Gelvandale U13s tourney champs

Proud achievement for young PE side in T20 event The Gelvandale Cricket Club’s U13 side surpassed all expectations to clinch the annual Freedom Pitsa T20 tournament in Worcester during the school holidays. The boys won a nail-biting final against the Durbanville Cricket Club A side by six runs in the final on Wednesday. “In the first game, I wasn’t actually performing well, but then we picked up and started performing as a team,” captain Jade Smith said. “We felt we were working towards our goal.” The Gelvan U13s were squared up against Paul Roos in their opening fixture. After winning the toss, they opted to bat and set a decent 184/4. The target seemed was just out of reach for Paul Roos as they were edged out by six runs. Their next opponents were the Durbanville Cricket Club B side. The GCC U13s posted 138/9 before bowling out the Western Cape side for 120, with Tyrique Burger securing a fivewicket haul. “We found ourselves in a situation after the Durbanville game, which was the second game of the day and a very tight one,” coach Robin du Plessis said. “Then all of a sudden the mood changed, we realised we could go all the way.” Day two saw the team squared up against Strandfontein who managed 115/9. Gelvan captain Smith then led the chase, scoring a half century in the process, as they cruised to an eight-wicket win. Hosts Worcester North were next to fall victim, with Gelvan making 159. The hosts put on a good chase, but could only reach 132 in their innings to help Gelvan qualify for the semifinals and set up a fixture against giants Western Province. Smith was in form again with the bat, racing to 50 off only 21 deliveries. The final over saw Smith and fellow batsman Cohen Niekerk reach their 100-run partnership. They ended their innings with 183, with Smith falling 10 runs short of a century. The Gelvan attack then suffocated the WP batting order, restricting the Cape side to 97/6, with Cohen Assam and Nikolai Hector star bowlers. “The boys showed true fighting spirit and maturity beyond their years. I am so proud to be a part of this,” assistant coach Mark Blaauw said. The victory over WP set up an intense final against the Durbanville Cricket Club A side. Gelvan won the toss and elected to bat. The boys were dealt a blow in the sixth over, suffering the loss of Niekerk with only 21 on the board. However, they held their composure to end their innings on 122/7. Durbanville led a good chase, reaching 54 with the loss of two. By the last two overs, Durbanville were only 13 runs from securing the victory with Ashley Murphy conceding five runs before Niekerk steered the ship, restricting Durbanville to only one run in the final over as Gelvan triumphed by six runs.