Latest news with #U19CricketWorldCup
The Citizen
23-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Triumphant Junior Bok captain Norton content with choosing rugby
Norton made the tough decision to choose rugby over cricket, having played for the Proteas U19 team at last year's U19 Cricket World Cup in SA. Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton on his arrival with the World Rugby U20 Championship trophy at OR Tambo airport earlier this week. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images Triumphant Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton is content with his decision to choose pursuing rugby over cricket, and he admits that winning the World Rugby U20 Championship certainly makes it feel like he made the correct call. Norton led the Junior Bok side through an unbeaten campaign in Italy, which culminated with a 23-15 win over the Junior All Blacks in the final on Saturday, which saw them become just the second South African team to lift the trophy, after the class of 2012 did it on home turf. Norton is a dual sports star and during his matric year in 2024 he represented the Proteas U19 team during the U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa. However, since finishing school he has signed a contract with Western Province rugby, and was selected as captain of the Junior Boks, leading them during the U20 Rugby Championship in Gqeberha earlier this year, and at the world champs. 'I am very content with my choice, and winning competitions makes it a lot easier. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to play both sports, and cricket taught me so much that I can take into rugby,' said Norton after lifting the trophy on Saturday night. 'So I am really grateful for the opportunities I have been given in South Africa. But there's no sport like rugby if I'm being honest. I love the camaraderie, the intensity and the physical and mental part of it. 'I'm very grateful to be in a position like this, being able to play rugby for my country, and hopefully I can continue growing.' Cricket low Norton also experienced the lows of a major competition, when the Proteas U19s were beaten in the semifinals of last year's U19 World Cup, and he said he had taken plenty out of that disappointment, which had helped him during the U20 championship. 'It's definitely something I thought about personally. That semifinal (loss) against India hurt me quite a bit, because we were in such a good position and chucked it away, especially playing at home,' explained Norton. 'So you never like to lose semis and finals, but that (loss) taught me a lot. Things like staying in the present, not being complacent and taking things moment by moment and whistle to whistle. That's something I took out of cricket that I could put into rugby. 'That definitely did motivate me, because we all want to win trophies and medals in sport. So to get so close in such an unbelievable set-up and environment and come up short in a game we should've won, gave me personal motivation to try and get us (Junior Boks) over the line. 'I'm just so proud of the guys and the effort that they put in, because without the team and the whole unit of coaches and management, none of this would've been possible.'
The Hindu
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Who is Riley Norton? — South Africa U19 cricketer leads U20 Rugby team into World Cup final
After representing South Africa in the 2024 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Riley Norton has now captained his nations' U20 Rugby team to the final of the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy. The 19-year-old is quickly becoming one of South Africa's most compelling young sporting talents, making headlines for his exceptional achievements across two major sports: cricket and rugby. In the 2024 U19 Cricket World Cup, he showcased his all-round abilities as a fast-bowling all-rounder, picking up 11 wickets at an average of 18.36 and maintaining a batting average of 50, being dismissed only once in three innings, helping South Africa reach the semifinals. Despite his promising cricket career, Norton has recently pivoted to focus more on rugby, a sport where he has also excelled significantly. Following in the footsteps of his father, Chris Norton, who played for Maties Rugby from 1991 to 2003, Riley joined Maties Rugby this year while pursuing a B. Com Investment Management degree at Stellenbosch University. His leadership prowess has been particularly evident in the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship. As captain of the Junior Springboks, Norton has guided his team through dominant performances, securing victories against Australia (73-17), defending champion England (32-22), and Scotland (73-14) in the group stage. They then triumphed over Argentina 48-24 in the semifinal, earning their spot in the final against New Zealand on July 20. The youngster represents a rare breed of dual-sport athletes, drawing comparisons to figures like Namibia's Rudie van Vuuren, who notably played in both the Cricket and Rugby World Cups. Norton's story is an inspiring testament to elite talent knowing no boundaries, and his future in South African sport looks incredibly bright.
