday’s early round of games. St Andrew’s were 103/9 in their 20 overs, with Waterkloof’s Henco Vorstman taking his second four wicket week of the weekend – 4/20 – to earn the man of the match award.

Waterkloof had little trouble in reaching the target with just one wikcet down and 43 balls to spare. Janneman Malan (49 not out) and Michael Strauss (43 not out), were still there in the end.

Vorstman gave the credit for his bowling achievements to his team mates. “I would not have been able to have performed for the two days in a row without them,” he said.

“The wind came up a bit on Friday morning and I am not used to playing in the wind so, while it cooled us down, it made my game difficult.

“We didn’t do well against Westville yesterday, but that is the way the game goes and today we are definitely playing better. This tournament is giving us a lot of exposure which is fantastic for us. There is no easy game as all teams are good.

“What also helped us is the fantastic support we have got from the teachers and parents that came all the way to Stellenbosch to follow up. We are going to stick to the game plan in our final pool game against St Stithians this afternoon.

Scores

St Stithians 152/7 (Ellis-Cole 28, Rickleton 56, Ackerman 25, Campher 21; Stevens 3/28). Rondebosch 154/1(Christensen 64 not out, Van der Berg 68 not out). Rondebosch won by nine wickets.

Westville 160/7 (Kerr 25, Whitelaw 29, Schlemmer 21, Snyman 39; Du Preez 2/26, Stapelberg 2/15). Framesby 102/10 (Stapelberg 29; Smit 2/19, Rugbar 2/29, Goedon 2/23). Westville won by 58 runs.

St Andrew’s 103/9 (Du Plessis 25, Vorstman 4/20, Ludick 2/9, Grobbelaar 2/15). Waterkloof 105/1 (Malan 49 not out, Strauss 43 not out). Waterkloof won by nine wickets.

Saturday afternoon matches – Waterkloof v St Stithians, Rondebosch v Framesby, Westville v St Andrew’s.

DAY ONE OF THE COCA-COLA T20 SCHOOLS FINISHES WITHOUT AN UNBEATEN TEAM

The second round of matches at the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge finals in Stellenbosch on Friday afternoon produced some thrilling finishes, and three results that did not go quite to expectations.

There were wins for Westville, Framesby and St Andrew’s – all sides that had lost their opening games in the morning, which means that every team has now won one and lost one, going into round three on Saturday morning and the competition is wide open.

The six schools in Stellenbosch this weekend have come through to the national finals weekend by virtue of winning their provincial Coca-Cola T20 knockout competitions, in the first instance, and then beating the other provincial champions in each of their franchises.

The six are: St Stithians (Lions), Westville (Dolphins), St Andrew’s (Knights), Rondebosch (Cobras), Waterkloof (Titans), Framesby (Warriors),

The game between Waterkloof and Westville was a thriller. Waterkloof batted first and made 144/8 in their 20 overs. They had looked like the side to beat, based on their morning performance against Framesby, and that total looked like more than enough.

Westville set about chasing it with meaning, however, and although they lost wickets regularly throughout they managed to scramble two runs off the last ball to tie the scores. They had also lost two wickets, which made it a tie and the game went to a Super over. Waterkloof batted first and made eight runs, which was equalled by Waterkloof, again off the final ball. So, according to the tournament rules, it went to the number of boundaries scored, and Westville won the match on that basis.

St Stithians posted 166/5 in their 20 overs against Framesby, thanks mainly to 84 off 54 balls (seven sixes and two fours) by Ryan Rickleton and that looked like a winning total. The Framesby batsmen thought otherwise, however, and they went for it from the start. Anu Emiljo and Tiaan Potgieter showed little respect for the Saints attack and Emiljo saw them through, getting 76 not out in the end. Potgieter weighed in with a quickfire 39.

St Andrew’s have been a surprise package at this tournament. After very nearly beating St Stithians in their opening game they shocked Rondebosch – the biggest winners in the opening round – in their second outing.

St Andrew’s made 118/5 in their innings, which didn’t seem nearly enough, but they then bowled Rondebosch out for 101. Their SA under-19 player, Sine Ntshona made a big all-round contribution, making 41 with the bat and then taking 3/25 with the ball.

