Titans win the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge

Titans representatives in the Coca-Cola Schools T20 national finals, Hoërskool Menlo Park,  walked off with the trophy after defeating Hilton College of the Dolphins in the final at Stellenbosch on Sunday afternoon.

Menlo Park batted first and set a target of 125 in their 20 overs, with Thinus Viljoen (62) and Dean Foxcroft (40) doing most of the damage.

Roarke Lauryssen was the pick of the Hilton bowlers, taking 3/31.

Hilton’s reply ended agonisingly close, They needed seven runs off the last over, but could only get five, giving Menlo Park their second title in the competition. Angus Curtis made 52 for them, and Julian Yeats 34.

Menlo Park earned their place in the final by beating Grey College in their final pool game on Sunday morning. The two teams were joint log leaders going into the game, having lost just once each in their earlier games. They beat Grey by six runs in an exciting encounter, eliminating the Knights representatives, who earlier on, had looked like tournament favourites.

Hilton had to beat St Andrew’s College, the Warriors representatives,  in their final league encounter to advance to the final, and they did so quite comfortably, winning by three wickets with four balls to spare.

In the other game of the day, the Cobras representatives, Paarl Boys’ High, beat Potchefstroom Volkskool of the Lions, consigning them to the wooden spoon position.

Scoreboards

Sunday Morning

St Andrew’s 94/5 (Benjamin 37 not out; Bosch 2/22). Hilton 98/7 (Yeats 26, Bosch 18 not out; Taylor 3/17). Hilton won by 3 wickets.

Menlo Park 114/6 (Foxcroft 24, Erasmus 30, Britz 24; De Klerk 2/28). Grey College 108/4 (Victor 29, Van Tonder 28, Durrow 28; Britz 2/26. Menlo Park won by 6 runs.

Potchefstroom Volkskool 132/6 (Von Abo 25, Louw 33, Van Schalkwyk 30; Pretorius 2/17, Thain 3/26). Paarl Boys’ High 137/5 (Kotze 42, Wubberling 38; Crowther 3/28). Paarl Boys’ Hugh win by 5 wickets.

Final

Menlo Park 124/4 (Viljoen 62, Foxcroft 40; Lauryssen 3/31). Hilton 122/5 (Curtis 52, Yeats 34; Du Prrez 2/22). Menlo Park won by 2 runs.

Final positions:

1^st – Titans (Menlo Park)

2^nd – Dolphins (Hilton College)

3^rd – Knights (Grey College)

4^th – Warriors (St Andrews)

5^th – Cobras (Paarl Boys High)

6^th – Lions (Hoer Volkskool Potchefstroom)

Player of the tournament - Dean Foxcroft (Titans)

Man of the match in the final - Dean Foxcroft (Titans)

Hero of the day for day 3 - Dean Foxcroft (Titans) for his fielding in the final and semi-final

Gauteng Primary School, who were runners-up in the 2014 Danone Nations Cup, are hoping to win this time around

Gauteng’s Farrarmere Primary School were runners-up in the national finals of the under-12 Danone Nations Cup tournament last year and they have already got their entry for this year’s competition in, hoping to go one step further this time around.

And the man they are hoping will take them all the way to the world finals this time around is new coach, Moeketsi “Pride” Moorosi, who started training sessions with the team this week.

Moorosi is well qualified for the job. He played for Orlando Pirates reserves and decided to branch out get into coaching.  In 1993 he coached part time going into it on a full time basis in 2004.

Players he boasts to have coached include: Jabulani Mendu, who has now retired but who played for Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns, Musa Bilankulu(Bidvest Wits) and Lorenzo Gordinho (Kaizer Chiefs).

In 2011 he went to Holland and was awarded the KNVB coaching certificate. He says he uses the KNVB approach in his coaching which is based on developing the minds of the player and teaching skills though repetition.

“Coaching is the same as teaching in the classroom,” he said. “Repetition is key, especially at this age when good habits need to be taught. Players improve their game by continuously repeating what you teach them during training sessions and even in a game.”

Moorosi does not believe in trends and fashions in soccer. “I do what works for me and my team. At the end of the day it’s all about what my team is comfortable with,” he said.

His plan is to bring excitement and fun to the players with his coaching. “I don’t want to put pressure on the team,” he said. “Of course we would like to win, but at this age it is about having fun and developing a love for the game. It’s also about building experience and confidence.”

The coach believes Farramere’s experience at last year’s Danone Nations Cup national finals was valuable. “Getting to the national finals the first year the school entered the tournament was a great achievement and has got the whole school excited about soccer and they are behind the team this year.”

Moorosi is grateful to the sponsors. “When you have companies like Danone sponsoring a tournament you have no choice but to be inspired.  They encourage kids to believe in their dreams and also keep healthy and active. We also have Mille who give us our kit which most schools cannot afford to purchase themselves and Nikon who take pictures to create memories our kids will never forget.”

“All we are waiting for now is for the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA) to schedule the fixtures for our district,” said Moorosi, who one day would like to coach beloved Orlando Pirates.

