The Coastal Conquerors is the newly crowned champions of Cricket South Africa’s annual Cubs Week in Stellenbosch on Saturday.
The Conquerors defeated the Eastern Warriors by six wickets on the Coetzenburg Oval to secure the title.
The defending champions, the Southern Superstars (formerly Cape Cobras), watched the match with great interest as they still stood a chance to bag the title after securing a convincing seven-wicket victory over the Central Gladiators to keep their title dreams alive for a bit longer.
The Conqueror’s hero was Chad Laycock (111*) who scored an unbeaten century to see his side home. He faced only 78 deliveries in his innings. He dispatched 16 of them past the boundary rope with five of them being maximums.
Laycock and Nathan Trevethan (46*) shared an unbeaten partnership of 168 runs over the fifth wicket. Ntando Zuma (47) and Banele Cele (46) also made valuable contributions to get the Conquerors to 298/4 for the victory. Their partnership over the third wicket was worth 98 runs.
The Warriors batted first and amassed 297/9 in their allotted 50 overs. Their captain, Daniel Ristow (89) and Jean Upman (50) weighed in with half-centuries.
At the start of the final day, five of the six sides could still walk away with the title of champions. The Central Gladiators who finished the week winless were the only team out of contention.
The Gladiators reached 188 against the Superstars thanks to their tail-wagging with contributions from Greg Ford (33*), Tsepho Stafa (29), and Christopher King (27). The team from Gauteng was in trouble when they stumbled to 90/7.
The pick of the Superstars bowling attack was Abdullah Bayoumy (4/33). The Superstars secured the bonus-point victory with Juan James (79*) and Gysbert Wege (74) also playing their part with a 138-run partnership over the third wicket.
The Northern Champions managed to finish their week on a high with a four-wicket victory over the Western Legends. The Legends were restricted to 172 with Hanro Swanepoel (65) and Tshireletso Tikoe (47) making the biggest contributions with the willow.
Letsholo Selemela removed four of the Legends’ batsmen from the crease at the cost of only 34 runs. The captain of the Champions, Schalk Engelbrecht (48*), made sure with his innings that his side would secure the win.
CUBS WEEK 2022 TEAMS:
CENTRAL GLADIATORS
Nkanyiso Mkhize, Dean Bacher, Christopher King, Reuben du Toit, Zack Momberg, Simo Potelwa, Talha Chavoos, Billy van Zyl, Kyle Glennistor, Ravat Yusuf, Tshepo Stafa, Greg Ford, Richard Seletswane
COASTAL CONQUERERS
Banele Cele, Alexander Vermeulen, Romashen Pillay, Jake Carstens, Thabiso Ndlela, Chad Laycock, Nathan Ngugi, Makabongwe Ngcobo, Oyama Ntshona, Nathan Trevethan, Bonga Shezi, Ntando Zuma, Slade van Staden
EASTERN WARRIORS
Siphamandla Bashe, Daniel Ristow, Butsha Mfazwe, Cameron Williams, Ben van der Merwe, Russel Peterson, Casey Keevy, Cormey van der Watt, Ian Baard, Eathan Frosler, Akhona Ratyana, Bune Hlonela, Olwakhe Goqoza
NORTHERN CHAMPIONS
Nathan Steyn, Amaan Khan, Christiaan Daniels, Sinethemba Ngeyane, Letsholo Selemela, Schalk Engelbrecht, William Tshoke, Arnaud du Plessis, Shelton Ngobeni, Modise Maloka, Christiaan du Toit, Khaif Patel, Dewan Marais
SOUTHERN SUPERSTARS
Nathan Jacobs, Abdullah Bayoumy, Meeka-eel Prince, Jesse Prodehl, Abel Mokwena, Basil George, Liyema Waqu, Bongile Mfunelwa, Gysbert Wege, Tyler Williams, Juan James, Maahir Josesph, Cameron Fraser
WESTERN LEGENDS
Mvula Chabalala, Hanro Swanepoel, Matthew Davids, Corne Prinsloo, Jayden Davids, Bathabile Masigo, Mboniseni Mhlanga, Tshireletso Tikoe, Stefan Nel, Rico Fryer, Sello Sessing, JP King, Joe Meyer,
