Khaya Majola Week a stepping stone for future Proteas
The annual Khaya Majola Week will return to Cape Town for the first time since 2018. It will be the fourth time since 1994 that the Mother City has hosted this prestigious cricket week.
Cape Town also hosted the tournament back in 2002 and 2011.
The Khaya Majola Week is still a major stepping stone for cricketers in South Africa. In 2018 the week produced current Proteas like Tristan Stubbs (Eastern Province), Gerald Coetzee (Free State) and Marco Jansen (North West).
This year Richard Seletswane of the Central Gauteng Lions will be looking to join a special club of players. Seletswane has collected three South African Schools’ caps thus far. He made the side in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Only five other players have managed to be selected for the SA Schools side four or more times. Dassie Biggs (Eastern Province, 1963, 1963 Engeland, 1964, 1965), Smokey Featherstone (Transvaal, 1966, 1967, 1967 Engeland, 1968), Barry Richards (Natal, 1962, 1963, 1963 Engeland, 1964) and Neil Rosendorff (Free State, 1962, 1963, 1963 Engeland, 1964).
Hylton Ackerman tops the list with six SA Schools caps in 1962, 1963, 1963 England, 1964, 1965 and 1966.
Since unification, no player has managed to have the honour of representing the SA Schools’ side more than three times. Besides Seletswane four other players boast three SA Schools’ caps since 1994.
They are Zwelibanzi Homani (Eastern Province, 1999-01), Tulani Ngxoweni (Border, 94-96), Jacques Rudolph (Northerns, 1997-99) and Wayne Parnell (Eastern Province, 2005-07).
Three of Seletswane’s teammates of 2023 – Benni Hansen (Western Province), Jorich van Schalkwyk (Titans) and Parth Patel (Easterns) are also back to see if they could get a second cap.
Hansen captained the national schools’ side last year and could become the first player since unification to lead the side twice. Patel produced the best-ever bowling performance during last year’s tournament in Makhanda when he grabbed seven wickets for a mere 15 runs against Northern Cape.
The previous record belonged to Du Pavillon who bagged seven wickets for only 18 runs against North West in 2012.
Four members of the South African u19-side which reached the semi-final of the u19 ICC World Cup earlier this year will also be in action in Cape Town. They are Seletswane, Sipho Potsane (Gauteng), Nqobani Mokoena (KwaZulu-Natal) and Steve Stolk (Titans).
Hansen, Esa Gangat (Eastern Province) and Raeeq Daniels (Western Province) have also been capped at u19 level. Three kingpins of the national u19-side Kwena Maphaka (Central Gauteng), Lhuand-ré Pretorius (Titans) and Riley Norton (Boland) were eligible to play at this year’s tournament but were not available for selection.
Maphaka will be part of the senior Protea squad for the vital test series against Pakistan, while Pretorius was not released by the Titans senior side. Norton who made both the SA Schools rugby and cricket sides in 2023 has decided on rugby as his career of choice.
In total there is also seven Colt-players from 2023 which will be looking to upgrade their caps to SA Schools’ ones. They are Muhammed Bulbulia (North West), Sabelo Mabanga (Easterns), Potsane, Dakalo Leketa (Free State), Simon Liversage (Northern Cape), Enathi Kitshini (Garden Route Badgers) and Daniels.
In the three previous weeks in Cape Town, it was an equal contest between bat and ball. In total 19 centuries were scored while 18 five-wicket hauls were picked up during the three tournaments of 2002, 2011 and 2018.
These three specific weeks have however produced some fine talent towards the Proteas’ fast bowling attack over the years. In 2018 it was Jansen and Coetzee, while 2011 produced Anrich Nortjé (Eastern Province), Lizaad Williams (Boland) and Daryn du Pavillon (KwaZulu-Natal Inland).
In 2002 the Khaya Majola Week produced future Protea pacemen in Vernon Philander (Western Province), Morné Morkel (Gauteng) and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Eastern Province B).
