Overseas Cricket Tour to England
Report by Luc Vicente
When Mr Bhinder approached me about going on an overseas tour to the UK with him, I was over the moon with excitement. We took a group of 14 Grade 11 and 10 boys over the half term (and missing one or two days of school before) to play 9 games of Cricket in and around London. We played our first game on the day we arrived and we quickly realised how different conditions were to our hard, fast and bouncy Highveld cricket pitches. Throughout the whole tour the boys continued to grow as cricketers picking up various skills from their English counter parts. As you can see from the results most of the games were really exciting and closely contested. Luckily only two of our games were affected by rain with one being completely rained off.
The boys behaved exceptionally over the course of the tour and were the best advert the school could hope for. One headmaster who actually hosted 4 of our boys in his personal residence said that his wife had told him that she hoped their children would grow up to be like the boys who stayed with them. We were also hosted very well! All staff and boys of the schools we played against were very friendly and put on some excellent meals for us (Salmon Sarmies and Scones not an uncommon sight on the side of a British cricket field). The Trinity School from Croydon are touring South Africa in October and are scheduled to play cricket against St. David’s junior teams. So we can return the favour of their hospitality.
The schools grounds we played at were awe inspiring, it felt like every school we went to had to explain to us that their school wasn’t “a castle”. This coupled with the greenest outfield’s any Joburg boy has ever seen meant that our boys were constantly lifting their game for every venue.
While on tour the boys also took in the sights of Salisbury, London and Windsor. With London being the obvious highlight for the boys. Along with taking in all the sights of London from the London Eye, the boys also attended a West End production of the Lion King and a guided tour of Lords Cricket Stadium while in London. I can however report that for almost all the boys the best thing about London is the shopping on Oxford Street. We also all became masters of the London underground in our two days there, but the busses remain an enigma.
A big thank you to the parents, admin and academic staff who all made this trip an unforgettable experience for the whole tour group.
Results
27 June vs Kings College (Taunton) 20/20
Kings 142/5 in 20
St David's 81/10 in 16
St David's lost by 61 runs
28 June vs Kings College (Taunton)30 overs
Kings 157/7 after 30
Matthews 3/34
St David's 69/4 after 18
Miltz 33* Game abandoned due to rain
30 June vs Trinity School (Croydon, London) 40 overs
St David's 192/10 in 38.4 overs
Lategan 38 / Miltz 33 / Luthuli 37
Trinity 164/8 in 40 overs
St David's won by 28 runs
1 July vs the Oratory School (Reading) 30 overs
Oratory 119/8 in 30 overs
St David's 120/9 in 29.4 overs
Miltz 44
St David's won by 1 wicket
4 July vs Hampton School 45 overs
St David's 243/10 in 45 overs
Lategan 69 /Bridges 91 /Van der Spuy 33
Hampton 245/7 in 45 overs
Van der Spuy 3/51
St David's lost by 3 wickets
5 July vs The Kings School (Parramatta, Sydney)
55 overs Tonbridge festival
St David's 229/10
Lategan 56 /Van der Spuy 39 /Gerson 31
Kings 212/9
Younger 3/40
St David's won by 17 runs
6 July vs Tonbridge School (Tonbridge) - 55 overs Tonbridge festival
Tonbridge 263/5 in 55 overs
St David's 208/10 in 52.5 overs
Luthuli 35 / Van Staden 34 / Gerson 32
St David's lost by 55 runs
7 July vs Millfield School - 55 overs Tonbridge festival
Millfield 300/5 in 55 overs
St David's 279/8 in 55 overs
Miltz 75 /Van Staden 48 /Van der Spuy 37
St David's lost by 21 runs
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