BORDER PICTURE TO EMERGE FOLLOWING GLUT OF FIXTURES

The Schools SA20 picture in Border will be all the more clearer at the end of this week with the majority of the region’s fixtures – girls and boys – taking place over the coming four days.

On Thursday, 5 September, five of the six sub-regions of the girls division – Alice, Chris Hani, Healdtown, Mdantsane and Middledrift – will host mini-tournaments to decide their qualifier for the inter-regional knockout stage.

That will leave only the East London sub-region to supply a contender (their final is next Thursday, 12 September) for the final stages in the region scheduled for middle-part of October.

Similarly, in the boys competition, six of Border’s eight sub-regions will conclude their mini-tournaments on Sunday, 8 September – effectively confirming their team for the quarterfinal stage (scheduled for 26 September). The subregions are:

BORDER BOYS SUB-REGIONAL FINALS

• Alice (Sunday, 8 September at University of Fort Hare, Alice/Dikeni)
• Buffalo Flats (Sunday, 8 September at Alfred Schoeman Sports Ground, East London)
• Chris Hani (Sunday, 8 September at Queen’s College Boys’ High School, Queenstown/Komani)
• Healdtown (Sunday, 8 September at Ngumbela Park, Healdtown)
• Mdantsane (Sunday, 8 September at Winter Rose Sports Ground, Mdantsane)
• Middledrift (Sunday, 8 September at Moko Sports Complex, Debe Nek)
• East London (Thursday, 19 September - venue TBC)
• King William’s Town (Thursday, 19 September at Dale College Boys’ High School, King William’s Town/Qonce)

Of course, the region has long been a hotbed for future international cricketers, with the likes of Daryll Cullinan (Queen’s College), Mark Boucher (Selborne College), Makhaya Ntini and Monde Zondeki (both Dale College) rising to prominence in 1990s. Recently, Sinethemba Qeshile and SA20 Season 2 Rookie, Nqaba Peter have emerged from Hudson Park High School and gone on to earn Proteas T20I caps.

The Proteas Women too have alumna from the Border schools structures, notably experienced wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta (Stirling High School) and batting allrounder Anneke Bosch (Hoërskool Grens).

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All of their alma maters will be in action in the coming days, hoping to both progress far in the inaugural season of Schools SA20 and show their conveyor belt of talent remains in operation.