The men from Höer Jongenskool Paarl (otherwise known as Paarl Boys’ High or simply Boishaai) and the ladies from Höer Tegniese Skool Drostdy (HTS Drostdy) in Worcester will be carrying the flag for the Western Cape region in the Switch Schools SA20 Finals in Pretoria in March.
How the Boland teams journeyed to the finals is all aboutheroics and heartbreak, individual brilliance and title-winning team spirit, narrow losses and crushing wins, all in pursuit of the ultimate prize. My experience of the weekend is that it is the journey that makes this tournament so special, rather than the final outcome.
All the teams in the regional finals first had to either win their respective province’s phase 1 competition (for the girls) or finish as finalists (for the boys). Along the way there were plenty of other excellent cricketing schools and local hubs on the same journey. There are names aplenty with which you may be familiar: Rondebosch Boys, SACS, Boland Landbou, Paul Roos, York High and Langenhoven Gim amongst the boys, and Victoria Hub, Khayelitsha Hub, Somerset College, Paarl Hub and Thembalethu Hub amongst the girls.
In phase 1 boys there were 30 schools/hubs in the Boland, 10 in the SWD and 33 in the Western Province. For the girls those numbers are smaller, 10, 4 and 16 respectively. The finals weekend in Stellenbosch and Somerset West was comprised of the following 6 schools/hubs for the boys: Paarl Gimnasium, Paarl Boys High, Outeniqua HS, Bridgton Hub, Bishops Diocesan College and Wynberg Boys High, and 3 for the girls: HTS Drostdy, Bridgton Hub and Stellenberg HS.
To go from 73 to 6 teams for the boys and 30 to 3 for the girls was all due to a massive effort from the SA20 Project Lead, Vincent Barnes, CSA’s youth structures under David Mokopanele and the respective Boland, SWD and WP unions. Their part in the journey cannot be undersold. Add to that CSA’s Talent Acceleration Programme lead for the region, Graham October, and CSA’s John Bailey, both of whom were keeping a keen eye on the rising stars in the making, and one can see that the journey is never taken alone.
Friday’s matches set the tone for a weekend of surprises for the boys, and the emergence of dominance in the girls’ section. Every girls team played each other, with Drostdy producing a clinical display against Stellenberg in the morning and a convincing win against Bridgton in the afternoon. This meant that Saturday’s clash between Bridgton and Stellenberg on Somerset College’s C field was effectively a semi-final.
In what became the best of the rest clash, Bridgton secured the win in dramatic fashion, with key players Mi-Jeanne Botha and Jezé Campher coming good with both bat and ball. Stellenberg’s WP age-group players Chloe de Roubaix, Kaylin Erasmus and Nakeeta Collins tried their best, but it was in vain. Classy batter Botha’s 41 off 22 balls with 8 fours, together with her 2/11 off her 4 overs, showed exactly why she made her senior women’s debut for SWD at the age of just 13. Bridgton’s 103/9 just enough to overcome Stellenberg’s 87/6.
In the final, Drostdy’s Lizé de Waal (4/8) and Linique Luck (4/5) scythed through Bridgton’s batting to skittle them for just 25. De Waal’s beautifully disguised slower ball knocking back Botha’s off-stump the turning point in the match. Drostdy’s captain Daneli Boshoff and their CSA Youth XI representative Mia-Lize van der Vyver were outstanding in the field. The journey for the Worcester women continues, and will take them to Pretoria, where they should be strong contenders for the title. A word too for head of sport at Drostdy, Armand Swart, who has moulded together a team that one can see works hard on the discipline of fielding, where all the girls contribute to the success of the whole team.
The depth in girls cricket at this level is developing. The success of the Proteas Women has been a catalyst for more young women to take up the sport. Schools are starting to get cricket programmes going. It will take time though for the standard to get better. At the moment school and hub teams most often depend on two or maybe three players that carry the team through. We saw in the final, and in the preliminary round for Stellenberg, that where these players fail, then the team can fold under the pressure that is brought to bear, particularly in the batting discipline. It is a challenge that Barnes, Mokopanele, Bailey and October are fully aware of. The good thing is that tournaments such as the Switch Schools SA20 are hastening the development and change in women’s cricket at grassroots level, which is only good for the future of the game.
If the girls competition was a one-sided affair, then the boys made up for it in bucketloads. The Bridgton Hub team did struggle and were unable to win a game, but the other five teams treated us to a tournament that had everyone sitting up and taking notice. Defending national champions Bishops were in Pool A with Bridgton and Paarl Gim. Wynberg, Boishaai and Outeniqua were slugging it out in Pool B. Every team played three preliminary matches, two against the other teams in their pool, and one cross-pool match.
