Best of Border chase national glory against best
NATIONAL schools cricket action kicks into high gear in Stellenbosch tomorrow as the 2017 Coca-Cola Schools National T20 competition finals is battled out between eight of the best school cricketing teams from around the country.
East London has the distinction of having two representatives in the competition.
Selborne College will be representing the Warriors for the first time, while Hudson Park High School qualified as the Coastal Focus school and they will both be gunning for glory.
“The guys are very excited. Some of them have never been to these type of tournaments,” said Hudson Park pro-coach Kenny Watson.
“We have a very young side, which is very exciting in that sense and they are very eager to show what they can do against some of the best school teams in the country.”
Both Hudson and Selborne have been hard at work gearing up for the competition and the two sides enjoyed some much needed action over the past weekend.
“We had a couple of practice games at Old Boys against Selborne on Sunday and Monday and that was a very good run out for the teams as it allowed the coaches to test out some strategies and plans and also gave the players a good final workout,” said Watson.
Some of the toughest cricketing schools in SA will be at the competition with H S Centurion, St Andrews Bloemfontein and Glenwood in Hudson Park’s pool, while Selborne will front up against St Stithians, Wynberg Boys and Prestige College.
“The guys have played against some top teams already this year, so they are prepared for the standard of teams they will be playing against,” said Watson.
“I have said to the guys that they must just go out there and enjoy it. They must play to their strengths and skills and the results will come.”
The competition will also be a great opportunity for the players to be noticed and if they can perform over the weekend it will stand them in great stead for possible cricketing careers after school.
“There will be selectors at the competition so it will be great for the guys to be seen and their talents noticed by some of the country’s most distinguished scouts,” said Watson.
Both teams fly out from East London today and will hope to get in a session in preparation for the tournament and to familiarise themselves with the conditions once they have arrived in Stellenbosch.
“We don’t want to do much as we are playing five games in three days, so we fly up on Thursday and we will maybe have a bit of a field session and just get the guys warmed up for the start of the competition on Frid said Watson.
“Our first game is only on Friday afternoon so we can spend the morning watching some of the other teams and see how they are doing.”
The action gets under way tomorrow, with Hudson playing one game in the afternoon and Selborne playing two matches in the morning and afternoon.