Adelaide school cricketers set to take the field for the 2021 SAAS T20 Bowl season
Cricket is back and nine of Adelaide’s top schools are set to battle it out for the title of best T20 side. See how each team is shaping up ahead of round one.
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Three-time champion Adelaide High will have twice has much to play for when the Sports Association for Adelaide Schools Twenty20 Cup gets underway on Friday.
Adelaide – the only state school in the competition – will field two sides in the 14th instalment of the tournament with 10 teams set to face off in two division one pools.
Reigning premier Scotch will hope to defend its title as 2020 grand finalists Prince Alfred, St Peter’s, Pembroke, Rostrevor, Sacred Heart, Immanuel and Westminster aim to provide stiff competition.
Adelaide High skipper Tejas Gill said a young core group developed over a couple of years had his side confident in its chances to contend.
“We’ve got a really good cricket program at Adelaide with great depth and hopefully we can showcase that in the weeks to come,” said Gill, a left-handed batsman and state under-17 representative.
“With the two teams, it gives opportunities to more players.
“Obviously an Adelaide High versus Adelaide High grand final would be ideal, but we know how tough this competition is with the quality of players in it.”
Teams will play a five-round campaign across two pools, with the school finishing top of each to play off in a grand final in November.
See what the captains and coaches from each school had to say about their chances this season.
ADELAIDE HIGH
Cricket program director said Phil Hopton said he was excited to see how the two sides would fare.
“We’ve had two teams in division one before but this is probably the first time we’re pretty bullish on how we think they’ll go,” Phil Hopton.
Bowler Caleb Pasculli said the school had strong depth with a number of emerging players coming through the ranks.
“Obviously the first team will challenge a bit more and the other will focus more on development, trying to get some younger kids a game and expose them to this level of cricket,” Pasculli said.
IMMANUEL
Immanuel’s Nick Taylor said his team was confident heading into the campaign and hoped for a more consistent output than last time out.
“We’ve had a decent hit out before the start of the season and the boys are looking good, we’ve got a few youngsters coming in through Year 9 as well so it should be interesting to see how they go,” Taylor said.
“James Reuther, who is playing A grade out at West Torrens, dominates with bat and ball so he’ll be vital for our success.”
Coach Andrew Zesers said, while the team had been searching for a spinner, its otherwise even line up would put it in position to win games.
“The team is pretty steady, they can all bat and bowl and they bat deep,” Zesers said.
PEMBROKE
Coach Tom Evans said Pembroke was keen to replicate its 2019 success when it took out the title for the first time.
“It’s a younger group but an enthusiastic group,” Evans said.
“The boys are pretty keen to get in the yellow kits and start playing. They really enjoy the Twenty20 comp and getting out there on a Friday night.
“We’ve got a couple of players left over from that team who won it in 2019, and then last year was a little bit disappointing, but to have those experienced guys around a bit of a younger team will hopefully serve us well.
“It’s a pretty tough competition, you’ve got to try and win those early ones and get on a roll.”
Captain Darcy McRostie said the team had a strong drive to bounce back.
“I think this year we’ve had a really strong pre-season and we’re looking pretty good with a few young faces in the side,” McRostie said.
PRINCE ALFRED
Princes fell 29 runs short of Scotch in last December’s grand final but captain Carl Arnold said the Reds’ well-rounded team could take it one better than last year.
“We’ve got a couple of very strong batsman and a some handy bowlers both pace and spin … I think we’re looking good,” said Arnold, a member of the under-19 state squad.
Coach Shannon Tubb believed this year’s group would benefit from some hard yards put in during previous seasons.
“Until you see the standard of the competition it’s hard to gauge where you’ll be at,” Tubb said.
“But I think the players we’ve invested time into the last two years are now at that back end of the age range.
“I think we’ll be quite strong in Saturday cricket and in T20 you can probably throw a blanket over a few teams who will be up there.”
ROSTREVOR
Rostrevor has appointed a new coach in Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club great Tim Davey.
The former Bulls wicketkeeper-batsman and old scholar said, despite limited preparation with the team, he was excited for the team’s chances.
“They’re a group of laid back characters who just love their cricket … hopefully we can push back up there this season,” Davey said.
Captain Nash Richman said some players returning from injury had strengthened the side.
“We’ve had two coaches this year and a tough first couple of terms because some injuries sprang up but hopefully we can bounce back this term,” Richman said.
SACRED HEART
Sacred Heart will boast an almost brand new line up this campaign, according to coach Graham Sedunary.
“We’ve had an outstanding last two years but of the 13 from last year we’ve got one left,” Sedunary said.
“So it’s a brand new squad of kids to work with this year and we’re optimistic about how we're going to go.
“They’re all working very hard and hopefully some of them can take that opportunity.”
SCOTCH
Scotch all-rounder Harry Chaplin said having the likes of star players Campbell Thompson, Cormack O’Reilly, Harry Lemmey and Jed Obst available for the T20 competition would be key to its chances of going back-to-back.
“We’ve got a very good bunch of Year 12s and we all want them out there because they’re very handy,” Chaplin said.
“There’s some other teams looking strong but hopefully everyone does their bit and we can win again.”
ST PETER’S
St Peter’s assistant coach Barrie Bryan the school had a big focus on culture and raising standards in its pursuit of on-field success.
“What we’ll be relying on this season is depth of contribution rather any particular star talent … we’re very even across the board,” Bryan said.
“Games awareness and the little things are really important, especially in T20, and we’ve been pushing that with the boys in the pre-season.”
Bryan will be joined by head coach Johan Botha and fellow assistant Will Bosisto.
Skipper Cormac Dwyer hoped Saints’ bowling attack would lead the charge.
“James Hattingh who has played the last couple of years as a leg spinner, and Seb McVann both as bowlers look like they’ll take a lot of wickets this year,” Dwyer said.
“And I think Ethan Trewartha will have a bit year with the bat.”
WESTMINSTER
Captain Fin Bennett said some older heads would be key to help guide Westminster’s younger players.
“We’re looking to develop a lot of our younger guys this year and give them experience,” Bennett said.
“We’ll have Seb Young and Cooper Horton in for the T20’s – two experienced players who’ve played school cricket for many years – so they’ll be important along with Lucas Cooke, who is a very good batsman and one to watch out for.”
Coach Cameron Carroll said the Dragons’ T20 form should be strong.
“As the season goes on, I think we’ve going to improve significantly,” Carroll said.
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