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Pearson Cricket Festival Fixtures

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The 16th edition of the Pearson Cricket Festival will again play a big role in showcasing the young talent in the Eastern Cape when it takes place at 13 venues in Gqeberha from Thursday to Sunday.

In addition, a big challenge will come from the Western Cape, with top sporting schools such as Wynberg, Rondebosch, Parel Vallei and Boland Landbou all sending teams to this cricket extravaganza.

For more than a decade, this annual tournament has provided a golden opportunity for players to make their mark and for coaches to appraise the upcoming talent in their squads.

Filling a gap in the sporting calendar between the rugby and cricket seasons, the festival has shown incredible growth over the last decade and a half, increasing from four teams playing matches over two days to 24 teams and 49 matches over four days.

Pearson head of sport Charl van der Merwe said they were thrilled to be able to play an important part in the cricketing programme.

“It was started many years ago because the fourth term is so short due to exams that it basically consisted of three weeks of sport,” he said.

“So we decided to start this festival on a small scale in the beginning to fill that gap and it has grown massively, with schools from across our region and further afield all keen to be part of it.

“We have had discussions about reducing the size but after some consideration it was agreed to not to try to limit it so as to give as many players as possible exposure to first team cricket.”

With the matrics writing trial exams over this period, Van der Merwe said most teams would
consist of stayers – pupils who will be back at school next year.

“This gives many of the younger players a chance to show what they can do against a variety of opposition and allows us to help to grow the game across the board.”

He also paid tribute to all the schools who provided venues for the festival, including clubs such as Nelson Mandela University and Old Grey.

“Everyone is on board when it comes to accommodating matches and it demonstrates the community of spirit among the family of cricket in our region,” Van der Merwe said.

The host school will be looking to defend a proud record in the festival after winning all five of their matches last year.

They sent out an ominous message at the weekend when they outclassed Union High in a 50- overs encounter but know that some tough contests lie ahead.

Pearson open with a Twenty20 game on Thursday against Cambridge, who are playing in their first festival, an indication of how the tournament constantly attracts different teams.

They will have a good examination from the Border teams because after playing Marlow in their second match on Thursday, they face Stirling on Friday and Hudson Park on Saturday.

There will be two rounds of T20 matches on Thursday, followed by a time format encounter on Friday and then 50-overs matches on Saturday and Sunday.

The fixtures are:

Thursday, T20, 9am: Pearson v Cambridge (Pearson A), Alexander Road v Stirling (Alex A), Westering v Otto du Plessis (Westering A), Victoria Park v Parel Vallei (VP A), Wynberg 2nd v Union (NMU B), Woodridge v Despatch (Woodridge A), Hudson Park v Rondebosch Colts (NMU A), Nico Malan v Pearson Inv (Pearson B), Daniel Pienaar v Marlow (DP A)

Thursday, T20, 1.30pm: Pearson v Marlow (Pearson A), Grey High v Stirling (Old Grey), Westering v Wynberg 2nd (Westering A), Brandwag v Hudson Park (Brandwag A), Victoria Park v Graeme (VP A), Daniel Pienaar v Parel Vallei (DP A), Woodridge v Rondebosch Colts (Woodridge A), Muir v Otto du Plessis (Muir A), Nico Malan v Cambridge (NMU A), Union v Despatch (Pearson B), Alexander Road v Cradock (Alex A)

Friday, time format, 9am: Pearson v Stirling (Pearson A), Westering v Rondebosch Colts (Westering A), Brandwag v Union (Brandwag A), Victoria Park v Invitational Team (VP A), Woodridge v Wynberg 2nd (Woodridge A), Grey v Parel Vallei (Old Grey), Alexander Road v Otto du Plessis (Alex A), Hudson Park v Nico Malan (Pearson B), Muir v Marlow (Muir A), Graeme v Boland Landbou (NMU A), Despatch v Cradock (Despatch A), Daniel Pienaar v Cambridge (DP A)

Saturday, 50-overs, 9am: Pearson v Hudson Park (Pearson A), Woodridge v Stirling (Woodridge A), Westering v Nico Malan (Westering A), Brandwag v Marlow (Brandwag A), Victoria Park v Cambridge (VP A), Daniel Pienaar v Boland Landbou (DP A), Graeme v Parel Vallei (NMU A), Otto du Plessis v Union (Otto A), Muir v Cradock (Muir A), Alexander Road v Despatch (Alex A), Grey v Rondebosch Colts (Old Grey), Framesby v Wynberg 2nd (Framesby A)

Sunday, 50-overs, 9am: Pearson v Boland Landbou (Pearson A), Westering v Graeme (Westering A) Victoria Park v Rondebosch Colts (VP A), Muir v Wynberg 2nd (Muir A), Woodridge v Framesby (Woodridge A)

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