As I look back on my time in South Africa I realise even more how great an experience it was for the five of us. Our last few weeks at the college went as follows.
On the 20th of February we played against Union High from Graaff Reinet (where former YMCA professional Wayne Murray is from) at Muir. We elected to bowl first, however due to some sloppy fielding in the first 10 overs many chances were lost. They managed to make 220. We set off on chasing the total in a very positive manner and made ease of the job with Rory scoring 94, Tsotsa 42, myself 22* and Ian 20. Muir won by 6 wickets.
That Sunday, Mr du Plooy took all of us out to Addo Elephant Park. The animals were scarcely seen for the first half hour or so but we eventually came across plenty including elephants and cheetahs.
Our next fixture was against Despatch at home. However, due to poor weather the pitch was unplayable. We decided to head down to the Anibranfest in Brandwag for the day. We really got the Afrikaans experience there.
The following week we had a big fixture against local Uitenhage school Brandwag. We lost the toss and were put in to bat. Things didn't go our way and with some stupid shots we slumped to 134 all out. We now had to bowl in 45° temperatures which was incredibly difficult for all of the bowlers. The total was chased down for the loss of 4 wickets.
We were now into our final week at the school. All of us were very much looking forward to getting home to see our families and friends. That Friday there was the Founder's day party which was a bit of fun. This year, Muir, who are the oldest school in the country were celebrating their 194 birthday. We were due to be playing a past pupils XI however the rain prevented any play. We packed up our bags on the Sunday and left the school on Monday morning.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Muir College for being so good to us. I would also like to thank Cricket Leinster for all their assistance in arranging the wonderful opportunity that was provided to us.
Max Neville
Gonzaga College & Merrion CC