Due to the weather being so poor this week, CL Youth (@leinsteryouth) sat down with Phoenix 1st XI player and ex-Ireland Under 19 Cricketer Tom Anders to discuss his trip down under to South Africa for the 2014 winter to improve his cricket.
So Tom, why this trip to South Africa?
Well, when I was in Transition Year I was lucky enough to be one of four selected to go to Muir College in the Eastern Cape for 10 weeks to live in a South African school and compete in the elite schoolboy competition they have over there during our Spring. While I was over there I had a fantastic time and on returning I decided I was keen to go back. Fast forward a year and I'd had a part time job stacking shelves which gave me enough money to plan a full gap year over there. With a few di?erent contacts and a bit more saving I was able to go back and live in the middle of Port Elizabeth, a city close to where I was before.
How long were you there? Did you go with anybody else?
I spent a full six months in South Africa. Four months in Port Elizabeth playing cricket, one month in Cape Town doing charity work in a poor area and one travelling the famous garden route and the most eastern areas of the South African Coast.
I actually spent the entire trip with two of my close friends from School in Castleknock. We rented a house together, worked together in Cape Town and enjoyed each other's company on the road. They weren't fans of cricket but given the price of everything in South Africa they were keen anyway. I was lucky to have them while I was there.
How did the cricket go?
It went brilliantly! Brett Thompson, who some may know as Merrion CC's professional in 2013 and 2014 was very good to me and invited me to play for his club Old Grey Cricket Club. On arriving I was extremely nervous I wouldn't be up to standard but straight away all my teammates were amazing, encouraging and friendly. That allowed me to get stuck in and before long I was well settled and happy. Even better than that we went unbeaten practically all season, a combination of all round team performances and a di?erent guy having a great match each game.
It was so much fun and thankfully I did quite well in not letting the team down. In fact I didn't have to even bat once without coming in with less than 20 runs to get a win or a handful of overs to go in the innings! That's how well we managed to bat each game and the bowling was on a similar level. My role ended up actually being more as the opening bowler and I somehow managed to end up being the top divisions leading wicket taker, just don't ask me how! Overall, it was an unbelievably helpful and enjoyable experience.
Was the cricket played differently than in Ireland? At a higher standard perhaps?
Well the league is di?erent. There's 16 teams, some unbelievably good and some closer to the standard of division 2 or 3. Luckily Old Grey is in the top few teams in the league and our main rivals would easily have played at Division 1 Level. The eventual winners of the league NMMU, to whom we finished runners up, were actually made up of 11 players who had either played South Africa Schools or Eastern Province Under 19’s. To say they would be the best club team in Ireland wouldn't be an overstatement but I'm sure they would be challenged at that level by a few clubs.
On a more personal note, the club structure is also di?erent. All youth cricket is played in schools and most clubs don't have a coach. I actually found it really refreshing to not have a club coach and the way the adults in Old Grey took charge of training and selection was much less stressful. I enjoyed the structure and although it came because we had a mature team where everyone aged from 19-32 it worked well.
What else did you get up to while in South Africa? After all, 6 months is a long time?
Yeah it really is! By the end of the trip I was keen to get home I must say. It's not places and things you miss, it was just people for me. Despite that, I had a really interesting time and enjoyed every minute I was there. I saw a lot of Dumisani Magala, ex Muir College, who some may know as a player for Phoenix Cricket Club in 2013, and did a lot of stu? day to day that was di?erent like watching Eastern Province play cricket and rugby in their stadium down the road, shop for myself, take care of our home, sunbathe a little bit and meets a ton of new people.
I also got to do a bunch of extreme stu? including Charity Work, the World’s highest Bungy Jump, climbing Table Mountain (in the rain and wind no less), exploring the Cango Caves, Riding an Ostrich, road trip along Boulder beach and Cape Point, see 19 di?erent beaches (yes I counted!), go on an overnight safari where I slept in the lion enclosure and explore most of South Africa's coast.
What did you learn from the trip and would you recommend one like it for others?
One hundred percent! I always wanted to travel before I went to University and with a few year’s savings I lasted 6 months in South Africa! It helped to be with friends as costs can be split and it means you won't be lonely. I also had friends in the area and a contact to get into a cricket club but all that is a bonus. If anyone needs help they can use my contacts, I'd highly recommend Old Grey too. I should publicly thank Brett Thompson as Vice-Captain as well for all of his help, he was great in helping my cricket and making sure I was settled. Christmas Dinner in his house was also delicious!
Learning wise my crickets improved a good bit in all areas. It does help to play abroad and more importantly get outside of your comfort zone. I loved it and being part of a di?erent team was something special. Otherwise I probably just matured a little bit and learned to cope without a TV, Internet or any of the home comforts I usually enjoy. My cooking hopefully isn't too terrible after the trip!
Finally, what's next for you?
The usual summer - lots of training, coaching (I have recently joined the Leinster coaching team assisting with the Primary school programme and hopefully playing not too badly too. I got used to winning all winter so it'd be fun to gain promotion from Division 2 with Phoenix but we'll see what happens. After all that, University in September! Law in DCU.
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