Makhanda will be a hive of activity this week as cricket lovers descend on the sleepy city for the Makhanda Schools Cricket Festival starting on Thursday.
Kingswood College will be hosting this year’s event, with games being played at three of Makhanda’s top schools; Kingswood (City Lords and Knight Field), St Andrew’s (Lower Field) and Graeme (Somerset Field) College.
The 26th edition of the event runs until Sunday, with teams competing in a variety of T20, 50-over and declaration cricket.
The Eastern Cape’s Pearson High, Gauteng’s St David’s Marist Inanda and St Alban’s as well as teams from Zimbabwe’s Peterhouse Boys and Hellenic Academy have made the trip to Makhanda to play in the festival.
With 2024’s matrics having left, space has opened up for the younger players to showcase their talent and secure a spot in the first teams.
The players will also be hoping to catch the eye of other talent scouts, which is bound to lead to some great action on the field.
Kingswood head of cricket Andrew Birch said he was excited to welcome all the teams to Makhanda.
“It is especially exciting to have St Alban’s back in the mix as well as St David’s, who are joining for the first time.
“Both are very competitive teams and we look forward to some great cricket,” Birch said.
“This festival allows our players to make new friends and to get some great experience on the field.”
Kingswood head Leon Grové said: “With the excitement of the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Tests around the world, we are reminded of cricket’s ability to excite, inspire and bring communities together.
“The Makhanda Schools Cricket Festival is an opportunity for the schools of Makhanda to do the same for our community and to create long-lasting relationships with schools both locally and internationally.
“An investment in cricket is a community investment.”
SuperSport Schools will live-stream the main games and the full programme, fixtures and itinerary will be up on the microsite https://sites.google.com/kingswoodcollege.com/makhandaschoolscricketfestival/home
The fixtures are:
Thursday, declaration, 9am: Kingswood v Hellenic (City Lords); St Andrew’s v St David’s (Lower); Graeme v Peterhouse (Somerset); St Alban’s v Pearson (Knight)
Friday, 50 overs, 9am: St Andrew’s v Hellenic (Lower); Graeme v St Alban’s (Somerset); St David’s v Pearson (Knight); 2pm: Kingswood v Peterhouse (City Lords)
Saturday, 50 overs, 9am: St Andrew’s v Pearson (Lower); Graeme v Hellenic (Somerset); Peterhouse v St Alban’s (Knight); 2pm: Kingswood v St David’s (City Lords)
Sunday, T20, 9.30am: Kingswood v Pearson (City Lords); St Andrew’s v St Alban’s (Lower); Graeme v St David’s (Somerset) — Kingswood Communications
Makhanda Schools Cricket Festival to showcase young talent
Image: 123RF
Makhanda will be a hive of activity this week as cricket lovers descend on the sleepy city for the Makhanda Schools Cricket Festival starting on Thursday.
Kingswood College will be hosting this year’s event, with games being played at three of Makhanda’s top schools; Kingswood (City Lords and Knight Field), St Andrew’s (Lower Field) and Graeme (Somerset Field) College.
The 26th edition of the event runs until Sunday, with teams competing in a variety of T20, 50-over and declaration cricket.
The Eastern Cape’s Pearson High, Gauteng’s St David’s Marist Inanda and St Alban’s as well as teams from Zimbabwe’s Peterhouse Boys and Hellenic Academy have made the trip to Makhanda to play in the festival.
With 2024’s matrics having left, space has opened up for the younger players to showcase their talent and secure a spot in the first teams.
The players will also be hoping to catch the eye of other talent scouts, which is bound to lead to some great action on the field.
Kingswood head of cricket Andrew Birch said he was excited to welcome all the teams to Makhanda.
“It is especially exciting to have St Alban’s back in the mix as well as St David’s, who are joining for the first time.
“Both are very competitive teams and we look forward to some great cricket,” Birch said.
“This festival allows our players to make new friends and to get some great experience on the field.”
Kingswood head Leon Grové said: “With the excitement of the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Tests around the world, we are reminded of cricket’s ability to excite, inspire and bring communities together.
“The Makhanda Schools Cricket Festival is an opportunity for the schools of Makhanda to do the same for our community and to create long-lasting relationships with schools both locally and internationally.
“An investment in cricket is a community investment.”
SuperSport Schools will live-stream the main games and the full programme, fixtures and itinerary will be up on the microsite https://sites.google.com/kingswoodcollege.com/makhandaschoolscricketfestival/home
The fixtures are:
Thursday, declaration, 9am: Kingswood v Hellenic (City Lords); St Andrew’s v St David’s (Lower); Graeme v Peterhouse (Somerset); St Alban’s v Pearson (Knight)
Friday, 50 overs, 9am: St Andrew’s v Hellenic (Lower); Graeme v St Alban’s (Somerset); St David’s v Pearson (Knight); 2pm: Kingswood v Peterhouse (City Lords)
Saturday, 50 overs, 9am: St Andrew’s v Pearson (Lower); Graeme v Hellenic (Somerset); Peterhouse v St Alban’s (Knight); 2pm: Kingswood v St David’s (City Lords)
Sunday, T20, 9.30am: Kingswood v Pearson (City Lords); St Andrew’s v St Alban’s (Lower); Graeme v St David’s (Somerset) — Kingswood Communications
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