Warriors stand strong against Asians

The development of young sportspeople from previously disadvantaged communities is of paramount concern to the Government.

With this in mind, South African cricketing enthusiast and youth coach, Amos Cassimjee sought to promote the sport in Newcastle East.

Cricket in the area has seen tremendous development in recent years, and allowed him to pose a challenge to some developing squads.

oSizweni Warriors is an excellent example.

A strong base of naturally talented players augmented by hard workers, has resulted in a team that is well placed to challenge some of Newcastle West’s league teams.

Although not yet completely up to par, watching the team play fills one with a sense of pleasure as the team’s progress is clearly evident.

“Cricket is a highly regarded international sport. It is a sport everyone can enjoy and clearly has place for everyone, no matter their sporting background. We want to shed misconceptions around cricket and develop the sport among the youth of the town. Whether you come from Newcastle East or West, you can play cricket,” said Mr Cassimjee.

Backing these statements, oSizweni Warriors played against Northern District Cricket Association (NDCA) top seeded team, Asians last Saturday.

The game was played in the 30 over format, with Warriors’ batsmen taking their stance at the crease first.

The more seasoned Asians side was unforgiving in the bowling and fielding onslaught, with excellent wickets taken.

A major downfall of Warriors was the batsmen’s inexperience. Batsmen making silly decisions in their running between the stumps, resulted in wickets being lost to brilliant fielding.

The team, Warriors. true to its name, battled on valiantly, surviving all 30 overs to finally succumb to being bowled out in the 30th, with the team’s total score reading 153-all out.

Star batsman, Sandile proved to be a formidable force, providing a significant score of 81, the highest of the game, for his team.

Fellow batsman, Diba managed a satisfactory time at the crease, putting on a total of 27 runs before losing his wicket.

While the final score of Warriors was one to be exceptionally proud of, and seemed defendable in the 30 over format of the game, it must be taken into consideration that Asians is a high division team, capable of performing impressive feats, especially with the bat.

In fact, Asians’ batting line-up is regarded as one of the strongest in the NDCA, and the team made Warriors pay as star batsman, Altaf Topia carved his way through the bowling attack to a total of 80 runs, losing his wicket with six runs to left to win the game.

Leading from the front, Altaf brought the 153 chase to a quick finish as he punished the sometimes erratic bowling of Warriors.

Asians reached the total in 21 overs, while losing one wicket only, bringing the team’s total to 154-one after 21 overs.

“While Warriors lost, it still was an excellent run for the team. The team can hold their heads high, knowing they made an impressive score, and challenged a more experienced and seasoned side than their own young squad.”

It must be remembered that some Warriors players are as young as 13 years old.