India Today
18-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Who is Riley Norton? South Africa's U19 all-rounder and U20 Rugby World Cup finalist
Barely a year after representing South Africa in the 2024 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Riley Norton has now led the national team to the final of the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy. Norton captained South Africa to a dominant 48-24 victory over Argentina in the semifinal on Tuesday, July 15, underlining his credentials as a rare dual-sport talent capable of excelling at the highest levels in both cricket and was one of the standout players in the U19 Cricket World Cup, playing alongside the likes of Kwena Maphaka and Lhuan-dre Pretorius. While Maphaka and Pretorius have since gone on to make their senior international debuts for the Proteas, Norton has taken a different path, now finding himself at the centre of South African rugby's youth all-round cricketing skills were on display during the World Cup, where he picked up 11 wickets at an impressive average of 18.36. He was also effective with the bat, averaging 50 after being dismissed only once in the tournament. His best all-round performance came against Sri Lanka, where he scored an unbeaten 41 to steer South Africa to a respectable first-innings total before picking up four wickets to help bundle out the opposition for just 113. That win helped South Africa reach the semifinals of the competition. Norton's switch to rugby has been equally impactful. Leading the team in a global competition and now reaching the final signals his growing reputation in the sport. The 20-year-old's leadership and athletic versatility have drawn comparisons with other rare dual-sport athletes. His rise recalls names like Rudie van Vuuren of Namibia, who famously played in the 1999 Rugby World Cup and later dismissed Sachin Tendulkar during the 2003 Cricket World Africa will now prepare to face the final hurdle in Italy, with Norton at the helm in what could be a defining moment for a player who has already worn national colours in two sports at the junior level. His journey is quickly becoming one of the most fascinating sporting stories to emerge from South Africa in recent years.- Ends
The Citizen
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Dewald Brevis makes emotional return to international cricket: ‘It's special'
'I had my smile on because I feel that is important and that's how I want to play cricket – smile and enjoy it.' Dewald Brevis says it was 'very special' to receive his Proteas Test cap after being left out of the international setup for a couple of years. Picture: Isuru Sameera/Gallo Images Dewald Brevis described his return to international cricket as an emotional experience, made even more special by the fact that it comes in the 'pinnacle format' of the game. He is set to bat at number six for the Proteas in their opening Test against Zimbabwe on Saturday. The 22-year-old batting all-rounder burst onto the scene in 2022 when he broke the record for the most runs scored at an U19 Cricket World Cup, and was named player of the tournament. In the same year, he smashed an incredible 162 off 57 balls for the Titans against the Knights, which was the fastest T20 150 in history after he reached the mark off just 52 balls. With a flamboyant and aggressive batting style, he was nicknamed 'Baby AB' after the Proteas legend AB de Villiers. However, he failed to shine in the IPL and in the senior team in the following years and was dropped from the Proteas after only two T20s, the last played in September 2023. Brevis makes an emphatic return The youngster has since made a return in domestic cricket, finishing sixth in this year's SA20 batting rankings, scoring 291 runs at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 184. He was also exceptional in the field, overall helping MI Cape Town clinch a first SA20 title and being named the competition's rising star in the process. In the longer format, he was the second-leading run-scorer in the 4-day series, with 573 runs in 12 innings, including two hundreds and two fifties, averaging 47.75. '[Proteas captain Keshav Maharaj] knows my journey over the last few years. The words he had when he gave my cap, there was a bit of emotion going on inside me,' Brevis admitted. 'But I had my smile on because I feel that is important and that's how I want to play cricket – smile and enjoy it. 'He just mentioned [that] he knew my last few years, especially when I got my debut in T20 cricket, that moment being there and then left out for a few years. That was quite tough, but I was young as well. 'I am quite grateful for how I handled that and the people I had around me. Because it made me much more hungry for the game and to perform.' He said he had worked on what he needed to, to now reach an international level. Brevis said he had spent much time looking at his Test cap, appreciating what it meant. 'For me it's the pinnacle format. You can play all the leagues, you can play T20, 50-over cricket, but there is something about Test cricket. And to be able to do that for South Africa, to represent South Africa out there, it's special.'
The Citizen
08-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
SA batting prodigy Lhuan-dre Pretorius on his way to IPL
The opening batter is a late addition to the tournament following his exploits in the SA20 in January. Lhuan-dre Pretorius is on his way to the IPL. Picture: SA20 Young South African batting star Lhuan-dre Pretorius has won himself a contract with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. The 19-year-old top-of-the-order batter lit up the 2025 edition of the SA20 while playing for the Paarl Royals earlier this year and he will now get a chance to show India, and the rest of the cricketing world, what he can do in the most lucrative and best T20 competition in the game. Pretorius has been called up by the Royals as a replacement for the injury Nitish Rana, who is suffering from a calf injury. In a post on X, the Rajasthan Royals called the young South African batter 'fearless' and 'power-packed'. Pretorius was the leading batter in the SA20, with 397 runs in 12 matches and a highest score of 97. His strike rate was 166.8 while he hit an incredible 16 sixes and 47 fours (the highest) during the competition. He also later shone in the SA domestic 4-day cup competition, scoring three centuries and a half century for the Titans. Pretorius was called up to the SA 'A' team recently and will tour to the West Indies later this month and in June. Dewald Brevis on fire in IPL Another star of the SA20, Dewald Brevis, who plays for MI Cape Town, also recently got a late call-up to join the IPL. In mid-April the Chennai Super Kings asked the 21-year-old former SA U19 star to take up a position in their squad for the injured Gurjapneet Singh. There was talk at the time that the young batter would be paid just under R5 million for playing for CSK for the rest of the tournament. Brevis previously played for the Mumbai Indians, following his exploits with the bat during the U19 Cricket World Cup. In this year's SA20, Brevis scored the sixth most number of runs (291 in 12 matches), while so far in the IPL, he has scored 126 runs in four matches with a strike rate of 166.
