As many of the other provinces prepare to start their Schools SA20 campaigns, the teams in the North West are already looking forward to seeing who will be crowned the king of the province on Sunday.
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However, the finalists will first need to be decided on Saturday.
Potchefstroom Gimnasium and Hoƫrskool Rustenburg are the strong favourites to battle it out in the final, but both will have their work cut out for them when they face unpredictable opponents in the semi-finals.
The new country-wide competition has created a platform to expose young up-and-coming talent to opponents that they might not usually meet and it has also opened up a stage for that talent to be exposed to a wider audience.
Jan van Staden, the head coach of Hoƫrskool Rustenburg, expressed his delight with the competition on the eve of the semi-finals.
āThe SA20 presents a tremendous opportunity for all cricket players involved. It allows them to showcase their talent at one of the highest levels of school competition,ā he said.
āThis platform can help identify potential future stars and serves as an opportunity for selectors to scout new talent. At Rustenburg High School, we cherish every moment we get to compete in these top-level competitions and we eagerly await the upcoming semifinals.ā
The Gimmies, last yearās North West T20 champions, will have to get past HoĆ«rskool Wolmaransstad to have a shot at winning the regional title. The Wollies have surprised with a couple of good performances in the round-robin and, in their most recent outing, they beat HoĆ«rskool Schoonspruit by six wickets to qualify for the semi-finals.
Their key player is AndrĆ© Dreyer. His impressive all-round performances have been pivotal in his sideās successes.
Gimmies, on the other hand, have benefitted from a number of regular contributors, with JahndrƩ Coetzee leading the way. His consistency with both the bat and ball has taken significant pressure off the shoulders of captain Tommie Botha, who has been equally impressive with the willow thus far.
Hoƫrskool Lichtenburg will have a second bite at the cherry in less than a week when they face Hoƫrskool Rustenburg. When they squared off recently in a 50-over-a-side match, the Rusties recorded a comfortable win.
After that contest, Lichtenburg will be aware of the danger that Rustenburgās Callie Fryer poses.Ā Fryer, still only 16 years old, has provided Rustenburg with a massive boost. His pace and his ability to nip the ball about will sternly test the character and ability of the Lichtenburg batsmen.
They, in turn, have a couple of bowling weapons of their own in Ona Senekwane and Lethabo Memani. That duo will, without a doubt, test the abilities of Thian Labuschagne and the rest of the Rustenburgerās batting line-up and, in the shorter form of the game, anything is possible.
Franco is a sports fanatic from Tzaneen, a small town in Limpopo. Obsessed with both cricket and rugby, he still does the sport at club level when given the chance. Combining the rush of sports with his other passion, writing, gives him the fix any sport-crazy fan needs. In his spare time, he spends quality time with family and friends, preferably around a braaivleis fire.
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