Three Sides Remain Unbeaten on Day 1 of the Cricket South Africa Schools T20 Challenge

The 11^th CSA Schools T20 Challenge national finals tournament got under way at the LC De Villers complex at the University of Pretoria on Friday.

Eight schools, representing the six CSA franchises, along with the winners of a parallel process involving the CSA Focus Schools programmes in the inland and coastal regions, have been divided into two pools. They play three pool games, followed by two cross-pool games, after which the two teams with the most points will meet in the final on Sunday afternoon.

At the end of the first day three sides, the defending champions St Stithians, Waterkloof and SACS had won two games out of two. St Stithians beat Queens and St Andrew’s; Waterkloof defeated St Andrew’s and Queens; and SACS beat Grey High and Graeme College.

There is a lot of cricket still to be played, but those three did look like the form sides on day one. Saturday morning’s clash between St Stithians and Waterkloof is going to be decisive in pool A, while SACS take on Kearsney in what could be the Pool B decider.

As far as individual performances are concerned, there were two half centuries scored. SW Kemp of Waterkloof made 59 against Queens and Jody de Sousa got 58 for St Stithians against St Andrew’s. Joshua Voight was 45 not out for Grey High against Kearsney

Kemp was also one of those who shone with the ball. He took 3/14 against St Andrew’s in the morning. Two other bowlers took three wickets each. Liam McCarthy took 3/5 for St Stithians against Queens and Kyle Welman took 3/17 for Waterkloof against St Andrew’s.

Man of the Match

Morning Games

St Stithians (Lions) - Liam McCarthy (3/5), Waterkloof (Titans) - Simeon de Bruyn (39 off 27 and 1/25), Kearsney (Dolphins) - Matthew McMurray (2/19), SACS (Cobras) - Nathan Ansell (3/18)

Afternoon Games

St Stithians (Lions) - Jodi de Sousa (58), Waterkloof (Titans) SW - Kemp (44 and 3/27), Graeme College (Coastal Focus School) - Aphiwe Mnyanda (3/25), Grey High (Warriors) - Joshua Voight (45 off 22 balls).

Summarised Scores

Morning Games

St Stithians (Lions) 85/4 (Reuben du Toit 22, Nhlanhla Ntleko 2/26) Queens High School (Inland Focus School) 84 (Nhlanhla Ntleko 33; Liam McCarthy 3/6, Reuben van Tonder 2/4) St Stithians won by 6 wickets.

Waterkloof (Titans) 124/7 (Simeon de Bruyn 37 not out; Jayden Davids 2/22, Matthew Davids 2/36, Tristan Wylie 2/34) St Andrew’s (Knights) 98/8 (JD Bruwer 40, SW Kemp 3/14, Kyle Welman 3/17) Waterkloof won by 26 runs.

Kearsney (Dolphins) 112/3 (Louis Nel 30, Jean-Luc Talbot 29 (not out). Graeme College (Coastal Focus School) 111/7 (Ryan Bush 45; Matthew McMurray 2/19, Dean Gibbs 2/20) Kearsney won by 7 wickets.

SACS (Cobras) 136/7 (Kai Curran 47, La'eeq Cooper 24; Elish Thorne 2/31) Grey High (Warriors) 79 (Jade Smith 24; Nathan Ansell 3/8, Oscar Welsh 2/13) SACS won by 57 runs.

Afternoon Games

St Stithians 143/3 (Ruben du Toit 38, Jody de Sousa 58). St Andrew’s 87 (Tristan Wylie 22; Tandua Chanaikra 3/16). St Stithians won by 56 runs.

SACS 138/9 (Michael Levitt 37, Nathan Ansell 29). Graeme College 63 (Judah Banwell 2/8, Matthew Klusener 2/14). SACS won by 75 runs.

Grey High 137/8 (Joshua Voight 45 not out, Daniel Ristow 29). Kearsney College 94/7 (Rubin Rheeder 19; Nicholas Keevy 2/3). Grey High won by 43 runs.

Waterkloof 162/6 (SW Kemp 59, Zander Maree 39; Lucky Ntleko 2/26). Queens High 86/7 (Simo Potlewa 23; Simeon de Bruyn 2/9). Waterkloof won by 76 runs.

KAY MOTSEPE SCHOOLS CUP national finals to take place at the University of Free State in Bloemfontein next week

Unitas Hoërskool of Welkom will be playing in the National Finals of the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, for the third year in a row. The nationals will be played at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein from September 23^rd to 27^th October.

Their success in the tournament is directly related to their new coach, Pitso Mokoena (ex Bloemfontein Celtic and Free State Start player) said manager, Lerato Lephatsa.  “Since Pitso took over the coaching in 2017 we have won the provincial title and the R100 000 in prize money that goes with it.