Scores

St Stithians 166/5 (Rickelton 84, Campher 34; Robberts 2/21, Du Preez 2/27). Framesby 168/2 (Emiljo 76 not out, Potgieter 39). Framesby won by eight wickets

Waterkloof 144/8 (Jones 36, Van Rensburg 25; Smit 2/21, Gordon 2/25, Van Staden 2/10). Westville 144/8 (Kerr 52, Pentz 32, Snyman 21; Smit 2/28, Gordon 2/25, Rugbar 2/10). Match tied, Westville won on boundaries countback.

St Andrew’s 118/5 (Pienaar 30, Ntshona 41). Rondebosch 101 (Christensen 35, Hamza 22; Whitehead 4/15, Ntshona 3/25).St Andrew’s won by 17 runs.

Saturday’s fixtures

Morning – St Stithians v Rondebosch, St Andrew’s v Waterkloof, Framesby v Westville.

Afternoon – Waterkloof v St Stithians, Rondebosch v Framesby, St Andrew’s v Westville.

NATIONAL FINALS OF THE COCA-COLA T20 SCHOOLS CHALLENGE STARTS IN STELLENBOSCH

The Coca-Cola T20 Schools Challenge national finals got under way at Stellenbosch on Friday morning with wins for the representatives of the Titans (Waterkloof) over the Warriors representatives, Framesby, the Lions (St Stithians), over the Knights representatives, St Andrew’s of Bloemfontien and the Cobras (Rondebosch) over Dolphins champions, Westville Boys’ High.

The six schools in Stellenbosch this weekend have come through to the national finals weekend by virtue of winning their provincial Coca-Cola T20 knockout competitions, in the first instance, and then beating the other provincial champions in each of their franchises.

St Stithians scraped home by one wicket in a low-scoring thriller against St Andrew’s. St Andrew’s were put in and bowled out for 75, thanks to a great opening spell by man of the match Luke Stanger, who took 4/26 in his four overs.

St Stithians then made heavy weather of chasing the small total. They eventually got it with three balls to spare, and only one wicket still standing.

The Joburg batsmen had no answer for the guile of the St Andrew’s spin bowlers. Sine Ntshona was outstanding. The resultant pressure on the batsmen led to three run outs and only Angus Ellis-Cole (16) made any impact with the bat.

Stanger said afterwards that he was happy to take the 4 quick wickets. “I opened the bowling and we were able to get them out quickly,” he said.

“It appeared to be an easy target to get, and that is where I think we went wrong, we were too confident and went in to bat thinking we had it in the bag.

“I went into bat at the end and ended on 7 not out. I am happy with this as I scored more than some that are higher in the batting order. I did have to control myself though. They were bowling nice and full and it was tempting to hit out.”

It was a lot easier for Rondebosch, who beat Westville by 58 runs. The Cape Town side got 144/4 in their 20 overs, with Matthew Christensen 73 not out and Muzammi Sheik 28 not out.

They then bowled out Westville for 86. Nicholas Pentz top-scored on 26. The bowlers shared the wickets between them with four getting two each.

Waterkloof made the biggest score of the day – 153/2 – against Framesby. Janneman Malan was 81 not out at the end and Danie Rossouw 40 not out.

They then had Framesby 108/7 at the end of their 20 overs. Theo Stapelberg made 44 for Framesby and Waterkloof’s Henco Vorstman took 4/26 in his four overs.

Scores

Rondebosch 144/4 (Anderson 73 not out, Hamza 24, Sheik 28 not out; Rugbar 2/21). Westville 86 (Kerr 21, Pentz 26; Galiem 2/16, Petersen 2/23, Stevens 2/11, Klein 2/11). Rondebosch won by 58 runs.

St Andrew’s 75 (Pienaar 17; Stanger 4/22, Landsberg 2/6). St Stithians 76/9 (Ellis-Cole 16; Heilbron 2/12, Whitehead 2/13, Ntshona 2/16). St Stithians won by one wicket.

Waterkloof 153/2 (Malan 81 not out, Rossouw 40 not out; Stapelberg 1/14). Framesby 108/7 (Stapelberg 44; Vorstman 4/26). Waterkloof won by 45 runs.

Friday afternoon’s games: Waterkloof v Westville, St Stithians v Framesby, Rondebosch v St Andrew’s.

Alexander Whitelaw from Westville during day 1 of the Coca-Cola Schools T20

Theo Stapelberg during day 1 of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge finals

Johannes Malan from Waterkloof during day 1 of the Coca-Cola Schools

Jason Oakes Westville during day 1 of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge finals

Kagiso Rabada from St Stithians during day 1 of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge

Tiaan Potgieter from Framesby batting and Ryan Rickleton keeping during day 1 of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge