Welcome to the Cape Schools’ Cricket Festival

It is a great pleasure to welcome all participating schools, players, coaches, staff and supporters to this year’s Cape Schools’ Cricket Festival. And an honour for Graeme to host this year. We had a long hiatus away from Cape Schools, but we have been delighted to be back since 2023.

It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the spirit of cricket, renew old friendships and forge new connections between schools. Honestly, the EC has lagged behind a bit, and it is time to catch up with the WC schools. There is such a proud history and tradition behind this festival, and we need to keep working hard on making it attractive to all schools.

This year, an exciting addition is the CSA Invitation XI, which is made up of 8 provincial areas within South Africa. Thank you to CSA for their ongoing support of Graeme College, and now the Cape Schools Festival as well. It is a huge gesture, and we are so thankful. It adds a stunning element to the festival. I hope they manage to knock over some big guns this year.

Thank you to Stuart Hill for supporting us with a cricket ball sponsorship again. I honestly feel that this is the best value-for-money cricket ball in South Africa. I hope you enjoy using them.

Thank you to Kingswood and St Andrews for joining us and providing 4 fields. Likewise, Manley Flats CC and Salem CC are also both back on board after hosting matches at the Khaya Majola Week in 2023. It is such a privilege for the boys to play at those stunning venues. It has taken a monumental effort to get fields playable this year, and even more so at those venues. Thank you to Barry Smith and the local cricket board for providing 14 umpires per day.

Obviously, thank you to the schools for joining us. We hope you enjoy the cricket, embrace the challenges and opportunities the festival presents, and represent your schools with pride.

We extend our sincere thanks to all those who have worked tirelessly to make this festival possible. It is through your continued support that we are able to provide such a memorable experience for our young cricketers.

We wish all teams a safe, enjoyable and successful Cape Schools’ Cricket Festival.

Warm regards Gregg van Molendorff Festival Organising Committee