Paarl, Nov 24 (IANS): SA20 franchise Paarl Royals on Thursday revealed that the Boland Park-based team will be extending their support towards a local competition – the Boland Premier League (BPL) – which is in its inaugural season.
Having earlier organised similar competitions for young Indian players through their presence in Rajasthan as part of their parent franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR), the franchise is keen on making an impact on-ground across South Africa as well – starting with the local community in the Boland region.
As part of the association with the tournament, the Boland Premier League Finals Day will be hosted by Paarl Royals, with a total of six Finals taking place over two weekends (November 26-27 and December 3-4) at the franchise's home ground - Boland Park. The third and fourth place playoffs of all the six categories will also be conducted over these weekends.
"Boland is a region which is home to undiscovered cricketing talent and with the inception of more local competitions, especially at the school level, I am confident that cricketers in the nascent stages will excel and be able to utilize such platforms to progress with their respective careers."
"With this extension of support towards the BPL, Royals are taking the first steps in the region towards their vision of transforming society through cricket in a positive way," said JP Duminy, head coach, Paarl Royals, who has been keeping a close watch on the young talent in the region.
The franchise will be providing finalists and winners with exciting opportunities and exposure to the SA20. Players of the winning teams will be rewarded with official merchandise and SA20 tickets, providing them with an opportunity to witness the likes of Proteas duo of David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and recent T20 World Cup-winning England captain Jos Buttler plying their trade for the Paarl Royals among others.
The Boland Premier League was launched in August 2022 with four founding franchises having a team each in six categories – Under 11, Under 12, Under 13, Under 15, Under 17 and Under 19. A total of 60 matches are being played, which kick-started in mid-October, with the culmination resulting in the Finals Day being hosted by Paarl Royals on November 26 - 27 and December 3 – 4.
"The main vision of the Boland Premier League (BPL) is to nurture and develop junior cricket in the Boland. The BPL is honoured and excited to partner with the Paarl Royals for our finals weekends. Our players will certainly benefit from this experience and them being our main customers creates a lot of pride and excitement," said the tournament management.
Matches held on the Boland Premier League Finals Day hosted by Paarl Royals will be livestreamed on Boland Premier League's and the Paarl Royals' official handles, with timings of matches at 8am, 11:30am, 3pm and 7pm local time.
Schedule
November 26: -
08:00am - Under 11 (3rd vs 4th) - Bisons vs Rangers
11:30am - Under 12 (3rd vs 4th) - Bisons vs Gryphons
03:00pm - Under 13 (3rd vs 4th) - Bisons vs Rangers
November 27: -
08:00am - Under 11 (Final) - Hawks vs Gryphons
11:30am - Under 12 (Final) - Hawks vs Rangers
03:00pm - Under 13 (Final) - Hawks vs Gryphons
December 3: -
08:00am - Under 15 (3rd vs 4th) - Bisons vs Rangers
11:30am - Under 15 (Final) - Hawks vs Gryphons
03:00pm - Under 19 (3rd vs 4th) - Bisons vs Hawks
07:00pm - Under 19 (Final) - Rangers vs Gryphons
December 4: -
08:00am - Under 17 (3rd vs 4th) - Rangers vs Gryphons
11:30am - Under 17 (Final) - Hawks vs Bisons