Cricket

In today’s fast paced and disjointed world, cricket has more relevance and value than ever. The reflective nature of the game and the time spent with friends on, and off, the field and away from screens, is greatly beneficial. The Prep School fielded 16 teams, and despite COVID restrictions, the boys were able to play a good amount of cricket in Term 3.

The under 9s had a fantastic year in their first year of hard ball cricket. Their enthusiasm to learn more about the dynamics of cricket shone through. The top set of under 9 boys enjoyed the opportunity to play in The Trinity House Festival at the end of the year. They played well and the experience they gained will hold them in good stead in the future. Every boy tried their best and showed improvement in batting, bowling or fielding skills. The under 9 group are a talented bunch of boys with huge potential.

The Midlands tour to the Clifton Nottingham Road Under 10 Festival is now an annual institution. The festival was very exciting and the improvement in the under 10s play was wonderful. Building onto the tour, the U10 A team had a very good third term of cricket. The team won 3 out of 3 matches played. All the teams and players continued to perform and showed some good skills throughout the season. We are looking forward to superb cricket in the years to come as these gentlemen all grow and mature.

A highlight in the under 11 age group was the COVID Cup – a T10 format played amongst 4 evenly matched teams, organised to afford the boys an opportunity for competitive cricket, as inter-schools matches were cancelled. Despite its success, we hope never to need another COVID Cup! The under 11 A boys were able to enjoy a very successful and enjoyable festival at St Charles in Pietermaritzburg, using the format of The Hundred. The boys played well and were magnificent ambassadors for St David’s. Even with less opportunity for inter-school matches, the under 11s’ enthusiasm for the game and enjoyment was still palpable, and many competitive intersquad games were enjoyed.

It is a pity that we did not experience a full cricket fixture list this year as we had one of the strongest 1st XIs that we have had in many a year. The highlight of the year was their tour to the Eastern Cape in Term 3 – a wonderful sporting and life experience for the boys. The boys in the 2nd and 3rd XIs were as enthusiastic about their cricket as well and had some close results and a good season.

The annual St David’s Sportsmans Warehouse U12 Cricket Festival was able to go ahead during October. Six teams participated in a medley of T20 Matches, 50 Over Matches, and the much-loved T10 Tournament. As usual, there were many very talented cricketers on show, and with the support of Sportsmans Warehouse and iXU Sports, we were once again able to showcase the school and share our love for cricket.

Special mention needs to be made of coaches, both internal and external, who consistently commit to the various programmes. Along with our Professional Coach in Mr. Nkuna, our coaches are some of the best around, and have made a huge difference to our game play over the last few years. Our ground staff and general support staff have also all gone the extra mile over the last year, and without them there would simply not have been any cricket or sport at the school. As such, many thanks to all our coaches, ground staff, and general support staff - you are all champions!

Mr B Eyles MIC: Cricket

Cricket 1st team

Back row: Jason Rowles, Tyron Kaufmann, Grant Spencer, Roberto Mariano 2nd row: Abahle Mhlanzi, Marco Pestana, Matthew Wilson, Miles Pegg, Lawrence Amadasun Front row: Daniel Pieterse, Luke Wilson, Mr F Nkuna, Shay Mehta, Dylan Arlow

Cricket 2nd team

Back row: Remo Ferrari, Preshaylan Moodley, George Psaros 2nd row: Luca Tsimogiannis, Hayden Ewing, Matthew Wagner, Nicholas Wagner Front row: Kai Davis, Josh Sacharowitz, Mr J Dickson, William Davies, Shayan Magan

Cricket 3rd team

Back row: Rupert Schonborn, Dev Vallabhjee 2nd row: Daniel Purchase, Matthew Barnett, Lesedi Mkhonza, Kieran Pillay Front row: Eli Mills, Nicholas Harris, Mr J Dickson, Damian Gorman, Jatin Nanan

Cricket Grade 5A

Back row: Alec Psaros, Casey Mc Namara, Ben Pritchard, Christopher Davidson, Mark Benfield, Gregory Stainforth Front row: Michael Davidson, Michael Pieterse, Mr B Eyles, Cristian Gomes, Cian Sullivan

Cricket Grade 5B

Back row: James Kerr, Siphiwosetfu Ngcobo, Andrew Erasmus, Arnold Hwindingwi 2nd row: Julian Stuart, Luke Attieh, Benjamin Biggs, Brandon Cross Front row: James Forbes, Kian Ravjee, Mr B Eyles, Ross Harvey, Dylan Nair

Cricket Grade 5C

Back row: Rafael Mendes, Nicholas Fourie, Avikaar Raghubir 2nd row: Bogosi Makwane, Sebastien Rankin, Rafael Ferreira, Kgosietsile Seperepere Front row: Connor Hannig, Rhulani Nkuna, Mr B Eyles, Carlo Borella, Amokelani Nkosi

Cricket Grade 4A

Back row: Ross Bortolan, Andrew Davies, Leonardo Contardo, Baxter Forssman, Matthew Warner, Nicholas Gers Front row: Nivar Gayapersadh, Murangi Magondo, Ankit Kalathil, Mr T Nkabinde, Yingwe Kula, Connor Simaan, Channing Arlow

Cricket Grade 4B

Back row: Adam Wickins, Vedarsh Dehaloo, Carter Toerien, Simphiwe Jack, Zimile Mhlongo, Cruz Joseph, Kieran Mc Lay Front row: Michael Grota, Justin Nean, Michael Davis, Mr T Nkabinde, Teano Chadinha, Dhruv Patel, Njabulo Ndwandwe

Cricket Grade 4C

Back row: Rafael Fernandez, Temogo Mophuting, Thomas de Roos, Moagi Mosinyi, Mashumi Mzaidume, Leo Nader, Jacques Jansen van Rensburg Front row: Asande Mbele, Cole Harverson, Thomas Hunt, Mr T Nkabinde, Shivan Moodley, Amir Otto, Delor Fegue Ngoukeng

Cricket Grade 3A

Back row: Oliver Walker, James Vance, Joshua Friedericksen, Leonardo Soares, Oliver Dyer, Luc Crofton Front row: Mr M Campbell, Oliver Harvey, Thomas Pieterse, Ross Palmer, Luke Erasmus, Marco Protti

Cricket Grade 3B

Back row: Blake Watson, Daniel Pritchard, Rorisang Seperepere, Lucas Rautenbach 2nd row: Alexander Davids, Kallan Moonsammy, Alexi Nousias Front row: Mr T Chabant, Oliver Leathem, Mvelo Mhlanzi, Tristan Fowler, Ndalo Mhlanzi, Zakariya Ismail

Cricket Grade 3C

Back row: Marc-Anthony Savva-Savvi, Matteo Barbaglia, Oliver Biddulph 2nd row: Renzo Ferrari, Michael Smit, Yashil Kumar Front row: Mr T Chabant, James Beney, William Shalala, Benjamin Vosloo, Alharik Archary, Peter von Bormann

Cricket Grade 3D

Back row: Reiley Roman, Ishan Skosana, Muzi Kubheka, Ntalo Mathebula-Mkhondo 2nd row: Riccardo Puzone, Cameron Cross,Kuhle Madonsela, Jake Sequeira Front row: Mr M Campbell, Vuyani Jack, Noah Ochse, James Bussin, Jake Landman, Kago Modise