Vihan Pretorius is one of three returning players named in the Titans’ u19 squad that will battle for top honours at the Khaya Majola Week from 16 to 20 December in Stellenbosch.
The Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) star is enjoying a productive year with both bat and ball and will be one of the key players for the men from the Jacaranda City.
In September, Pretorius showed his batting might with an unbeaten 241, an Affies’ record, against Garsfontein. That’s the highest 1st XI score by any batsman in the country in 2026.
Tshepang Laka and Rico van der Walt were also in action at the Khaya Majola Week last year. Laka, a wicketkeeper-batsman, also picked up experience at the Schools SA20 National Finals earlier in the year, representing the CSA Hub Invitational side.
Van der Walt has been in sensational form with the bat and will be keen to carry that purple patch into the national week. The Hoërskool Waterkloof top-order batsman has been in fine form, regularly among the runs in the Titans League, including scoring two centuries.
That experienced trio won’t have to carry the burden of run-scoring between them. The Titans think tank has added the talents of AJ de Villiers and Ethan Williams to the mix.
De Villiers has set the Titans provincial scene on fire, and scored 217 against Noordheuwel at the St David’s Marist Inanda Fasken Time Cricket Festival, while Williams, who featured for the Blue Bulls at the FNB Craven Week, has been a solid performer at the top of the order for Affies.
The Titans also have a bevy of all-rounders – Zian Labuschagne, Neo Makwela, and Vorster de Villiers – who can pick up the pieces should the top order struggle to gather momentum in the innings. They’ve all shown their ability with the bat and ball repeatedly this season, with Labuschagne, who opens the bowling for Affies, recently scoring a century to help his side to a win over St David’s Marist Inanda.
The squad features players from eight sources: the Atteridgeville Hub, Waterkloof, Affies, Prestige College, Garsfontein, Cornwall Hill College, Sutherland High, and the Laudium Hub.
Like last year, Laka is the lone player from Atteridgeville, while Waterkloof has three representatives in the side.
Affies supporters may have been downcast that their celebrated side contributed only a single player to last year’s squad. This year, they will be happier that the school that boasts AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, and Dewald Brevis among its products has four players flying their flag high.
Prestige College, like Atteridgeville, has a single representative. So, too, do Garsfontein, Sutherland, Cornwall Hill, and the Laudium Hub.
The Titans have retained the same coaching staff that did duty last year. Coach Thabang Khumalo will be assisted by Elmar Dorey, and Thabiso Makwela is the team manager.
Team
Tshepang Laka (Atteridgeville Hub), AJ de Villiers (Hoërskool Waterkloof), JP Botha (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool), Vihan Pretorius (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool), Rico van der Walt (Hoërskool Waterkloof), Omphile Maredi (Prestige College), Zian Labuschagne (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool), Katlego Lebelo (Hoërskool Garsfontein), Mulalo Mavhalane (Sutherland High), Neo Makwela (Cornwall Hill College), Rehaan Patel (Laudium Hub), Ethan Williams (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool), Vorster de Villiers (Hoërskool Waterkloof).
