Successful event gives KZN cricket a boost
PIETERMARITZBURG hosted a successful leg of the prestigious Africa T20 Cup at the weekend, even though hosts and defending champions, KwaZulu-Natal Inland, unfortunately bowed out at the group stage. KZN Coastal also failed to make the cut for next weekend’s finals, but the city and province can take heart from providing local cricket with a timely boost.
There were 20 participating teams at the start of this marquee extravaganza, which comprised the 12 Cricket South Africa (CSA) affiliates, three associate members and five guest African countries. They were drawn into four pools of five, with the winners of each group advancing through to the semi-finals.
Defending champions Hollywoodbets KZN Inland (Pietermaritzburg), along with Border (East London), South Western Districts (Oudtshoorn) and Boland (Paarl), hosted their respective groups during the initial weekend that started on Friday. The “City of Choice” was responsible for all Pool A encounters and can be proud of its efforts as proceedings went off without a glitch at two efficient venues.
The popular Oval at Alexandra Park, as well as the Varsity Oval at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, provided the perfect backdrop for the weekend’s action.
Eventually, the four respective winners of each pool were Easterns, Gauteng, Border and North West. Unfortunately, Inland failed to defend their crown, ending fourth in their group, but will surely look at the glass as being half full. POST caught up with Varsity Cricket Club manager Yogesh Jewaan, who provided some insight into the overall weekend.
“Unfortunately, our local teams didn’t make it through, but we are very happy that the event itself went off without any major hitches.
“It was a great opportunity for us and it actually helped to market the game in the area as not much big cricket takes place in these parts.
“We had a terrific turnout, and this bodes well for the future of cricket and the economy,” said Jewaan.
Inland coaching manager and tournament co-ordinator Yashveer Singh also offered a few thoughts on the competition.
“We were extremely excited to be hosting such a huge event, something that we have done in previous years. I feel we did the city proud. Sadly, our team couldn’t go through, but they fought hard. Kudos to coach Shane Burger and the boys,” said Singh.
Next week will see the event move into the semi-final stage as the four pool winners mentioned above battle it out for overall honours, with Border as the most likely hosts.
Even though the city and province will no longer be involved, all concerned can be happy with what they have achieved and look forward to next year’s tournament with even higher expectations.