CRICKET
U16A
The U16A cricket side of 2016 started their season as a group of boys with plenty of talent , little confidence and not much of a personal game plan . When our season got under way I was thrilled to see how the boys were so eager to learn and put in the effort required to become a better team . We had a good set of results , although we did not win every game . I was happy to see that the boys took away some valuable lessons from the losses they experienced .
The first term started with an excellent performance against Westville . Good strike rotation and some well-placed shots allowed us to amass 212 from our 50 overs and tight , economical bowling brought us a win by 43 runs . Another memorable game was our two-day game against Michaelhouse . College trailed by 104 runs in the first innings and left us 45 overs to score 214 . After we collapsed to 82 for 6 , A Bradford and the tail-enders hung on for a nerve-racking draw .
In the final term , the boys worked hard in the pre-season . The players were tasked with setting their goals for the final term and I was impressed by the thought given to these goals . The realisation that these were the final games left to play together as a team had started to kick in .
J Gracie : He joined the team in the last term after recording some great scores in the B side . He did a solid job at number 7 , giving the team some much needed depth . His hard work and dedication was also much appreciated by his coaches .
S Smale : An economical bowler , Smale is a very tidy medium pacer who swings the ball away from the batsman . He was unlucky not to take more wickets than he did . He has a great attitude and always has a smile on his face .
J Gengan ( Inland U19 ): A destructive opening bowler . He bowled some of the most exciting spells I have ever seen at this level of cricket and always threatened the opposition . He is a confident player and if he sticks to the basics I am sure he will enjoy a great cricket career .
L Levin : He is a traditional leg-break bowler who was not always economical but he was a wicket-taker who put in some impressive matchwinning spells on his day . He was also a superb fielder .
N Govender : A hard-working and skilful player , he was also a leg-break bowler , with many different variations . He put in a lot of hard work at practices and finished the year off as the team ’ s second highest wicket taker . His fielding improved greatly during the year .
First up was the Kookaburra Festival in Westville . We only played two of the scheduled fixtures , against Waterkloof and Garsfontein , before the rain . Against Waterkloof , a great fielding display by the boys , accompanied by some disciplined bowling , saw us chasing 197 in 50 overs . Bradford , B Noble and J Campbell batted superbly for us to win convincingly with 8 wickets to spare . The next morning we played a T20 against Garsfontein . College won the toss and chose to bat first . We scored a competitive 151 / 6 but it was not enough . Garsfontein eased towards the total in just 17 overs , with 5 wickets to spare . The team performed with consistency throughout the remainder of their final games , getting some mixed results , including , a 32-run loss to a strong Kearsney team that I felt we could have beaten , and a convincing win by 110 runs against Michaelhouse .
I do not think I could have asked more of the players . By the end of the year , Mr Maposa ( assistant coach ) and I could say that we thoroughly enjoyed watching each one of the boys evolve in their cricketing abilities , developing into the mature cricketers they will become . A big thank you goes to the parents of the boys for all their support and encouragement throughout the season . Those warm coffees on the bitterly cold tour mornings were a lifesaver !
Player Critique :
Results :
vs Westville :
vs Glenwood : vs Hilton : vs Michaelhouse :
vs DHS : vs St Charles : vs Reddam : vs Kearsney : vs St Charles : vs Kearsney : vs Waterkloof :
vs Garsfontein :
vs Michaelhouse : vs St Charles : won by 43 runs ( Campbell 80 , Bradford 56 , Gengan 4 / 28 ) no result due to rain won by 35 runs match drawn ( Bradford 74 *) won by 234 runs lost by 9 runs won by 10 wickets lost by 12 runs won by 12 runs lost by 32 runs won by 8 wickets ( Govender 4 / 31 , Bradford 56 *, Noble 44 , Campbell 74 *) lost by 5 wickets ( Noble 68 ) won by 112 runs won by 5 wickets
Mr S Peach
A Bradford : He seldom let his team down with the bat and was methodical behind the stumps while keeping . He trained exceptionally hard and was always eager to learn more from his coaches . His commitment was the reason that he was the team ’ s leading run scorer .
E Heuer : He is a very exciting , hard-hitting batsman who is not afraid of taking on any bowler . He hit some of the biggest sixes I have ever seen from a schoolboy . He has a great sense of humour and brought good energy to the team .
B Noble : Another exciting , hard-hitting player . He played some fine innings for us and was also an exceptional fielder . He has loads of potential and if he develops his game plan , I am sure he will become a destructive batsman .
J Campbell ( Inland U17 ): A very smart cricketer , he was our second highest run scorer . He took his time to assess the conditions and situation on the pitch , but always finished with a healthy strike rate . He also showed promise bowling off-spin and could develop into a fine all-rounder .
C Hollaway ( captain ): He led the team very well , often proving a great example to his team players , and showing an ability to think outside of the box . He opened the bowling and managed to keep a low economy throughout the year . His batting improved and he became a capable allrounder .
K Collyer : He was technically a very sound batsman and , with the correct field set , he could also be very economical with ball in hand . He is a talented sportsman with a great deal of potential .
U16B
It was a pleasure to coach a group of boys who enjoyed the game of cricket and also got along well with each other . Not only did they have a passion for the game , they showed that they have formidable talent . The only weakness would be that they did not always harness their talent to their full potential at important times . However , cricket is a game from which many life lessons can be learnt which I trust the boys will take with them as they continue to grow .
After a narrow loss by four runs to a good Westville team , the team won comfortably against Hilton and recorded a fine win over Michaelhouse , a side that the team had not beaten before while at College . The most amazing match of the season was undoubtedly the one against an admittedly weak DHS team . College batted first and scored a total of 509 runs in 50 overs . They then got DHS out for 25 , to win by 484 runs . However , the very next match , against Kearsney , was lost with a very shoddy performance in the field . Cricket commenced again in the third term , a time of year when the weather is not always in the sport ’ s favour . We were once again outplayed by Kearsney in all facets of the game , losing by 6 wickets . The side redeemed itself a few weeks later against St Charles , with a tidy 5 wicket win .
Unfortunately , the U16 age group was merged with the open age group for the last couple of matches and the team ’ s time together was abruptly ended . The team was well led throughout the year by R Stainbank who
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Page sponsored by Jerome Gengan ( Class of 2016 )