Saints Christian School’s u/19 girls cricket team showed their skills and talent to the entire country last weekend, 12-15 March, with a superb second place finish at the inaugural Schools SA20 tournament at the Tuks Oval in Pretoria.
Saints went into the final unbeaten, after claiming wins against Nkowankowa Hub, Dr J.L. Dube School as well as Victoria Hub in the pool stage.
In the final, Saints came unstuck against the bat of SA u/19 player, Karabo Meso, who scored 117 (not out) for Steyn City. This individual performance was enough to take the match away from Saints, who had to chase 178/2 to win the trophy. In the end, the Potchefstroomers finished on 117/9, 61 runs short of victory. Nonetheless, Saints can be extremely proud of their performances during the tournament, where they impressed one and all with their cricket abilities and conduct on and off the field. It was, therefore, duly deserved that Saints won the Spirit of Cricket trophy.
Siphumelele Duma, who is only in grade 7, was named as the bowler of the tournament. She picked up 9 wickets at an economy rate of 2.7 and strike rate of 10.7, meaning that she took a wicket with every tenth ball she bowled. To be named as the best bowler as a 12-year old playing against 18-year olds, is quite an achievement! Saints’ captain, Tshegofatso Monyela, was also brilliant in the field, taking two excellent catches and bowling with a good economy rate in the middle overs. She finished the tournament with 8 wickets. She was also the second highest run-scorer for her team with 70 runs. The top run-scorer for Saints was opener, Reabetswe Dithipe with 84 runs and a top score of 39 in the final. This young team also had the opportunity to meet Proteas legend, AB de Villiers, for a masterclass session, which only added to the excitement.
The Schools SA20 finals were an experience that these girls will treasure and can now look to build on with a young team that will be even hungrier for success next year.