The CSA Provincial TKO Competition.

The triumph of the SA u19, A double-edged sword.

Cricket South Africa’s structure change of domestic cricket kicked off in 2021. That is where we started seeing the South Africa Under 19 boys compete with teams from both Division 1 and 2. However, things were to be different this year. The two tournaments were split, and each division was given its own. Division 1 kept the T20 Challenge which began just yesterday, and Division 2 was given the T20 Knock Out Competition. The Provincial TKO Competition which involved the Div 2 sides and the SA u19 side took place early this month. The tournament was won by the SA U19 side. Something that left me somewhat ambivalent.

Coach Shukri and his boys participated in the tournament and took down 2nd division sides 1 by 1 until they got to the final where they took down 1 more 2nd Division side in order to be crowned champions. There are two things I feel have not been spoke about when it comes to this tournament and the U19 side’s triumph. Perhaps a few people may feel a bit discombobulated by this because these two things or rather, these two points because they might, at some point contradict each other.

The U19 side.

Anyone who follows this level of South African cricket will know that Coach Shukri and his coaching staff started preparing for the tournament months before the actual tournament. They hosted multiple camps where they started with a bigger group which they later narrowed down to the final squad they picked for the tournament. A lot of time and hard work went into the side’s preparation. I am not sure how many people would have predicted that the tournament would be won by the under 19 side but consistent performances from the top order along with the bowling attack also clicking, the SA u19 side clinched the tournament thanks to a Captain’s master class from George van Heerden in the final. There were a few questions around the selector’s ratiocination when it came to picking boys who would not qualify for the next U19 world cup. However, the selectors were justified by the team’s performances. They managed to mix the team up well in terms of experience and newbies. The selectors made sure that their David had the exact stones he needed to defeat his Goliath. A lot of credit should definitely go to Coach Shukri and his coaching staff for a fantastic job. The brand of cricket the team played was fearless and exactly how successful teams play in modern cricket.

2nd Division have questions to answer.

While not taking anything away from the U19 team and its success, it would be naïve of us to ignore what their victory could possibly mean. Not just their victory but how they won. Before the start of the tournament, I tweeted that I expected the side to win at least 2/3 matches in the tournament because I had been following the team and individuals in the side for a while now. However, I was not even aware that they would only have 3 other sides in their Pool. Building up to the tournament, they beat a really good Tuks side and that for me only added to what I knew of them. For the tournament, I honestly believed the team would win 2/3 matches at most and was surprised when they won all their matches. However, it raised concerns when I realised that the team was barely struggling to win and that too, against 2nd division sides. Perhaps the 2nd Division sides have a lot of questions they need to ask themselves. Were the SA U19 boys just too good or did the 2nd Division sides not show up as best they could? I have also found myself wondering, does this mean the standard of cricket in Div. 2 is so low that even schoolboys can, not only compete but can dominate, or the 2nd division sides just undermined the SA U19 only to be ambushed by the obvious? I never really find an answer to this, but my hope is that maybe they just undermined the SA U19 boys because it would be a major concern that the standard of cricket in div 2 would be that low.

SA U19 finished top of Pool A after defeating Inland, Easterns and Mpumalanga. One would have expected the U19 side to compete but to win the tournament in the manner in which they won it, came as a surprise and a concern to me considering the fact that most if not all of them are still schoolboy cricketers. The U19 side can however not be blamed for performing well. Coach Shukri’s boys took the bull by its horns. 3 SA U 19 bowlers feature in the top 5 list for most wicket takers for the tournament with one of them, Liam Alder being the leading wicket taker. The top 5 list of most runs’ features 3 SA u19 batters with George van Heerden coming in at 6 in the top 10 taking the tally to 4 in the top 10. SA U19 opening batter, Meeka-eel Prince was the leading run scorer of the tournament. Throughout the tournament, the SA U19 looked the part and played aggressive cricket for most parts of the tournament.

The SA U19’s Golden run

30-September

Played their group/pool opener against Eastern Storm and won by 5 Wickets with 24 balls remaining.

1st October

Beat KZN Inland by 15 runs after scoring 150 for 7 in 20 overs.

2nd October

The SA u 19 side continued with its great form and beat Mpumalanga by 81 runs, having scored a big 191.

8th October

They faced Border in the 2nd Semi Final where they won by 4 wickets and 7 balls remaining.

9th October

Took on Northern Cape Heat in the final and had to chase 141 to win. The SA u19 side won the match by 4 wickets with 5 balls.

Taking nothing away from the U19 side but, the 2nd division sides may very well have some introspection to do. It is good that the country’s U19 side plays good cricket, but it is also worrying that our 2nd division sides can easily be rolled over by schoolboy cricketers. One would have expected the SA U19 side to at least compete but seeing them go as far as winning the tournament would have obviously come as a shock.