The recently completed Cape Premier League u-17 and u-19 cricket tournaments produced some scintillating cricket over the past six weeks. Altogether 130 of the strongest cricketers in each age group in the Western Cape represented their respective CPL franchisers with the expectation of lifting the coveted trophy.
In the CPL u-19 competition the defending champions Six Gun Grill Outlaws were unbeaten throughout the round-robin stage, but fell short of any 2021 repeat with an unexpected loss to a disciplined Bulls team in their semi-final encounter.
The confident Bulls team were full value for their money in the finals and must have felt they let the trophy slip by narrowly losing off the last ball in their finals encounter with the more fancied Phantoms team. The Phantoms for their part had accounted for the Sixers in the other semi-final.
Phantoms were crowned CPL u-19 champions, and both they and the Bulls progress to the National Premier League Championships to be held later in the year in Johannesburg.
The CPL u-17 tournament produced some of the most exciting and closest encounters leading up to the finals with no clear favourite claiming its stake.
It was the Six Gun Grill Outlaws who prevailed in their nail-biter semi-final over the VW Pirates which drew the most attention. Chasing 118 runs the Outlaws were quickly in trouble at 15/5 before an incredible rear guard resurrection from Hamish Anderson and Micka Labuschagne drew the Outlaws closer to their target. Requiring 13 runs off the last over Anderson stood tall steering his team over the line off the final ball of the innings.
The final proved to be as exciting with this time the Outlaws having to defend their score of 128 runs against the Sixers who had progressed by beating the Phantoms in their earlier semi-final. Needing 11 runs off the last over the Sixers looked well in control with only 2 wickets down; however the bowler/wicket keeper duo of Christian Burger and Reinhard Barnard (both Paarl Boys High School pupils) were magnificent in restricting the over to only seven runs resulting in the Outlaws winning by four runs. Both the Outlaws and Sixers progress to the National Premier League Championships.
The u-17 team consists of Reinhard Barnard, Christiaan Burger, Christiaan Bourbon Lefty, Christiaan Wege, Johan Wege, Jarod Francis, Connor Batt and Lieben Engelbrecht, all from Paarl Boys’ High, as well as Micka Labuschagne (not known), Lian Labuschagne (not known), Xavier Garvs (not known) and Naas Beets (Wynberg).
