St David’s Marist Inanda will open the school’s gates to welcome 11 of the nation’s other leading schoolboy cricket teams for the Fasken Time Cricket Festival, which runs from 3 to 6 September.
St David’s four pitches – La Valla Oval, Gier Oval, Temba Bavuma Oval, La Rosey Oval – will host eight of the contests, while four others will be played on St John’s College’s Mitchell Oval and the Dlamini Oval at St Stithians College.
The hosts, St David’s, will be joined by five teams from the Central Gauteng Lions catchment: St John’s, St Stithians, King Edward VII School (KES), Jeppe High, Hoërskool Noordheuwel, and the Lions Invitational XI.
“We are proud to welcome the Lions Invitational side, which is always a really good team, which they put together. It helps in widening the net and giving boys the opportunity,” Dave Nosworthy, the St David’s Director of Cricket, told SuperSport Schools News.
Hoërskool Waterkloof makes a short trip from Pretoria, and St Andrew’s School travels from Bloemfontein. Hoërskool Middelburg carries Mpumalanga’s interests, while Clifton College and St Charles College fly in from KwaZulu-Natal.
“The whole aim of the festival is to ensure that our boys learn to play the longer format of the game,” Nosworthy explained.
“Obviously, these are two two-day games, but what it allows us to do is let batters bat for longer periods, and bowlers to bowl extended and different spells throughout the day. It also allows our fielders to get time on their legs.”
The more time the players spend on their feet, the better prepared they will be going into the season, Nosworthy reckoned. The coach also pointed to the importance of the festival in helping players learn and understand the art of building an innings, a craft that is vital in 50-over cricket.
“At the end of the day, that’s how the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week and South African schools’ teams are selected, on 50-over cricket. That is the same for the World Cups. It’s all 50-over cricket. So, we are giving them a longer version of the game to prepare themselves and be ready for batting time, bowl extended spells, and be fit enough from a cricket point of view,” he expanded
Nosworthy also said the festival provides schools with an opportunity to give their matric learners game time before they get busy with preliminary and final exams. He noted, also, that some utilise the Fasken Time Cricket Festival as a chance to introduce younger players into the first team.
For St David’s, the festival serves as quality preparation for a season that kicks off with a trip to KZN for the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Festival. Immediately after that, they’ll be in action at the Wildeklawer North-South T20 Tournament.
“Fasken Law has been our sponsor for nine years,” Nosworthy said. “They have been with us from the start, so that’s why it’s basically become known to everybody as the Fasken Festival.
“It’s great to have them on board again.”
Fixtures
3-4 September
St David’s vs St Andrew’s School, La Valla Oval
John’s vs Waterkloof, Mitchell Oval
St Stithians vs Clifton College, Dlamini Oval
KES vs Lions, Gier Oval
Jeppe vs Middleburg, Temba Bavuma Oval
Noordheuwel vs St Charles, La Rosey Oval
5-6 September
St David’s vs Middleburg, La Valla Oval
St John’s vs Clifton College, Mitchell Oval
St Stithians vs St Charles, Dlamini Oval
KES vs St Andrew’s School, Temba Bavuma Oval
Jeppe vs Lions, La Rosey Oval
Noordheuwel vs Waterkloof, Gier Oval
