As I sit here in Runeshan Moodley’s office in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, I reflect on the unforgettable experience that I have just had at St. Stithians College in Johannesburg. It is all part of a new cricket exchange programme Cricket Leinster have set up with the school. I stayed with the Meier family who were so caring and made me feel part of their family from day one. Craig, their son, came to Leinster during our summer and played for the club I play for in Dublin, YMCA.
It was a smooth enough journey to Johannesburg via Dubai where I landed at about 10 o’clock on Tuesday evening. I went to school the next day which starts at an incredibly early, twenty past seven!
A standard school day would go something like this. Wake up at 5:40am for school. At 10am I will go for a run around the school grounds followed by cricket at 2pm with Mr. Stringer, a school employee, who is a very good coach. I have team training from 3pm to 4:30pm and then I will go home hopefully with a Mugg & Bean strawberry milkshake in hand!!!
Results on the pitch were slow to come by with the bat as I started off with the 2nd team but I felt my bowling made up for it and was fortunate to take a ‘five-for’ against St. Benedict’s along with a couple of ‘three-fors’. I played on a Wednesday and Saturday for the school and then on Sunday I would play for the Wanderers Cricket Club which is right beside the international ground (Bidvest Wanderers Stadium in Illovo) which was very cool. I started off on the fourth team there and scored 55*and took two wickets as we beat Old Edwardians. I was surprised to find out during the game that they had an ex-Protea left arm spinner playing for them called Clive Eksteen. Needless to say he was still very good!
I was so fortunate to go to the bush (Pilanesburg National Park) over mid-term break where according to the Meiers I was incredibly lucky because we literally saw everything including the ‘Big 5’ plus a hippo and a giraffe. There were a few close calls with a lion walking right up to the game vehicle and an elephant almost tipping the car over! To finish off, we saw four of the six cheetahs in the 50,000 hectare park chase, unsuccessfully, a springbok which was incredible to see.
To finish off the Johannesburg leg of my trip was a double weekend against the Affie’s school from Pretoria (the school of Faf Du Plessis, Jacques Rudolph and AB De Villiers). We lost badly but it was nice to score 27* at the end for my last game of the season with Saints. The next day was a club game against Pirates for the second team which I was promoted to. I bowled with no luck with edges going wide and over hands but felt good nonetheless. It was nice to finish my last match of the trip with 33 before being given out LBW.
I was fortunate enough to play for Saints 1st X1 vs a touring side from England and although I didn't do much, I got my first wicket at St. Stithians and it was a privilege to play with the number one ranked school in the entire country. The first team has 5/6 members of the SA U19 team including Brandon Glover (brother of Donovan who came to Leinster as part of Josh Little’s exchange) who is ferociously fast.
I have loved my experience in South Africa so far and have learned so much in my short time here. I am currently working with Mr. Moodley doing specific skills training at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, a connection I have through my older brother Jack who worked with him when he spent time at Muir Collage in 2013. We are doing cricket and strength and conditioning this week in Port Elizabeth and I am currently in my first day of that.
Fingers crossed I will be back in January, this time in the company of Josh Little again to St. Stithians and touch wood, I will love it even more. We will be accompanied by five other Leinster Transition Year students Ian Anders, Eoin Barron, Aaron O’Neill, Rory McGovern & Max Neville who will spend time at Muir College in the Eastern Cape. Added to the growing number of schools Leinster have developed links with of late is Menlopark in Pretoria and Heinrick Walser (The Hills) will be spending time there from mid-January. Boys from CUS school will attend St Albans’ in Pretoria (Patrick Duffy & Daire Vickers) and Kearsney College in Durban (Rowan Kenny & Ryan Court)
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made this trip possible, especially Mr Wim Jansen, Brían O’Rourke, the Meier family (Fred, Gaynor, Craig & Tammy) and my own family.
Harry Tector