Proteas encourage young cricketers
It was a good warmup for the Proteas who were facing Pakistan the following day
THE fourth match of the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour took place at Laerskool Edleen on Tuesday last week.
The Proteas, who now lead the series 3-1, beat Laerskool Edleen’s U/9 team by five runs.
Edleen got the chance to face the Proteas after Sharon Herbst from Kempton Park won the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour Competition for her son-in-law, Louis Grobler, who is in charge of cricket at Laerskool Edleen.
The Protea team consisted of AB de Villiers (Protea ODI captain), Faf du Plessis (International T20 captain), Aaron Phangiso, Morne Morkel, Henry Davids, Mignon du Preez (Proteas women’s team captain), Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk.
Edleen’s team comprised six boys and two girls, namely Henco Botha (captain), Jade Bezuidenhout, Dihan du Toit, Sybrand Erwee, Shuan Ray, Reinhard Schäfffner, Janco Niewoudt, Zack Smith, Nicole Pilkington and Anrie Oosthuizen.
The U/9s, who had an unbeaten season this year, was, along with the rest of the learners, staff and spectators, very exited to have such big names in their midst.
The Proteas, as is custom in this series, faced eight overs, while the Edleners faced 16. The Proteas were only allowed to run four runs to a ball, where Edleen were granted six.
The Protea batsmen and women showed their skills by hitting several balls over the pavilion roof but the Edleners were also fierce in an all round capacity. The Proteas scored 98 runs and Edleen 93. Both sides batted and bowled to win, and finally the Proteas picked up the win.
AB de Villiers said one always plays to win, but that this was great fun, and a close game, which he likes. He and the rest of the Proteas were delighted to be part of this KFC initiative.
He said this initiative gave children the chance to interact with their role models and be part of this fun and competitive activity. He also said that it is an honour to be part of this tournament and that he was glad to get the opportunity to play against these young cricketers. He noted that he had similar opportunities when he was young, and that he is happy to be giving back in the same way.
Hannes Roodt, headmaster at Edleen, said this was a great way to get girls interested in the sport. He noted that it was exiting for the whole school to see these cricketers in person, to see they are normal people and to have their role models interact with them.
Mignon Du Preez said this tournament was a great way for girls to fall in love with cricket. She said she enjoyed the match and that the Edleners could surely hit a ball. Antoinette de Beer, the U/9 coach, said they were extremely excited about the day. They enjoyed every minute of it and did not expect it to be such a big affair as it was.
The Proteas played Pakistan in an international T20 match the following day and South Africa (153/7) beat Pakistan (60/2) by four runs by way of the Duckworth-Lewis method.
