Dale College and Queen’s College will add another chapter to their longstanding rivalry when they cross swords in a Rain Schools SA20 Derby Series encounter on the Parry Davies Field at Queen’s College on Friday afternoon.
Dale and Queen’s, founded in 1861 and 1858, respectively, have shared a hot rivalry in the Border region for over 100 years.
“Our rivalry against Dale is one of our biggest. It means a lot to the boys,” Janse van der Ryst Junior, the Queen’s head coach, told SuperSport Schools News.
Catch the action live on SuperSport Schools
Queen’s will have the advantage of playing in front of an expectant home crowd, and Van der Ryst will hope his charges deliver a performance to make their supporters proud. Van der Ryst said his players are more used to playing long-format cricket, but they have embraced the shorter format and its challenges.
He gave a big thumbs-up to the Rain Schools SA20 Derby Series: “What a great platform for our young cricketers to express themselves,” he enthused. ”
Just today (Tuesday), the intensity the players brought to practice shows their keenness to make Friday a good show for everyone.”
Mthokozisi Mbambo will lead Queen’s. He’s an outstanding new ball bowler.
When Queen’s last faced Dale, he produced a superb spell, capturing 6/12 in 6.3 overs, to propel his side to an overwhelming victory as Dale was skittled for only 28.
Earlier that day, Caleb Waller struck an unbeaten 60 to steer Queen’s to 228/8. The hosts would love nothing more than to produce a similarly dominant performance against their long-time rivals. Dale, though, will have their sights set on an upset.
“The boys are keen to do well in this fixture,” Thandisizwe Bula, Dale’s Head of Cricket, said. “We suffered a huge loss to Queen’s in the last match we played against them. The boys want to correct that. They don’t want to suffer two losses against Queen’s in a single season.”
Bula, who took over the reins recently, offers a wealth of experience. He has worked as a CSA U15 and U17 Framework Coach with the Limpopo Impala cricket team. He was the Assistant Coach of the Border U16 provincial side, and also enjoyed a spell as the Head Coach and Manager of several North West age-group teams.
The trip to Queen’s will be bittersweet for the Bula, an Old Queenian, who represented the school’s 1st XI. However, while he might support Queen’s in other matches, his loyalties will be with his charges, who are seeking redemption.
Bula and first-team coach Justerino Davids have been working tirelessly to get the boys ready for the challenge. They will take a relatively young team to Queen’s. It includes only two matric students, the captain, Afika Ganda, and Somila Malapi. Both are hugely motivated for Thursday’s big showdown.
It’s a milestone match for Ganda, who will make his 100th appearance for Dale and will be keen to mark it with a great batting performance. He will celebrate his 100th match alongside his coach, Davids, whose journey started around the time Ganda made his 1st XI debut. Like Ganda, Malapi is also a top-order batsman.
Khwezi Mtshakazi will lead the Dale College bowling attack. A promising all-rounder, he has shown moments of brilliance and will be keen to deliver against his school’s biggest rival.
“We have a lot of talent in our side,” Bula said. “The boys are ready to go out there and express themselves.”
The contest starts at 14:00.
