Hattrick for Primary
the underdogs from the little primary school have once again demolished every opponent they faced in the Ehlanzeni Super League to win the series a third consecutive year.
The boys of Nelspruit Primary u/11 cricket team have kept the Ehlanzeni District Cricket Super League trophy safely in their cabinet after winning the league for the third consecutive year. Coach Albert van Putten has once again shown that against all odds and despite the challenges many of his players face daily, hard work and a desire to rise above it will always pay off in the end.
“The players have all put in a tremendous amount of time into improving their game and as a team they have grown very tight over the last three years,” said Van Putten. “Last year four of the boys in this team played in the Puma u/11 team and this year I suspect a repeat of that, if not a few positions more. They did both the school and themselves proud out there, I know that there are a few names here that will be worth remembering in the future.”
This young team has consistently proven their critics wrong by beating some of the most renowned sporting schools in the region by margins often unheard of at primary level. On more than one occasion opponents have made the fatal error in underestimating this school as is evident in their 37 game winning streak during this year’s cricket season.
In their opening match against Uplands Prep, Nelspruit Primary scored 132 for 9 wickets before bowling out the White River boys for 76 runs. Van Putten’s boys bowled out Laerskool Nelspruit for just 26 runs – their quickest game of the season – and repeated the performance that following week against Laerskool Laeveld whom they sent packing after with just 29 runs.
2013 Season Results
• NPS vs Uplands Prep
132/9 vs 76 all out
• NPS vs L/S Bergland
30/0 vs 29 all out
• NPS vs L/S Nelspruit
30/1 vs 26 all out
• NPS vs L/S Laeveld
29/0 vs 29 all out
• NPS vs L/S Lydenburg
154/6 vs 81/1
• NPS vs L/S White River
162/3 vs 47 all out
The talented Khaya Fakude who boasted a batting average of 127 in his u/9 cricketting year and 92 last year, had very little time on the pitch during the 2013 season because of his team’s powerful bowling attack limiting their opponent’s scores. Currently he boasts an average of 61.6 with three games still in hand. Fakude also captained the U/11 Pumas team in 2012.
Sameer Muhammed and Zakeer Bellin also performed exceptionally well on the pitch and will, together with Fakude form the backbone of the Primary offensive as they ready themselves for the Mpumalanga semi-finals after the coming school holidays.
A bowling attack with a depth stretching right down to the tail-enders and a batting line-up with a combined average run rate of more than the total runs scored against them this season, Van Putten’s tiny warriors are not to be trifled with.
“We remain humble as in the game of cricket anything can happen on the day, but we are positive and motivated at the same time and that is really all that matters.”
