Katie Prior (16) excelled at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Girls u/19 Cricket Week, which was held at Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal recently.

The grade 11 pupil from Uplands College, who also captains the Mpumalanga girls u/19 side, was the eighth-highest run scorer out of the 221 players at the annual event.

Her top score of 80 was the third-highest of the week. Katie also achieved the second-highest number of sixes throughout the tournament and the fourth-highest number
of fours scored.

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Katie’s teammate and fellow Lowvelder, Jamie de Vos, also had a great tournament, ending as joint second-highest wicket taker of the week.

The Mpumalanga side won three of their matches and lost two, with one game being rained out.

On completion of the week two national teams were selected – and Katie was honoured by being selected as captain of the SA Schools B side. Her teammate, Nicolien Janse van Rensburg from Secunda, was also included in the team.

It was Katie’s fifth CSA Girls u/19 week, having participated in her first tournament back in 2014 at the tender age of 12.

“It is always an honour to play for your province and against talented players from across the country,” Katie said.

“I worked hard this year on my batting with my coach Johan Rudolph, so it’s great to get a return on one’s investment. I’ve also been blessed with a lot of support from the Mpumalanga Cricket Union, my parents, my sponsors Ambassador Foods and D&P Cricket, my teammates and my school – for which I’m very grateful.”