Coastal cricketers emerge on top

Justicia Shipena and Evany van Wyk The coastal combination of Welwitschia XI emerged as the winning team after five days of competition in the Cricket Namibia under-19 national schools week, sponsored by Africa Personnel Services (APS).Six schools teams competed in the popular series, namely Windhoek Gymnasium, Windhoek High School, Windhoek Afrikaans Private School, Pro-Ed Academy, the Welwitschia XI and the APS Invitational side made up of players from various other schools.The final on Sunday morning at the Wanderers field was the highlight of the tournament, as Welwitschia XI and Windhoek Gymnasium took on each other in a nail-biting match in the T20 format. The Gymnasium Robins batted first, scoring 147/7 in 20 overs. Their total was boosted by 30 extras (11 wides), while Gerhard Janse van Rensburg (38 off 35 balls, 1x4 1x6) and Jan-Izak de Villiers (25 off 20, 2x4) contributed most of their runs.The Welwitschia team, who hadn’t lost a match throughout the tournament, comfortably passed this target with two overs to spare, to win by eight wickets.Opening batsman Dian Neethling scored an unbeaten 78 runs off only 53 balls (7x4 2x6). Neethling and Scott Winborn (28 off 27 balls) built a partnership of 65 before Winborn was caught out.Their coach Louritz Haccou told The Zone the players are looking forward to a great season. “Things are looking positive and the team is optimistic about our chances in this match,” Haccou told The Zone during the match. As it turned out, his prediction was spot-on, as Welwitschia won the match by eight wickets. The day ended in good spirits, as the different players and teams were rewarded during a prize-giving ceremony and the teams celebrated their victories.Individual achievers during the APS u-19 tournament were as follows:TOP BATSMEN1 Nicol Loftie-Eaton (WAP) 324 runs (average 81)2 Divan la Cock (WHS) 315 runs (average 45)3 Dian Neethling (Welwitschia) 303 runs (average 61)4 Matthew de Gouveia (Welwitschia) 205 runs (average 68)5 Jan-Izak de Villiers (Whk Gymnasium) 188 runs (average 27)TOP BOWLERS1 Jan-Izak de Villiers (Whk Gymnasium) 18 wickets (201 runs)2 Joshua Theron (Pro-Ed) 17 wickets (87 runs)3 Ettienne Beukes (Welwitschia) 16 wickets (125 runs)4 Nicol Loftie-Eaton (WAP) 15 wickets (121 runs)5 Ramon Wilmot (Whk Gymnasium) 11 wickets (132 runs)

Coastal cricketers emerge on top

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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Coastal cricketers emerge on top

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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