Lucky 13 chase a Schools SA20 hat-trick as Volume 3 gets underway

Thirteen Schools SA20 teams head into Volume 3 of the competition chasing a hat-trick of provincial titles.

Seven boys' sides have won both Volumes on offer so far - Paarl Boys' High, Selborne College, St Andrew's School, Mqanduli Village Junior Secondary School, Middelburg Hoërskool, Hoërskool Kalahari and Bridgton Hub. With six girls' sides having matched them - HTS Drostdy, Stirling High School, Nomandi Junior Secondary School, Nkowankowa Hub, Saints Christian School and Bridgton Hub - that leaves a 'lucky' 13 trying to remain their province's best schools T20 teams for a third straight year.

Saints Christian School carry the highest profile of the group. They are the only side among the 13 to have gone all the way to the national final in both Volumes 1 and 2, only to fall short on each occasion. Reaching a final is one thing; winning it has proven the harder task, and Volume 3 gives the girls from Potchefstroom a third crack at closing out the job.

Nomandi Junior Secondary School and Nkowankowa Hub have also made Finals Week both times, without going as far as Saints. For Nomandi, a small school from the Kei region, that consistency is a considerable achievement in itself. Nkowankowa Hub's return has gone beyond results on the field - the CSA Hub has produced three players who have gone on to be invited to SA20 Under-19 Women's Camps, a marker of the pathway working as intended.

Bridgton Hub, from Oudtshoorn in the South Western Districts, stand alone in having won provincial titles with both their boys' and girls' teams in Volume 1 and Volume 2 - the only school on the list to have done the double twice over.

On the boys' side, St Andrew's School of Bloemfontein hold a distinction of their own: they are the only boys' team to have taken the full route from winning their Free State provincial title, through the regional tournament, and on to the national final in both years. St Andrew's have also claimed the Spirit of Cricket award at both Finals tournaments at the University of Pretoria - recognition that has run alongside their results rather than instead of them.

With Volume 3 now underway, the competition enters new territory. No school has won three straight provincial titles in the Schools SA20's short history, and the 13 sides on this list represent the league's most established group of contenders. Whether it is Saints finally converting a final into a title, Bridgton Hub extending their unique boys-and-girls double, or a new challenger breaking the pattern altogether, the season ahead will test how deep this early dominance really runs.