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Affies, Garsfontein the favourites in Schools SA20 playoffs at Willowmoore

By Franco Oberholzer , in Cricket | Featured Cricket | News , at 2025-01-29 Tags: , , , , , ,

Affies’ batsman Vihan Pretorius: Jean Le Roux

All roads lead to Benoni, specifically Willowmoore Park, for phase two of the Schools SA20 regional playoffs between the top two teams from the Northern GautengLimpopo, and Easterns regions. 

They’ll battle it out for a place in the national final and a shot at ultimate glory at the University of Pretoria from 12-15 March. 

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The home of Eastern Cricket, Willowmoore Park will host all of the matches on four fields: the Willowmoore Park Oval, Willowmoore B, Willowmoore C, and Willowmoore D.

As expected, the Phase Two playoffs will bring some big guns together. The match between Hoërskool Kempton Park and Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies) will surely be the highlight of the first day. The Kempies, having won the Easterns leg, under the leadership of captain, Marko Richter, will pose a big threat, and not only to Affies.

Kempton Park’s frontline batsmen, Wian Pieters and Hanré van Deventer, hit their straps at just the right time, on the eve of the action in Benoni. They warmed up for the Schools SA20 playoffs by each scoring a century against Potchefstroom Gimnasium in the Finsbury League.

The Affies’ challenge will be fronted by the talented left-handed batsman Vihan Pretorius, who showed off his class throughout 2024. That earned him a place in the Northern u16 side, and he followed that up by representing the CSA Invitational team at the Khaya Majola Week in December. Then, at just 16 years of age, he turned out for the Northern Champions in the CSA u19 Cubs Week in early January.

Alongside Pretorius, all-rounder, Ruben Groenewald, will also have a massive role to play. As arguably the cleanest hitter of a cricket ball in the Affies’ side, his wicket will, without a doubt, be prized.

Merensky Landbou Akademie, the winners of the Limpopo leg of the Schools SA20, will have their work cut out for them. They face a tough challenge, with Hoërskool Garsfontein‘s Ysbere waiting for them in the first round. Garsfontein is off to an unbeaten start to the season, mostly thanks to the bat of the talented Xander Venter, and they’re viewed as a team that could go all the way.

Merensky’s clash with the Ysbere will be followed by two equally challenging encounters, with that Friday morning match being followed by an outing against Hoërskool Kempton Park on Friday afternoon and, then, they take on Affies on Saturday morning.

St Benedict’s College, the Easterns’ runner-up, will face Limpopo’s runner-up, Phalaborwa Hub, in their opening match. Getting away to a winning start and building momentum will be important to both sides. Bennies will tackle Affies on Friday afternoon.

All teams will play two matches on both Friday and Saturday, while the final will be the only match taking place on Sunday.

Matches start at 10:00 and 14:00 on Friday and Saturday. The Final starts at 09:30 on Sunday.

FIXTURES

Day One – Friday – 31 January

10:00
Hoërskool Kempton Park vs Affies
Phalaborwa Hub vs St Benedict’s College
Merensky vs Garsfontein

14:00
Garsfontein vs Phalarborwa Hub
Affies vs St Benedict’s College
Merensky vs Hoërskool Kempton Park

Saturday – 1 February 

10:00
St Benedict’s College vs Garsfontein
Affies vs Merensky
Hoërskool Kempton Park vs Phalaborwa Hub

14:00: Semi-Finals
Pool A no. 1 vs Pool no. 2
Pool B no. 1 vs Pool A no. 2

Sunday – 2 February

09:30 – Final

Log no. 1 vs Log no. 2.

Franco Oberholzer
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.