The South African Plascon Academy touring team struck a major blow for South African cricket development by beating the Australian Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy by 26 runs with 3.2 overs to spare. Taking part in a national academy tournament in Australia the South African youngsters put together a full team effort that had the better of the Australians.

Winning the toss and batting first Maurice Aronstam and Gerhard Strydom put on an opening partnership of 96 when Strydom fell for 49. The foundation had been laid, and when Aronstam left the wicket on 84 the South Africans were well on their way with 208/3 after 44 overs.

Contributions from captain Alviro Pieterson, scoring 28, and David Jacobs, scoring 33, helped the team to reach 253/7 at the completion of the 50 overs.

A solid start from the Australians was halted by the regular fall of wickets. The Australian top-order all reached 20's and 30's but were not allowed to build on that with the South Africans maintaining the pressure. A run out from David Jacobs tilting the scales in favour of South Africa.

At 147/6 the Australians still had a chance of a win needing 107 in 111 balls but the left arm fast bowler Brent Kops soon wrapped up the innings taking 3/52. The Australians were bowled out for 227 in the 47th over. Kops was ably assisted by all the bowlers and especially Morne van Vuuren returning figures of 10-3-21-1.

The win puts into perspective the value the UCBSA has placed on the development of cricket in South Africa. The Academy has grown in stature from its beginnings in 1995, producing current national players like Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener, Paul Adams, Roger Telemachus, Nicky Boje and Justin Ontong.

Beating the Australian Academy, generally regarded as the best and strongest academy in world cricket, will mean a lot to not only the players, but also to the coaches and administrators who have invested so many hours of their time in South African cricket.

According to Anton Ferriera, Director of Coaching for the UCBSA, the win shows that the youngsters are competing against the best, and when you compete you will win a fair share of your games. "This tournament, only confirmed three weeks before the players left, is a stepping stone in the players careers and a huge part of their cricket education". He added: "The experience they will pick up on a tour like this will stand them in good stead in the future. It is very important for these 19 and 20 year olds to experience cricket outside of the domestic season. I have little doubt that some of them will play international cricket in the future".

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