North West Cricket hosted the inaugural North West Schools Under-13 Tournament from the 20^th – 22^nd May 2016, which was a 16 over tournament. A total of 52 players, some of whom, were part of the North West Provincial Primary School Age groups in 2015 participated in the tournament.

The hugely successful tournament was due to the willingness of the sponsors, that came in to ensure that cricket development took place for the high performance players identified. The sponsors for the tournament were Senwes, Ensco Engineering, Red Mining Africa, FFG- Futurum Financial Group, Elgro River Lodge and Sedgars Sports.  The tournament was hosted at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom were a total of 8 matches took place. One of the highlights for the primary school players was the opportunity to play firstly at Senwes Park and secondly to play under lights, which was a first for the players.

Another success story for this tournament was the inclusion of two players from the Senwes Spinners Farm School Program namely; Gavin Sikhuba (Mponeng Primary School) and Ofentse Moatlhodi (Tlhabologo Primary School) whom were part of the Senwes Spinners team. The players were given an opportunity to interact with cricketers and learners from other traditional cricket primary schools in the province; and most of all the two players were sponsored with a pair of cricket spikes each by Sedgars Sports.

The tournament followed the same concept as the North West Premier League competition held earlier in the year for the club cricket players. North West Cricket and the 4 team sponsors held an auction at Senwes Park on the 15^th of April 2016 were the teams had an opportunity to select players that would represent their teams. The auction was a great success with players selected from all the 4 districts of the North West Province. The four teams, the Senwes Spinners, FFG Falcons, Ensco Strikers and Red Devils were coached by former and current team members of the NW Dragons Senior Men’s team, who shared their knowledge and the NW Dragons’ culture, beliefs and cricket philosophy.

There was a team of talent scouts made up of Monty Jacobs (NW Dragons Senior Head Coach), Llewellyn Fourie (NW U13 Head Coach) and William Molewa (NW U13 Assistant Coach) to identify the young talent, during the 3 day tournament.

Friday, 20^th May 2016 and the match results are as follows:

Senwes Spinners vs. Ensco Strikers:

Senwes Spinners 88/5 in 16 overs and Ensco Strikers 89/2 in 9.2 overs

Ensco Strikers won the match by 8 wickets.

FFG Falcons vs. Red Devils:

FFG Falcons 139/2 in 16 overs and 138/3 in 16 overs

FFG Falcons won the match by 1 run

Saturday, 21^st May 2016 and the match results are as follows:

FFG Falcons vs. Ensco Strikers:

FFG Falcons 98/6 in 16 overs and Ensco Strikers 100/3 in 11.2 overs

Ensco Strikers won the match by 7 wickets

Senwes Spinners vs. Red Devils:

Senwes Spinners 95/7 in 16 overs and Red Devils 97/5 in 14.3 overs

Red Devils won the match by 5 wickets

Ensco Strikers vs. Red Devils:

Ensco Strikers 95/7 in 16 overs and Red Devils 87/7 in 16 overs

Ensco Strikers won the match by 8 runs

FFG Falcons vs. Senwes Spinners:

FFG Falcons 131/6 in 16 overs and Senwes Spinners 100/6 in 16 overs

FFG Falcons won the match by 31 runs

Sunday, 22^nd May 2016 and the match results are as follows:

3^rd and 4^th Place Play-off match:

Red Devils vs. Senwes Spinners:

Senwes Spinners 140/2 in 16 overs and Red Devils 90/8 in 16 overs

Senwes Spinners won the match by 50 runs

Final: Ensco Strikers vs. FFG Falcons:

The final was contested between Ensco Strikers and FFG Falcons

Ensco Strikers 106/0 in 16 overs and FFG Falcons 110/5 in 15 overs

FFG Falcons won the match by 5 wickets

The following awards were awarded to players for their respective performances during the tournament:

Man of the matches:

• Emiel Geyser (Ensco Strikers) scored 57* runs off 25 balls (not out) vs. Senwes Spinners (Round Robin match)
• Dylan Niemack (FFG Falcons) scored 67 runs off 50 balls vs. Red Devils (Round Robin match) (Niemack was also the player of the tournament)
• Kyle Isherwood (Ensco Strikers) took 4/13 in 3 overs vs. FFG Falcons (Round Robin match)
• Diaan van Staden (Red Devils) scored 20 runs off 15 balls and took 4/15 in 3 overs vs. Senwes Spinners (Round Robin match)
• Christiaan Smit (Ensco Strikers) scored 30 runs off 26 balls vs. Red Devils (Robin match)
• Rowan Bezuidenhout (FFG Falcons) scored 52 runs off 32 balls vs. Senwes Spinners (Round Robin match)
• Charl Naude (Senwes Spinners) scored 63 runs off 42 balls vs. Red Devils (3^rd & 4^th Place Play-off match)
• Rowan Bezuidenhout (FFG Falcons) scored 41 runs off 36 balls vs. Ensco Strikers (Final match)

“This is a great new initiative that has seen the top 52 U13 players in the primary school level, come together to play outside the school rivalries and build new relationships with cricketers and parents from the various towns and schools. As well as to promote the culture, beliefs and philosophies of North West Cricket, and we plan to see it implemented throughout the NWC Cricket Development Pipeline.

I also want to thank all the sponsors Senwes, FFG-Futurum Financial Group, Red Mining Africa, Ensco Engineering and Elgro River Lodge for their support of cricket development in the North West Province. As well as the primary school principals, coaches and parents for all their continued support of our development programs” said Heinrich Strydom (NWC: CEO).