Young Guns in the Spotlight

There is an old saying that fathers take their sons to Test cricket, while sons take their fathers to T20 cricket.

In Paarl, however, the tradition has evolved, with daughters and mothers leading the charge for an entertaining Betway SA20 night out at Boland Park, set against the backdrop of the breathtaking Drakenstein mountains, with the Paarl Royals the epicenter of excitement in the winelands.

“Betway SA20 has really changed the spectrum of cricket in South Africa,” said Paarl Royals leg-spinner Nqaba Peter. “They say SA20 has brought cricket back to South Africa, I think it’s done more than just bring cricket back to South Africa, it’s brought supporters.

The Royals have built a reputation for nurturing young talent, which has seen the franchise unleash 14-year-old phenomenon Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the IPL, and have strongly invested in promising South African cricketers such as Peter and Lhuan-dre Pretorius.

The investment has reaped dividends with Nqaba progressing to higher honours with the Proteas Men’s team and Pretorius topping the Betway SA20 run-scoring charts and scoring a maiden Test ton this year.

The Royals will also showcase some of the finest young talent in the country in their Season 4 squad with the likes of Keagan Lion-Cachet, JJ Basson and Nqobani Mokoena all eager to impress.

Lion-Cachet was hugely impressive in his debut Betway SA20 season for the Pretoria Capitals and will be looking forward to carrying on that momentum with the Royals.

Equally, Basson (17) and Mokoena (19) were identified whilst playing for Hoerskool Noordheuwel and Northwood High School respectively in the Switch Schools SA20 competition.

The excitement among the young Royals fans to see these talented players in action in Season 4 was certainly palpable at Pieter Langeveldt Primary, which hosted the fourth leg of the SA20 Schools Tour.

“You see the young kids very excited to be part of this SA20 Schools tour today. Even myself, I know I also was one of them, I was very excited when things like this happened, so it’s a very good initiative.”

“I think it’s big in every community to have someone where these young kids can look up to and say I know so and so, he used to actually stay with us, we used to kick the ball in the streets or we used to play cricket out in the backyard,” Peter said.

“So I think those things really matter because I know I’ve been part of that, where I know people from my neighborhood who I saw on TV and it gave me hope that I can definitely also be there one day, so yeah it definitely does play a big role in how they look at themselves growing up.”

Boland Park will host Paarl Royals’ Season 4 opener against two-times champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Saturday, 27 December.

Aside from incredible cricket, fans can expect free giveaways, fun activities for the kids (stilt walkers, balloon artists, face painters), DJs on the entertainment stage, dance cams, innings break activities and entertainment. Kids are welcome to play on the field for the first hour after gates open (weather dependant) and are encouraged to bring a bat and a soft ball along to enjoy the field. ​ ​

Betway SA20 partners are also giving fans many chances to win. Spectators have a chance to win big with a clean one-handed catch in Betway’s Catch R2 Million competition. Suzuki will also be giving away a brand new Suzuki Swift GL+. Absa cardholders will enjoy ticketing discounts as well as a chance to win up to R200 000 at every live Betway SA20 match. Switch will be giving away R5000 at each match, and Castle Lite is back with their spin-and-win wheel.

Betway SA20 will be the place to be this summer with tickets across all six stadiums selling fast. Fans and vibe-seekers are encouraged to secure their front-row seats at www.SA20.co.za or at the stadium ticket office.

Gates open 3 hours before the first ball and spectators are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the full Betway SA20 experience. ​