Stellenbosch University (SU) recently hosted the finals of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Girls’ U19 T20 National Championships, designed to promote high-level girls’ cricket in the nation. This is according to Muditambi Ravele, an independent director on the CSA Board of Directors.
The tournament, won by Jeppe High School for Girls, took place on 24 to 25 February, said Keagan van Aarde, manager of Maties Cricket.
Maties Cricket’s Coetzenburg Oval, where the final of the Cricket South Africa Girls’ U19 T20 National Championships, won by Jeppe High School for Girls, was recently held. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
Why Stellenbosch University
SU was chosen as the host venue for the tournament, as it has high-quality facilities and is in close-proximity to Cape Town, where the T20 World Cup final took place, stated Van Aarde.
“The decision [for the tournament to be hosted] was very straightforward as we [SU] were a training venue for the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup and therefore the drive behind the decision was to use the facilities that were prepared for the seniors to give the U19s the same exposure,” added Van Aarde.
The six participating teams also attended the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final, hosted at Newlands Cricket Ground on 26 February, added Ravele.
On 26 February, teams competing in the finals of the Cricket South Africa Girls’ U19 T20 National Championships attended the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at the Newlands Cricket Ground. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
The tournament was a culmination of a series of matches hosted around the country, to determine the top school and club teams from different regions, said Ravele.
Opportunities for development
Tournaments of this nature are vital to promote girls’ and women’s cricket in South Africa, according to Ravele.
“Women’s cricket is not sustainable unless we create more competitions for women’s cricket,” said Ravele. “We want to start an International Women’s League (SA20 Women). We therefore need to broaden the pool of women’s cricket players. U19 is the best place to broaden that base,” said Ravele.
Maties Cricket’s Tassies Oval, another venue for the final rounds of the Cricket South Africa Girls’ U19 T20 National Championships. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
“This tournament makes all involved know that all our efforts – the long hours, the hard work – all culminates to something as big as this. Parents and the community are now driving more kids towards our doorstep. This can only aid in the future development of the sport,” said Thapelo Maemela, from Kuruman Hub, who participated in the championship.