Friday morning at Paul Roos saw the cross-pool Bishops, powered by Litha Mbiko’s 81 off 49, defeating Boishaai quite convincingly by 33 runs, despite Abriam Jacobs scoring 76 off 57 for the Paarl school. Pool games had Paarl Gim achieving a bonus point win over Bridgton, and Wynberg being shocked by Outeniqua, for whom Daniel du Preez top-scored with 35 in their chase of Wynberg’s 104/7. Wynberg captain Michail Tarentaal shone, as he did for the Southern Superstars at Cubs Week, with an all-round 26 and 3/11.
The afternoon provided yet another upset at the Markotter fields, as Outeniqua won a close Pool B encounter against Paarl Boys by 3 wickets in the final over. Matthew Coleman was once again excellent with the ball for the men from George, with 2/14 in his 4 overs, helping to restrict the more fancied Boland school to just 115/6 in their 20 overs. For Boishaai it was captain Aden Batt (32 off 38) and Charl du Toit (21 off 13) that brought some respectability to the total after they had fallen to 39/4 in 9 overs. The Outeniqua chase was anchored by Hanno Swart’s 35 on a tricky wicket, which saw his side recover from 64/7 to get over the line and top Pool B.
In a cross-pool match, Wynberg eased past Bridgton by 8 wickets, with captain Tarentaal once again in the runs (71 off 39) and wickets (4 overs 2/11) to earn a bonus point win. At Paul Roos it was a close encounter between Bishops and Paarl Gim, with the defending champions sneaking home by 8 runs. The run chase was dominated by Wian Munnik’s 63 off 66, with captain Matt Dippenaar putting in an excellent all-round performance of 31 (22 balls) and 3/22. In the end it just wasn’t enough to overcome the 152/7 by Bishops, for whom Litha Mbiko (30), Luc Dicey (25) and Thaafier Japtha (22) all contributed.
By the end of day on Friday, the permutations to get to the semi-finals were clear. Bishops, Outeniqua and Paarl Gim were already through and Bridgton were out of contention. The big game on Saturday at the main oval at Somerset College was the televised match between Paarl Boys and Wynberg. Nothing less than a bonus point win for Boishaai would see them through to the semi-finals.
What a game we were treated to, as the Paarl team batted first and struggled to 121/8, thanks mainly to a match-saving innings of 53 off 45 by Reese Petersen. They had been reduced to 49/5 after 8.4 overs and Petersen played a brilliant hand, being last out with the penultimate delivery. For Wynberg Damien Harris was excellent with the ball, taking 2/18 in his 4 overs. To stay in the competition Boishaai needed to restrict Wynberg to less than 97, which would see them get a bonus point win. Wynberg’s destiny you felt lay in their own hands. They cruised through the first 5 overs of the powerplay, and at 36/2 were well placed. Aden Batt, captain courageous, bowled his left arm orthodox spin in the 6th over to Matthew Saunders, who was looking good on 16 off 18. Four dots and then one that turned away, took the outside edge and brought a brilliant slip catch from Neil Louw.
The sixth ball and Joshua Prince’s first was played high over the bowler’s head and was put down at a straight long-on, going over the boundary for four. By the end of over 8, Wynberg had progressed to 52/3, with just 45 needed off 12 overs to go through to the semis. Neil Louw, another slow left-armer, comes on to bowl and gets 2 wickets in 2 balls, a double wicket maiden! Its 52/5 when Batt bowls the 10th, and Tarentaal swings him over deep backward square for 6. Next ball the Wynberg captain pushes hard at a ball that is coming on slowly and he is caught and bowled. Esihle Mazinyane follows him back to the dugout 2 balls later and it’s 58/7. Damien Harris falls in the next over from Batt, who finishes with 4/13 off 4 overs. Louw finishes his spell of 2/8 and it is now the wrist spin of Petersen against Joshua Nicholson and Noah du Plooy. Gradually they edge closer to the 97, until Petersen strikes in the 18th over, dismissing Nicholson, caught at extra cover. Then with the first ball of the 19th, Abriam Jacobs takes the wicket of du Plooy and Wynberg’s Switch Schools SA20 is over.
Paarl Boys have risen like a phoenix from the ashes of their two defeats, and now face a rampant and unbeaten Bishops in the semi-final. Paarl Gim overcome Outeniqua in the morning and set up a semi against the same opposition in the afternoon.Bishops win the toss against Boishaai and elect to bowl. The Paarl team decide to switch their batting order and Ruan Heyns opens with Neil Louw, leaving the dangerous Abriam (whose nickname is AB!) Jacobs to come in at 4. They are in a little trouble at 41/2 after 5.2 overs on a smallish field when AB comes to the crease. What follows is carnage, as Jacobs hits 79 off 29 balls, with 4 fours and 8 sixes. It is hitting of the highest quality, and when he is out in the 14th over, he and Heyns have put on 104 off just 48 deliveries. It is a match-winning contribution from the pair, as Heyns is fifth out with his score of 64 off 45 (4×4, 3×6). Boishaai achieve 220/9 and Bishops can only muster 169/9 after they lose three top order wickets in three consecutive balls to be 8/3 in the second over. Thaafier Japtha’s 62 off 45 (5×4, 4×6) is in a losing cause, and the defending national champions are out!
