South Africa (SA) Emerging were crowned champions of the Division 2 Cricket South Africa (CSA) 1 Day Cup after a convincing eight-wicket win against the ITEC Knights on Friday.

The young Emerging side were added to the competition as part of their ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 preparations to gain the necessary experience before the global showpiece.

Chasing 277, Ethan Cunningham and Lhuan-dre Pretorius brought up half centuries as they combined for 110 in the opening partnership before the former fell to Aubrey Swanepoel, with 55 runs. Pretorius (76) then found a partner in his skipper, David Teeger, who was unbeaten in 95* off 70. Teeger and Richard Seletswane (35*) took it home, reaching the target in 33 overs to secure a comfortable victory for the youngsters.

Earlier, Knights were put to the bat first when Garnett Tarr anchored the innings with a century of 105 off 115.

Tarr had two solid partnerships in the Knights’ innings, 107 runs with Jacques Snyman (60) and additional runs from Dian Forrester (45) and the hosts were bowled out for 276 in just under 47 overs.

Junaid Dawood (4/60), Codi Yusuf (3/46) and Andile Simelane (2/32) led the bowling attack for the junior national side.

SA Emerging Assistant Coach, Paul Adams, said;

“It has been an incredible journey overseeing the progress of these young talents who have been afforded the opportunity to participate at a high level within the domestic setup.

“The experience has demonstrated that we need not seek external competition when we can cultivate comparable opportunities within our local sphere.

“I hope they enjoy this journey as they kickstart their careers; approach each game with a positive mindset, leveraging this experience to bolster their confidence and further hone their skills,” said Adams.