Player Profile – Ryan Young (Jeppe)
The bowler might just as well have told Ryan Young what he intended to do with the delivery. The Jeppe High School for Boys‘ captain read Likho Gidi’s mind, moved into position early, and smacked the ball for six.
The next delivery landed in the slot and Young gave it the same treatment as the previous one.
The back-to-back sixes off the Hudson Park High bowler took his score from 89 to 101.
Young acknowledged his teammates, the coaches, and the sparse crowd before preparing to face the next delivery. He wiped the three-figure score from his mind as he set up to face the third ball of Gidi’s over.
The slate was clean. What had come before didn’t matter. Gidi pitched the ball in a good area, and Young accorded it the respect it deserved, blocking it with the full face of the bat.
Young finished the match with 127 from 123 deliveries, which set up Jeppe for a convincing 162-win. It set the tone for the Johannesburg school’s Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week campaign. They wouldn’t pull any punches. That century was also added to the list of Young’s favourite knocks.
“My most memorable moments would be making my debut for the first team, my highest score, being 165 (not out) against St Andrew’s [School] and, lastly, being part of the team that won the Johnny Waite Cup in 2023,” Young told SuperSport Schools Plus.
Unlike the ton against Hudson Park, which was free-flowing, Young tapped into his patient side when he recorded his 165 against St Andrew’s School in a time cricket match at the Grey College Festival. After reaching his century, the Grade 11 learner hit the reset button and batted on until his side declared their innings closed on 304/5.
He was content to see off maiden overs whenever the bowlers consistently pitched the ball in troublesome areas. However, he was also ready to pounce on anything loose. Watching him was like watching Joe Root bat. Ironically, the England great once played for St Andrew’s. It is, therefore, no surprise that Root is one of two batsmen that Young looks up to; the other is Quinton de Kock.
“I have looked up to these players since I began playing cricket and have adapted my game to try resemble how they play,” Young revealed. He hopes to emulate both and play international cricket.
“My plans for after school would be to continue playing cricket at a high level: provincial, international or franchise cricket around the world. Wherever I end up, cricket will always be a part of my life,” Young declared.
Since he was able to play the game unsupervised, cricket has been an integral part of his life. He was drawn into the sport by an older cousin, whom he watched play for hours on end.
“I started playing cricket at six years of age and only played my first ever cricket match at 10. I spent many afternoons watching my older cousin play cricket and that drew me to the game,” he recalled.
Young received a taste of first team cricket at Jeppe nine years after picking up a bat for the first time. However, it wasn’t a full debut, he was an injury replacement for their wicketkeeper at the St David’s Marist Inanda Fasken Time Cricket Festival.
“My journey into the first team cricket started at Fasken in my grade 8 year, when the wicket keeper at the time got injured. This was an honour and privilege to play at such a young age,” he said.
Life came full circle when he celebrated his 100th cap for Jeppe at the 2025 Fasken Festival. Unfortunately, Young was unable to make the milestone a landmark score. However, he could take solace from the fact that he scored a wonderful 114 off 124 balls in his 99th match, again against Bloemfontein’s St Andrew’s, a school with a strong cricket pedigree.
“[Earning] 100 caps for Jeppe’s first team is a great honour and, hopefully, when I leave the school next year I’ll be leaving with 150 caps,” he said.
In the meantime, the grade 11 learner is focused on leading Jeppe’s challenge in the Gauteng Lions League and Switch Schools SA20 – Volume Two competition.
Young cites patience, guiding and assisting teammates, calmness, determination, and commitment as his strengths.
“I have learnt how to make the worst days become better days. I try and use the lessons to create a better tomorrow,” he explained.
