Experience Of A Lifetime

Recently, local Darfield High School student Austin Earl, returned from his once-in-alifetime cricket trip to India. Both Austin and his dad, Simon, are members of the North West Youth Cricket Club, which provides boys in Canterbury the chance to play cricket at a higher level, made up of players from the following High Schools; Burnside, Papanui, Lincoln, Rolleston, Cashmere, Middleton Grange and Darfield. “Bangalore was such an interesting place, super busy, cows wandering the streets, tuk tuk and motorbike scooters everywhere with no real road rules (well it seemed that way), but it just worked! You had to accept that getting anywhere just took time. For example, travelling 12km to the cricket grounds would take 45-60 minutes,” commented Simon. “The people were so friendly, and our liaison guy Navin was amazing, without him this tour would not have been possible. Vinell, our Batting Coach was first-class, Austin made a strong connection with him and learnt a lot. “On tour, we got to play cricket at Mysore Stadium, a very nice first-class ground, lights and all! We also had the chance to visit Goa, which is an adventure and party place for young Indians. It was also a cool chance to swim in the Arabian Sea and have some rest and relaxation for a couple of days,” continued Simon. “I was impressed with all the team, how they handled themselves with a busy sixteen days, fitting in so much. I didn’t really realise just how major an undertaking touring India would be, it was massive. The life-long memories of our adventures and the amazing friends made were so cool. “Thanks so much to everyone who supported Austin, he had a blast! He scored 102 runs (highest score 42) and 2 wickets, over the 6 games,” Simon concluded. “My highlight of the trip was going to Chinnaswamy Stadium, home to the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Indian National side. Also, the people were so nice and super friendly, they were always trying to help,” commented Austin. “My favourite ground of the tour was by far Mysore Stadium, which is used as a first-class ground, but all the grounds we played on were amazing. “The spinners were a lot more skilful and accurate than the New Zealand school-age spinners I’ve faced. “Major challenges for myself were not being able to eat whatever I wanted and always having to drink bottled water. Transport was also challenging, most trips would take one hour in India, and it would have been a 15 minute trip in New Zealand. The way they honked their horns was crazy! “I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and I would like to thank everyone who made it possible. The memories I made will last a lifetime,” Austin concluded.

Austin and Simon Earl at Chinnaswany Stadium.

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