Hoërskool Noordheuwel and South Africa’s U19 left-hand fast bowler, JJ Basson, will make his debut for the Paarl Royals in December during the Betway SA20 tournament.

The 17-year-old, 1.92m tall cricketer was bought by the Paarl Royals (PR) for R200 000 during the SA20 auction held on Tuesday, September 9, in Johannesburg. Initially, JJ did not attract interest from any of the six teams, but during the express round, when over 60 players were re-auctioned, PR did not hesitate to place a bid on him.

• Also read: U19 Proteas call-up for two Noordheuwel cricket sensations

“I was cautiously optimistic,” JJ’s mother, Nicolene, said during the auction. “He is still very young, but JJ said there should be no negativity surrounding the auction,” she laughed.

Little did she know that her eldest would soon make Paarl his temporary home.

Nicolene, father Deon, and younger brother Regardt watched closely with JJ in front of the TV as five other franchises – Pretoria Capitals, MI Cape Town, Durban’s Super Giants, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, and Joburg Super Kings – together with PR, had a maximum of R131m to spend on 84 slots from a list of more than 500 local and international players.

The auction was broadcast live on SuperSport and marked the first major milestone for the long-awaited fourth season, which begins on December 26.

Deon laughed and told the Krugersdorp News he doesn’t know who shouted louder when his son’s name was called again during the express round – JJ or his younger brother, Regardt.

In addition, JJ and Corné Botha (also from Nories) were selected for the South Africa U19 team that competed in two tournaments earlier this year.

“This is an incredible achievement, and we look forward to seeing him in action in the SA20,” Noordheuwel said on their Facebook page.