At the oval next door, Paarl Gim are performing their own rescue act, as the consistent Wian Munnik’s 74 off 60 (7×4, 3×6) powered them to 173/6 after being asked to bat first against Outeniqua. Dirk Hugo, Matt Dippenaar and De Waal Vivier all contribute with the bat as the wickets are shared amongst the Outeniqua bowlers. The chase started slowly for the Garden Route team, as they laboured to 29/2 after 5.2 overs. That left them needing almost 10 an over and they nearly got there. Daniel du Preez’s 82 off 49 (5×4, 6×6) was a brilliant effort, but they fell an agonizing 8 runs short in the chase, reaching 165/3.
The finalists were now decided, and it conjured up a rivalry that dates back to the 1800’s. Paarl Gimnasium was founded in 1858 and its younger cousin Höer Jongenskool Paarl (Paarl Boys High) was founded in 1868. They are known to produce some of the finest schoolboy Rugby teams to grace the school playing fields of South Africa. The brotherhood that exists is perhaps aptly described by what Gimmies captain Matt Dippenaar said at the toss for the final. “it’s a fierce rivalry, but it’s all love between the schools, but not on the field”.
The toss saw Boishaai deciding to bat first, and Ruan Heyns was dismissed early, bringing a belligerent Daniel Francke to the crease. Even though he lost Neil Louw with the score on 31, he continued with the talismanic Abriam Jacobs, with Francke’s 36 off 25 the ideal launching pad for the middle order. Jacobs did not disappoint, but just as he was set for another fifty, played a needless reverse paddle, straight down the throat of the short third. His five sixes in a 29 ball 46 were a joy to behold, what a talent this 16-year-old is. A word here for Gimmies captain Matt Dippenaar, who took the catch of the weekend off Tom Krige, running to his left from long on, before diving full length to hang on to a speccie. This piece of brilliance was not able to stem the tide of runs, as the lower-middle and lower order made sure that it would be a tough target for Gimmies, finishing on 170/8.
Redemption for Johann Louw’s charges was about to be complete, as Paarl Gim’s reply got off to the most disastrous of starts. Off the third ball of the innings, Dirk Hugo was trying to play a short, fast Ra-eez Isaacs thunderbolt into the leg side. It took the top of the bat and flew to Louw’s right at slip, where he grabbed a stunner. It was about to get much worse for Gimmies, as in the next over Dippenaar hit the ball straight to Ulrich Drotschie at extra cover. Drotschie dropped the catch, but both Dippenaar and batting partner Munnik were stuck mid-pitch, with the fielder throwing the ball to wicketkeeper Jacobs to run out Munnik, as he was late to get the afterburners on. It was the first of 5 run outs, created by scoreboard pressure and the difficulty the batters had in dealing with the close-in fielders that Aden Batt employed. This meant that the innings never got going, and from 9/3 after 2.2 overs they collapsed to 43 all out, with Derrick Groenewald’s 14 the best contribution. It was incredibly disappointing for the men from the more northern of the two schools in Paarl, just 2km separating them.
Dippenaar was gracious in defeat, “Boishaai have some great batters. I back my team 100%, and none of us came off today, which is sad, but we’ll go again. We had a difficult start to the season, this tournament, it’s an achievement just getting to the final.” Aden Batt in talking about nearly being eliminated, said: “As a team we told ourselves we had a bad day (on Friday) but we were never out of it. We have a special team and we always believed.”
Special they are, with some special talent in their ranks. The pace of Isaacs, the power and touch of Jacobs, the all-round ability of Batt and Louw, and the exciting prospect of the young Ruan Heyns. There were others that shone bright on the Switch Schools SA20 stage this past weekend, Litha Mbiko of Bishops, Michail Tarentaal of Bishops, Daniel du Preez of Outeniqua, Shirwin Plaatjies of Bridgton and Wian Munnik of Paarl Gim, to name a few.
All those who graced the fields of Stellenbosch and Somerset West are heroes in their own right. Every one of the young men and women have their own story to tell, their own journey to travel, and they are all important. Only the select few will make it to the top of their respective sport, and the youngsters mentioned above may never wear the green and gold. What is important, is that, for one glorious sunny weekend in the Cape Winelands, they had their time to shine. Shine they did, bright, like diamonds, each and every one.