PowerPlay Sports Academy host week-long talent identification tournament at venues across Roodepoort
The competition aims to give players an additional platform to showcase their cricketing abilities.
Talent lurking on the fringes was given the spotlight during a week-long tournament.
Powerplay Sports Academy hosted a U19 talent identification competition across three venues running from July 29 to August 5. Matches in the eight-team tournament were rotated between Delfos Cricket Club, Roodepoort Cricket Club, and Marks Park with Roodepoort given the honour of hosting the final. PowerPlay Sports is owned by former Zimbabwean national team coach Stephen Mangongo who arranged two teams from north of the border to add international flair to proceedings.
After round-robin sections featuring two groups of four teams, the top two in each group fought for a spot in the final. Marks Park would take on Jozi Hits in the final with the latter batting first and setting their opponents a target of 199 in their 20 overs. A 107-run partnership between Armaan Manack and Morteza Manack put Marks Park in control of the chase and steady hitting by Andre van Niekerk in the final overs secured the win with five balls to spare.
This is the second edition of the PowerPlay Sports talent identification tournament which Mangongo set up as a way of giving players an extra avenue to pursue their professional dreams. Mangongo feels too many players fall through the system or become despondent if they have not been selected by a provincial or franchise team by a certain age. PowerPlay Sport also caters to players who might not attend elite schools but still possess a special talent.
The top players from the tournament will now form a team that will tour India and Zimbabwe in December.
Delighted with the depth of skill on show, Mangongo said, “Well done to this talented bunch of cricketers, we witnessed tough cricket by the boys. This tournament is unique as it helps the boys to continue with skills development. The participating clubs must be commended for sharing the vision to promote youth cricket by allowing their fields to be used during the tournament.”
