Youngsters prove their worth at cricket week
The Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week, where South Africa's future cricket heroes are made, was held from December 17 to 19 in Johannesburg.
Eight local players, Gumede Wisdom (Hoërskool Rob Ferreira), Jon Henrichsen (Hoërskool Nelspruit), Divan Jacobs (NHS), Ewan Lombard (NHS), Sean Nkosi (Penryn College), Faheem Nomani (Hoërskool Bergvlam), Maundrey Ruiters (Curro Nelspruit) and Jacques Vosloo (NHS) represented Mpumalanga.
In 2017 the provincial team lost four games (2 x T20 matches, 1 x 50 overs and 1 x time game) and won two games (1 x 50 overs and 1 x time game).
Jon was ranked 11th on the wicket taking list. Jacques (16) was ranked sixth for taking the most wickets during the week and just missed out on a spot in the Cubs Week that was held in Stellenbosch.
Last year, however, they lost five matches and drew one.
Also read: Local young stars take on country’s best
“We took a young squad and did not perform as well as we had hoped, but there are many young and upcoming players and we can only improve,” said team manager Hendrik Joubert.
Faheem (17) took a five-for-one on day two against Northern Cape.
“I had a decent year as a batsman. I have been chosen as one of the opener batsmen and I managed to score a half-century on the first day.”
Jacques, who represents NHS’ first cricket team, said he was satisfied with his performance, but knows there is room for improvement.
“My main goal was just to do my best. I have done exceptionally well during the 2017 cricket season as I have scored 580 runs as an opening batsman for NHS.”
Results
Day 1 – KwaZulu-Natal Coastal (239/8) vs Mpumalanga (109/10)
Day 2 – Northern Cape (145 all out) vs Mpumalanga (200 all out)
Day 3 – Northens (106/3) vs Mpumalanga (105/6), Gauteng (115/6) vs Mpumalanga (84/9)
Day 4 – Namibia (191) vs Mpumalanga (189)
Day 5 – North West (136/10) vs Mpumalanga (179/10).