Schools have until 27 February to enter.  To get the entry form contact Themba Tshabalala at SASFA: themba.tshabalala@safa.net or on 011 567 2010.  Schools can also download the registration form on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DNCSouthAfrica.

There is everything to play for in the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge

Interviews, footage and transcripts can be found on http://www.csamedia.co.za/coca-cola-schools-t20.html

There’s still everything to play for four of the six franchise teams playing on the final day of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 national tournament in Stellenbosch on Sunday, with the race for places in the final on Sunday afternoon still wide open.

Going into the final round of pool games on Sunday morning, Grey College, representing the Knights, and Menlo Park of the Titans are joint log leaders on 13 points, with Hilton College (Dolphins) lying third on 10 and St Andrew’s of the Warriors fourth on nine.

Grey and Menlo Park meet in their final league game on Sunday morning, with the winner there booking their place in the final later in the day.

There are some interesting permutations as far as the other final slot is concerned. Hilton and St Andrew’s meet in the morning and, depending on bonus points earned in that game, either of them could still go through ahead of the loser of the Grey v Menlo Park game.

The second day’s play on Saturday was cold and blustery, and characterised by low-scoring matches.

There were some upsets too – Lions representative, Potchefstroom Volkskool became the first side to lower the colours of high-riding Grey College, in the morning while St Andrew’s successfully defended a total of just 89 against Paarl Boys’ High (Cobras).

In the afternoon matches, Hilton bounced back from a heavy defeat to Menlo Park earlier on to beat Paarl Boys’ High, and Grey College, after being restricted to just 100 by St Andrew’s , proceeded to bowl them out for 84 to stake their claim for a final spot.

Sunday’s morning’s other game, between Potch Volkskool and Paarl Boys’ High, will determine who the wooden spoonists are.

Sunday’s fixtures are: Titans v Knights, Dolphins v Warriors, Lions v Cobras.

Summarised scores

Saturday Morning

Titans (Menlo Park) 162/4 (Mmako 44, Snyman 62, Erasmus 20; Yeats 2/18).Dolphins (Hilton) 134/8 (Curtis 26, Jewels 24, Morris 36; Erasmus 2/25, Viljoen 3/16). Menlo Park won by 28 runs.

Lions (Potchefstroom Volkskool) 130/5 (Von Abo 31, Dreyer 25; Van Schlakwyk 44, Swanepoel 2/18). Grey College (Knights) 126/6 (Crowther 3/27). Potchefstroom won by four runs.

St Andrew’s (Warriors) 89/8 (Lane 18, Benjamin28; Pretorius 3/16). Paarl Boys’ High (Cobras) 85 (Kotze 24; Norval 2/24, Feguson 2/1, Quarnby 3/10). St Andrew’s won by four runs.

Saturday Afternoon

Menlo Park 112.7 (Viljoen 30, Foxcroft 47; Van Schalkwyk 4/26; Louw 2/10, Crowther 2/12). Potchefstroom Volkskool 104/7 (Louw 45, Crowther 23; Britz 2/15, Viljoen 2/19).Menlo Park won by 13 runs.

Grey College 100/7 (Potgieter 27, Van Tonder 33; Norval 4/15). St Andrew’s 84 (Phillips 34; Visser 2/5, Nel 2/21; Durrow 3/21). Grey won by 16 runs.

Hilton 157/8 (Morris 38, Dahl 30, Bosch 28; Grobler 4/34). Paarl Boys’ High 123/9 (Van Lingen 53; Lauryssen 4/27, Bosch 3/21, Dahl 2/11). Hilton won by 34 runs.

Coca-Cola Hero of the day for day 2 of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge

Today’s Coca-Cola hero of the day is David Crowther from the Lions (Hoer Volkskool Potchefstroom) after his figures 3 for 27 against the Knights (Grey College).

Grey College looked like the team to beat in the tournament after finishing day 1 as the only unbeaten team, at the same time Hoer Volkskool Potchefstroom looked like the whipping boys as they were totally outplayed on day 1, so when the teams had to play each other in the morning on day 2, Grey college was expected to easily beat Volkies.

Volkies won the toss and decided to bat first and setup a decent total of 130 for 5 wickets thanks to 44 from Louis van Schalkwyk and 31 from Ruan von Abo but it still looked as if the team was about 20 runs short of a defendable total. This is where David came into his own. He shared the new ball with van Schalkwyk and they both bowled fantastically well but David shone by taking the wicket of Christopher Schreuder early on in Grey’s innings and then coming back at the end of the innings to bowl economically when the chase was on and taking the wickets of Neil Durrow and Dylan Francis to stop Grey from winning the game.

His effort helped his team win an unlikely game and show the rest of the teams that they are deserved finalists and they are able to beat giants in South African school cricket.

Interviews, footage and transcripts can be found on http://www.csamedia.co.za/coca-cola-schools-t20.html

Grey College is the only unbeaten team at the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge

Interviews, footage and transcripts can be found on http://www.csamedia.co.za/coca-cola-schools-t20.html

Grey College dominated day one of the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Challenge, that kicked off at the University of Stellenbosch on Friday the 20^th February, by being the only unbeaten team on the day.