In 2017 and 2018 they did not progress past the group stage in the National Finals, but they are hoping to do better this time around. The R100 000 won in 2017 was spent on sports equipment for the school and the 2018 prize went towards refurbishment of the school and new tables and chairs.

With this year’s R100 000 they would like to develop another field at the school, for their under-15 and under17 teams. That proposal must still be approved by the school governing body, however.

Lephatsa believes that drawing too many games is why they didn’t progress far in the national finals.  “We never lost a game at the national finals in the past 2 years, but we drew many of them.  I believe our team is very good and if we could just get past the group stage, I feel we could well win the tournament.  I believe we have home ground advantage which is an advantage which we need to capitalise on,” he said.

The boys were given a week off after the Provincial Finals, but it is now back to serious training with the assistance from the local SAFA Free State structures.

There’s not much time left, so the team is going to concentrate on small aspects of the game. “We will focus on scoring goals as we miss too many opportunities,” Lephatsa said. “We also need to work on the boys’ temperament. We don’t want them to get all worked up just because they are at the National Finals.”

The strength of the team is in keeping possession, said Lephatsa. “They move the ball around and look to open up space in the opposition’s defence then try to take advantage of it. That needs patience, and not trying to rush scoring opportunities.”

To qualify for the national finals Unitas played 15 matches, only losing one.

A player to look out for is Sechaba Tsoaela, striker and captain. He is a SA under-20 player who was at the All-African games in Morocco earlier this year. He played in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup in 2018, so he has a lot of experience at this level.

Central midfielder, Anela Matala is another one to watch. He also went to Morocco with the SA under-20s. He is calm and tries to support his defence and link up with his strikers.

Striker, Nkululeko Shabangu is the team’s playmaker. He is still only 17 and will play again next year. He does not score a lot of goals however he makes up for it by creating a lot of goal scoring opportunities.

Coach Pitso Mokoena has a SAFA level 3 coaching qualification and came to the school from the Harmony Sports Academy. He has added a degree of professionalism to the team, admits Lephatsa.  “The players are disciplined, polite and have pride in what they do.”

Pitso’s training regime is professional with a plan behind every training session. “The players understand the plan and work towards it. The Kay Motsepe Schools Cup It is a wonderful initiative that provides children from disadvantaged backgrounds with an opportunity to pursue their dreams and get exposed to competitive levels of football,” said Lephatsa.

The tournament is run under the auspices of the South African Football Association (SAFA) together with the Department of Basic Education (DBE).  In accordance to the rules of the tournament, provincial winners as well as runners-up from each province will compete in the national finals.

The national finals promise to be spectacular with 18 teams competing for the ultimate prize of R1million, making the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, the competition with the biggest prize money in Africa at under-19 level.  The runners-up will take home R600 000, third place and fourth place finishers get R500 000 and R400 000 respectively.  On top of this the nine Provincial winners will each receive R100 000.  The winnings are not handed over in cash but spent on legacy projects identified by the winning schools.

PROVINCIAL FINAL WINNERS TO DATE:

PROVINCE/PF VENUE	DATE	WINNERS	REGION
Western Province Gaansbaai	03-Aug-19	WINNER:  John Ramsay High School	Bishop Lavis Cape Town
Western Province Gaansbaai	03-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:  Beauford West Secondary School	Beaufort West Great Karoo Region
Eastern Cape Queenstown	10-Aug-19	WINNER:  Maria Louw Senior Secondary School (Queenstown)	Queenstown Enoch Mgijima Municipality
Eastern Cape Queenstown	10-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:   Jojo Senior Secondary	Mount Ayliff Alfred Nzo Municipality
Northern Cape Upington	17-Aug	WINNER:  Okiep HS	Okiep Springbok Municipality
Northern Cape Upington	17-Aug	RUNNER-Up:  Blinkklip HS	Posmasburg ZF Mgcawu Municipality
Limpopo Polokwane	24-Aug-19	WINNER:  Tshikota High School	Tshikota (Louis Trichardt) Vhembe Municipality
Limpopo Polokwane	24-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP: Ditlalemeso Secondary School	Mankweng (Turfloop) Capricorn District
Gauteng Nigel	31-Aug-19	WINNER:  Rosina Sedibane	Laudium, Centurion Tshwane
Gauteng Nigel	31-Aug-19	RUNNER-UP:  Clapham HS	Queenswood, Pretoria Tshwane
KZN DURBAN	7-Sept-19	WINNER:  Dr JL Dube High School	KwaMashu Emlanjeni Durban
KZN DURBAN	7-Sept-19	RUNNER-UP:  Mount Currie Senior Secondary School	Kokstad Harry Gwala District
Mpumalanga Ermelo	14-Sep	WINNER:  Khula Senior Secondary School	Standerton Gert Sibande
Mpumalanga Ermelo	14-Sep	RUNNER-UP:Siphokhule Secondary School	Piet Retief, Ngema Pixley

