The Johannesburg Invitational XI will land in Zimbabwe with the express intention of representing South African schools’ cricket with pride, dignity, and professionalism at the St John’s College Rams T20 Challenge.
The annual event, hosted by St John’s College in Harare, runs from 18 to 20 September.
The Invitational side is made up of players from three of Johannesburg’s top cricket-playing schools: St John’s College, King Edward VII (KES), and Jeppe High School for Boys.
The team will be under Bongani Ntini‘s guidance. KES’s Pieter van Rooyen will serve as the St John’s coach’s assistant, while Sharmin Naidoo, also from KES, is the team manager.
“This tournament provides a platform to help grow the guys’ games and provides them with an opportunity to compete at a higher level. It takes them outside their comfort zone,” Ntini said.
He’ll be aiming to secure the title for the second successive year. Ntini pointed out that some of last year’s top performers, including Troy Gordon, Wade McQuinn, and Tiago Dias benefitted immensely from the event. The trio, who are in their matric year, will not be making the trip. Ntini said they go out of their way not to select Grade 12 players. The coach also pointed out that they are not an academy.
This year’s line-up includes four players who were members of last year’s team: Lincoln Casais, Josh Hall, Tapiwa Chikwava, and Keegan Hendey. Given their experience and their knowledge of the conditions, they are expected to lead from the front.
Hall captains the side and will be one of its key batsmen alongside Casais.
On the bowling front, Jean de Villiers and Mathew de Jong will spearhead the attack.
“They are very forceful bowlers,” Ntini reckoned. “We are looking to them to put the batters under pressure early on in the powerplay.”
As they did last year, the management has tried to balance experience with youth. This year, the youthful players include the Gilmour twins, Jared and Bryn, Kyle Hennene, and Sean Rowles.
“Jared, Bryn, and Kyle are in Grade 10. This tournament provides them with an opportunity to grow.
“Jared and Bryn are already in our first team here at St. John’s. Kyle is an up-and-coming top-order, left-handed batter. I’m very excited to see what they will do in Zim,” Ntini said.
The Invitational XI’s first assignment will be a fixture against Wise Owl on Friday afternoon, before crossing swords with St George’s College a few hours later. They will then round off their group matches with a tie against Falcon College on Saturday afternoon.
Team:
Farhaan Ahmed (KES), Sean Rowles (St David’s Marist Inanda), James van Tonder (KES), Lincoln Casais (Jeppe), Herman Basson (St John’s), Kyle Hennene (KES), Joshua Hall (St John’s), Tapiwa Chikwava (St John’s), Bryn Gilmour (St John’s), Juan de Villiers (St John’s), Jared Gilmour (St John’s), Mathew De Jong (KES), Keegan Hendey (KES).