In a tournament like this there is no team that is historically dominant and that can expect to be the favourites so day one of the tournament is always a day in which the teams look to discovery who are the most powerful teams that they will come against. Hilton College and Paarl Boys High might think that they are unlucky because they took on a very powerful Grey College on the first day of the tournament but some would say that they are lucky due to the fact that they got their most difficult game out of the way and now they can play more freely.

Grey College took on Hilton College in their morning game and Grey came out all guns blazing. Wihan Victor took on the Hilton bowlers and hit a magnificent 114 in 51 balls before he was bowled by Krogg. His wicket was a little too late because the damage had already been done. Grey eventually finished on 195/3 which proved to be the highest score of the day’s play. Hilton decided that they would chase the score from the first ball and it did not prove to be the best decision. They lost wickets recklessly chasing the huge score. Eventually Grey managed to bowl them out for 79 runs. Philip Visser was Grey’s best bowler taking 4/13. It is important to know that it was Hilton’s first loss this season in any format of the game.

Volkskool Potchefstroom, the surprise Lions representative, took on St Andrews College from Grahamstown on the main field with a lot of spectators watching the game. Unfortunately Volkies were outplayed from the first ball and lost wickets at regular intervals. They did not even manage to bat for their full 20 overs eventually being bowled out for 84 in 18.5 overs, Thomas Lane was St Andrews best bowler taking 3/11. ST Andrews were never tested when they chased down the total and easily knocked off the runs in 15.4 overs.

The last morning game was between Paarl Boys High and Menlopark Hoerskool. Paarl are the local team and they came to the tournament with a lot of local supporters who did not leave disappointed. Paarl Boys hit 144 runs for four wickets with their keeper Justin Wubbeling hitting 95 not out off 64 balls. Thanks to some good fielding and accurate bowling Menlopark were not able to chase down the score. They only managed to hit 89 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. All of the Paarl bowlers contributed in a great team effort.

Coming into the afternoon games it looked like Paarl Boys High, St Andrews and Grey College were the teams to beat however Grey College and Paarl Boys high were scheduled to play against each other in a potential preview to Sunday’s final.

Once again Grey College batted first and this time did not find the game as easy as their first game. Wihan Victor only hit 28 off 22 balls so they had to rely on this middle order to setup a defendable total and they were not disappointed. Raynard van Tonder rose to the occasion and hit 55 runs to help Grey score 150/5 in this 20 overs. Paarl Boys High were in the game until the last over of the match however 151 to win was just too much for them and they fell 12 runs short. They managed to score 138 for 7 thanks to a quick 56 from Tiaan du Plessis, Charl Swanepoel took 3 for 24 for Grey college.

Hilton College bounced back from a bad loss to Grey College by beating Volkskool Potchefstroom by 56 runs. They batted well posting 175 for 3 with Curtis (47), Jewels (46) and Morris (52*) scoring the majority of the runs. Hilton proved that they were a far better batting line up than what they showed when they played Grey College in their first game. Volkskool Potchefstroom tried hard to chase down the Hilton total but were their worst enemies losing 5 wickets to run outs. Hilton’s fielding improved a lot from their first game and created a lot of pressure in the field.

St Andrews wanted to join Grey College as the only unbeaten teams on day one and got off to a good start against Menlopark. Menlopark batted first and were skittled for 109 runs in 15.3 overs with all of the St Andrews bowlers taking wickets. St Andrews must have thought that they had the game in the bag but Menlopark were not going to give up and they came all out at St Andrews. St Andrews had no response to Menlopark’s bowlers and before long they were 54 all out. Dalen Mmako took 3 wickets for 7 runs, Thinus Viljoen took 3 wickets for 16 and up front Willem Britz took 2 wickets for 5 runs in 4 overs. 

Morning results

Grey College 195/3 (Victor 114) Hilton College 79 all out (Visser 4/13)

Grey won by 116 runs

Volkskool Potchefstroom 84 all out (Lane 3/11) St Andrews Grahamstown 85/1 (Lane 33)

St Andrews won by 9 wickets

Paarl Boys High School 144/4 (Wubbeling 95*) Menlopark 89/8 (Cilliers 2/15)

Paarl won by 55 runs

Afternoon Results

Hilton College 175/3 (Morris 52*, Curtis 47, Jewels 46) Volkskool Potchefstroom 119 all out (5 run outs)
Hilton won by 56 runs

Grey College 150/5 (van Tonder 55) Paarl Boys High 138/7 (du Plessis 56, Swanepoel 3/24)

Grey won by 12 runs

Menlopark 104/9 St Andrews 54 all out (Mmako 3/7, Viljoen 3/16, Britz 2/5)

Menlopark won by 50 runs

Day 2 fixtures

21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Lions	Knights	Coetzenburg
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Titans	Dolphins	Tassies
21-Feb	Saturday	9:30 - 12:30	Cobras	Warriors	Maties 3
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Dolphins	Cobras	Coetzenburg
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Knights	Warriors	Tassies
21-Feb	Saturday	14:00 - 17:00	Lions	Titans	Maties 3