Rebonwe girls from Gauteng and KZN’s Muzuvukile boys will be travelling to Spain to participate in the Danone Nations Cup world finals

 

South Africa will make history later this year by sending an under-12 girls soccer team to compete in the Danone Nations Cup world finals, where they will be competing against seven other nations. And the team that will represent the country will be a group of players from an informal settlement in Ivory Park, Gauteng. They earned this opportunity by winning the Danone Nations Cup girls tournament that took place at Reiger Park, Boksburg this past weekend.

They will be accompanied by the boys from Muzuvukile Primary School of Enseleni, a rural area near Richards Bay, who won the boys national finals at the same venue.

A girls tournament was introduced for the first time this year but because most schools do not have girls-only teams, it was a pilot tournament in Gauteng only, with 40 schools participating. 

There were regional finals and 8 schools went through to a provincial playoff. The teams that reached the semifinals there were then invited to compete at the national finals.

Rebonwe met Michael Mkhwanazi Primary in the final. They had played each other earlier in the day and Michael Mkhwanazi won the closely contested match 2-1.

So, Rebonwe knew that they were in for a tough game in the final and gave it everything from the beginning. This time they were better prepared and created many scoring opportunities. They were first to score, but Michael Mkhwanazi equalised within minutes.

Rebonwe had the better of the exchanges from then on and came close to scoring right at the end of the game. It ended in a draw, however, and went to a penalty shootout which Rebonwe won, to add the national title to their provincial title.

At the same time, the nine boys provincial champions competed in the playoffs for their national title. The teams were divided into 2 groups with the teams that topped the log meeting in the final.

Muzuvukile was always going to be the team to beat based on their exceptional performance in the provincial finals. They are a very strong team and three of their players have been invited to attend trials at Mamelodi Sundowns. They won all their league games to finish top of their pool and met Group B winners Patekile from the Eastern Cape in the final match. 

Muzuvukile were the only team that won all their matches leading up to the final and the final was very much like the group stages.

They made many chances to score but the Patekile goalkeeper, Alethu Mathumbu, was outstanding, saving shot after shot. Patekile tried to take advantage of the odd counter-attack but they never really threatened the Muzuvukile goal.

With a couple of minutes left in the match, just as the spectators started to think that we would have another penalty shootout, Siyanda Masinga from Muzuvukile managed to get the ball past Alethu and give Muzuvukile the lead. They had a few more chances to add to their lead but once again Alethu was there to stop them scoring and they ran out 1-0 winners.

It’s now back to school for both the boys and girls winners to put together a plan in preparation of the world finals scheduled for Barcelona starting on 10^th October.

On the final day of the world finals – 12^th October - all the games will take place at the RCDE Stadium, home ground La Liga club, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona. 

In attendance at the national finals was Amanda Dlamini, ex captain of Banyana Banyana, who was there to encourage the girls. “I was 22 when I first travelled overseas for Banyana Banyana and I remember that experience well.  It was daunting and a bit frightening, but it opened my eyes to the limitless opportunities that exist in the world.  I matured fast and I believe these young 12 year-olds will feel the same.”

The 2018 and 2019 world finals will be held as a double header.  “Barcelona is symbolic as it was in this city in 1919 that Isaac Carasso created the first Danone yogurt with the aim of improving one’s health,” said Marlinie Kotiah, General Secretary Danone Southern Africa.  “We are combining Danone’s centenary and the 20^th edition of the world final in a bumper edition this year.  It also coincides with our new brand positioning and purpose, One Planet One Health, which reflects our belief that the health of humankind and that of the planet are interlinked and both need to be protected and nurtured.

“Through the Danone Nations Cup, we are contributing to bringing this vision to life by promoting the importance of exercise. Further, we are encouraging our young athletes to ‘Play Football, Change the Game’, which is a rallying message to unite children, irrespective of their backgrounds and cultures, and to encourage them to become catalysts for positive change,” concluded Kotiah.

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.

