Junior cricketers celebrate a rare achievement

This past cricket season has been one for the history books for the Benoni Northerns u-12 Super League Impala side.

“The Super League consisted of the best u-12 players from across the East Rand under the auspices of the Easterns Junior Cricket Association,” said coach Suleiman Ebrahim.

A team of diverse youngsters achieved the unthinkable by not only winning the league, but also ending the season on an unbeaten note.

“This is indeed a proud moment for the club and one that the boys will cherish for years to come,” said Ebrahim. “As the coach, my approach to the games was to instill the age-old values of hard work, perseverance, fair play and respect for one’s opponent.

“At the end of the day, our boys showed a never-say-die attitude on the field, better cricketing acumen and decision-making that far belied their youth. In so doing, we beat all comers including the likes of the much vaunted Kempton Park, Bedfordview and Boksburg clubs. The closest we came to defeat was a nail?biting tied game with United CC.” said Ebrahim.

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Chairperson Brendan Stolle was full of praise for the side’s achievement.

“I want to congratulate coach Ebrahim and his team of highly talented youngsters for their amazing feat,” said Stolle. “This must surely rate as a first for Northerns, certainly since I’ve been involved in junior cricket,” he said.

While all the boys contributed to the success of the team, stand out performances came from:

• Keenan Shaw (best batsman): 201 runs, 67 average
• Ethan Meiring (best bowler): 18 wickets
• Matthew Nicholas (best all-rounder): 186 runs, 37 average, six wickets

“With most of our boys entering high school next year, we wish them every success for the future, on and off the field of play,” said Ebrahim.

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