Budding Proteas to test skills against school teams

With all the hype and attention around the Indian cricketers on tour to South Africa, an under-17 team from Johannesburg-based Alberton Cricket and Hockey Club is in Chandigarh to play a five-match T20 series. The first match was played at the Delhi Public School in Pinjore on Wednesday.

Dressed in white, with their nicknames printed on the back of their tees, the South African team looked excited about the Indian tour. And they also have an eye on the India-South Africa series: Their star all-rounder, Dillon Menezes (17), who grabbed his team’s first win over the DPS team scored 72 runs and scalped six wickets, including a hat-trick.

“India is doing very well in the Test as well as the ODI cricket. But I think they are going to struggle in South Africa owing to the bouncy and seaming tracks. Bowlers like Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will make life difficult for the Indian batsmen. Gary Kirsten might bring in his experience as he knows about the South African conditions, but still Indians have to face the bowlers during the matches. Jacques Kallis and AB De Villiers will be South Africa’s batting strengths,” he says.

And then he goes on about their tour: “We will try to pick new cricket techniques and get exposure of the conditions. It is fun playing in India. I wish we were here during the upcoming World Cup.”

Dillan, who has modelled himself on Australian great, Shane Warne, is the find of the season for the Club. He was a hockey player earlier but shifted focus to cricket eight months ago. The club will also travel to Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Agra and Gandhinagar during their month-long stay. Former Bengal Ranji Trophy cricketer, Sourav Chatterji, is attached with the club and executes such tours in India.

For the burly Gerrie Bothma (15), an all-rounder, cricket is the most sought-after sport in South Africa after rugby and football. Originally from England, Bothma wants to play around the world, so that he gets to know the conditions everywhere. He harbours a dream of playing cricket at the international level, and either play for

England or South Africa on the big stage in the coming times. He said, “Such tours are very encouraging. We get to mingle with players of different countries and get a chance to learn so much from them. Though, I miss the South African food (laughs), cricket is keeping me in high spirits. India is the top-ranked Test team, South African bowlers will face challenge when bowling like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman or Virender Sehwag. Their bowlers Zaheer Khan, S Sreesnath and Harbhajan Singh will also be tough to score. But it is tough to beat South Africa on their home soil.” The U-17 team from South Africa speaks their local language Africaaner and English.

Bevan Morley (16), chips in, “I think both the teams are equally good. I would be following the scores. IPL and Champions League have popularised cricket more in South Africa. So, like everyone I am also hooked to the cricket scores. I will be even tracking Ashes Test match which also starts tomorrow in Perth.”

Their co-ordinator, Bijoy Chatterji feels that cricket is fast becoming a global sport and uniting the nations together. “Such tours strengthen and build relations and ties between different countries. The club is also affiliated to Afro-India Sports and Cultural Association. The South African Board encourages such tours.” For the record, South African team beat DPS School, Pinjore, by 26 runs in their first match.