One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world

GROUP DANONE

Dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is a leading global food & beverage company building on health-focused and fast-growing categories in three businesses: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based Products, Waters and Specialized Nutrition. Danone aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, in line with its ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision which reflects a strong belief that the health of people and that of the planet are interconnected. To bring this vision to life and create superior, sustainable, profitable value for all its stakeholders, Danone has defined its 2030 Goals: a set of nine integrated goals aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Danone commits to operating in an efficient, responsible and inclusive manner; it holds itself to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to become one of the first multinationals certified as B CorpTM. With more than 100,000 employees, and products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated €24.7 billion in sales in 2018. Danone’s portfolio includes leading international brands (Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, among others) as well as strong local and regional brands (including AQUA, Blédina, Bonafont, Cow & Gate, Horizon, Mizone, Oikos, Prostokvashino, Silk, Vega).

Maokeng Primary School will represent Free State at the Danone Nations Cup National Finals

The Free State was the first province to hold their 2019 under-12 Danone Nations Cup soccer finals. Last weekend at Grey College, Bloemfontein, Maokeng Primary School from the Fezile Dabi region, near Kroonstad, emerged as the champions. The team will now start preparations for the national finals in Gauteng in June.

Coach, Hilda Malebelle, was speechless when the school beat Ntebohiseng Intermediate School 2 – 0 in the final match to clinch the title.  She was even more surprised when told that she will be taking the school to Gauteng to compete in the national finals.  “I love soccer and have played the game for most of my life and offered to coach the boys seven years ago when I was the cleaner at the school,” she said. “When I left the school last year I asked if I could continue to prepare the team for the Danone Nations Cup, but I had no idea that an element of the prize was competing in the national finals.  I also didn’t know that the ultimate winner would represent South Africa at the world finals in Barcelona.”

Maokeng is a well-organised, confident and skilful team and a well deserving winner on the day.  They won all their league games to get into the final and outclassed Ntebohiseng in the final match to lift the provincial trophy. 

“We didn’t lose a game in our road to the national finals, but I have to say that the most challenging game we played this entire year was against the local Bloemfontein team, Lebelo Primary.  We finally beat them 3 – 1 but they played excellent soccer.  They played an attacking game and their passing was accurate and quick which kept my boys on their toes throughout the game,” Malebelle said. “Fortunately, we have an excellent striker, Tshepo Mega, who is the key player in the team, and he was able to stabilise the boys and keep them grounded and focused and we were able to counter attack and win the game.” 

Malebelle brought in her ex club coach, Tebogo Goangae, to assist her in preparing the youngsters.  “Our team was well prepared for the provincials.  Tebogo helped us a lot in setting up friendly games and fine-tuning our game plan.  He taught the boys formations that worked well throughout the tournament.”

And now onto the national finals.  Malebelle said she will go back to the drawing board and put a plan together to prepare for taking on the other eight provinces.  “I will go back to the school and we will draw up a schedule of training and arrange more difficult friendly games with older age groups in preparation. I will ask Tebogo to keep helping us as he has an incredible understanding and knowledge of the game.”

The Northern Cape will host the next provincial final playoffs in Upington on 27^th April.

“The Danone Nations Cup is the cup of dreams,” said Chantel Ehlers, Internal Communications, Danone Southern Africa.  “We congratulate Maokeng on this amazing achievement and the coach’s story is so inspiring, which is what our tournament is all about.  It is about playing football and changing the game, it is about believing in your dreams and uniting children irrespective of their backgrounds and cultures.  Further, the tournament slots into our new brand purpose, One Planet One Health which reflects our belief that the health of humankind and that of the planet are interlinked and both need to be protected and nurtured.”

RESULTS: 

COMPETING TEAMS:

Inoseng Primary School (2018 Champions):  Xhariep District

Ntebohiseng Intermediate School:  Thabo Mofutsanyane District

Maokeng Primary School:  Fezile Dabi District

Letsibolo Public Primary School:  Lejweleputswa District

Lebelo Primary School:  Motheo District (The coach of Lebelo, Olehile Moeti, competed in the Danone Nations Cup back in 2005 for Manchester Football Club based on Botshabelo)

Team	Goals Team A	Goals Team B	Penalties	Team
Maokeng Primary School	0	0	3-1	Lebelo Primary School
Letsibolo Public Primary School	0	0	2-1	Ntebohiseng Intermediate school
Inoseng Primary School	0	1		Maokeng Primary School
Lebelo Primary School	0	0	3-0	Letsibolo Public Primary School
Ntebohiseng Intermediate school	2	0		Inoseng Primary School
Maokeng Primary School	3	0		Letsibolo Public Primary School
Lebelo Primary School	1	1	2-1	Ntebohiseng Intermediate school
Letsibolo Public Primary School	0	1		Inoseng Primary School
Ntebohiseng Intermediate school	0	1		Maokeng Primary School
Inoseng Primary School	0	0	1-2	Lebelo Primary School
FINAL MATCH Maokeng Primary School	2	0		Ntebohiseng Intermediate school

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.

One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world

GROUP DANONE