First for Hans Moore cricket
Out of 28 matches this school year, HHM has lost just four.
Hoërskool Hans Moore’s (HHM) first cricket team, coached by the school’s director of cricket, Paul Amorin, has done the school proud this past term by winning the Easterns Platinum League.
Not to be outdone, the u-15A side, under the mentorship of Kevin Hinton, the main feeder to the first team, also took top honours in their age group.
This leaves the Northmead-based high school in a very promising position ahead of the resumption of the local school cricket season in January.
“Next year we lose only three matrics, so the rest of the first team stays pretty much the same,” commented Amorin.
“Those u-15 boys are going to have to fight for those spots, so with the strength of the u-15s coming through, it will create lots of competition within the first team.
“Not even some of the senior boys are going to be safe. They will have to perform out of their skins because there are some serious u-15 boys coming through next year,” commented Amorin.
The first team is currently sitting on a very healthy 85 per cent win ratio for the season and has beaten some traditionally strong cricketing schools like Hoërskool Centurion. They are presently ranked 32nd in the country.
“Our concern at the beginning of the year was fielding and that’s something we have placed an emphasis on. I feel that’s been the difference between us and the other teams,” added Amorin.
In a historic first for the school, both the first team and u-15As have both advanced to the semi-finals of the Gunn & Moore knockout competition, where they come up against the top schools in the country.
Just before the start of the new school year in January, both teams, which train together during the regular season, will be going on tour to Cape Town.
The up-and-coming u-15s will get their first taste of first-team cricket against well-known Western Cape sporting schools like Stellenberg High School, Paarl Boys’ High School and Paarl Gimnasium.
HHM has a rich cricket history and former learners Lusiba Ngoepe (Warriors), Kabelo Sikhukhune (Titans) and Xolani Mahlaba (KZN Inland) are currently playing provincial and franchise cricket. Sikhukhune and Mahlaba are both from Daveyton while Ngoepe grew up in Vosloorus.
