All the action from the Cape Town Cricket Tour

Our Boys’ and Girls’ cricket squads are spending their half term in Cape Town for the first Cricket Tour of the year.  

As well as being able to enjoy the incredible scenery in South Africa, Salopians are playing a number of matches in fixtures with local clubs and coming away with some impressive wins. 

Pupils have spent time putting together reports from their experiences in Cape Town so far...  

Day one   

After an interesting 12-hour plane journey, we finally arrive in Cape Town and headed straight for the beach. The water was absolutely freezing; despite this, the girls braved the water but the boys weren’t quite so tough… 

We then went to the waterfront for some lunch before heading off for some training. The mountains were beautiful but Mano’s fake snake managed to scare us all!  

Once we’d recovered from the ‘near death’ encounter, we had dinner at the waterfront all together at a steak house. We had an early night ready for our first match of the tour.   

Chloe T (MSH, UVI) 

Saturday  

Girls Game 1 v Durbanville Premier League Invitational XI 

The Girls’ 1st XI played against a team of Premier League Invitational XI and some university students in a tight game. We elected to field first and Isabelle E (G, LVI) bowled out the opening batter on the first ball, but it had to be retaken after a change of shirt colour due to the batter not being able to see the ball! The game was restarted and their opening batter scored 38 runs on her second life! 

Chloe T bowled out four batters and Emily C (EDH, IV) bowled three with one catch by Jennifer O’B (MSH, LVI), making a combined eight wickets between them with four each. Esther H (EDH, LVI) also bowled tight overs and got two wickets (bowled and caught – Emily), bowling out the side in 27 overs. 

Chloe and Esther opened the batting and scored a few boundaries, Esther scoring 21. With more wickets falling than partnerships forming, the game appeared to be slipping away from us. Millie P (MSH, III) and Emily, the two youngest players in the squad, managed to put on some runs between them, giving us more hope.  

Eloise J (MSH, LVI) went in as our eleventh batswoman and batted with Alice B (EDH, V) for a combined total of 46, in what was an incredible partnership, winning Shrewsbury the game. 

Mr Barnard also befriended Mikey, the young boy doing the scoring, giving him a geography lesson along the way! 

Saturday 

On the second morning in Cape Town we came down to eat breakfast at 7:30, where we were told that unfortunately we were not going to go up Table Mountain due to the strong winds. The weather in Cape Town at the moment is slightly windy, although the sun is still strong, which is ideal for ourselves to ease us in to the sudden heat exposure. Shortly after breakfast, we planned to have a training session after we went to watch Bishops College vs Paarl boys school, whom we are to play on Tuesday.  

Leaving the hotel at 10:30, we were driven by Victor, our driver, to the supermarket to pick up a lunch to eat whilst we watched the other teams playing. We observed that the spinners bowled quickly and the standard of fielding was high quality in the game. It was invaluable to watch how they went about playing the game and to also get a glimpse of how the wicket is to play on Tuesday.  

It was then arranged that we could have a bat on the outdoor grass nets, and everyone was able to hit balls and get some rust out of the legs. We later progressed to middle practice, where the bowlers had a light practice bowl against the top order for the next day. The batters played some fantastic strokes and looked like they had never been on an 11-hour flight just 24 hours earlier. The bowlers showed similar glimpses of excellent lines and it was great to be back out bowling on grass for the first time in months. The whole team departed from Bishops School feeling as though they were ready for what was to come the next day in a 50 over game against the Gary Kirsten Academy.  

In the evening, we took the 5 minute drive to the V&A Waterfront, which is an ideal destination with fantastic views of Table Mountain, iconic landmarks, world-class shopping, dining, and everything we could wish for within walking distance. We dined in smaller groups of 5 and 6 and were served with fantastic steaks and lamb chops, although the variation of choice across our table was admittedly limited to meat. A great way to end the hard days work and to fuel before our first game on tour.  

Harvey Walker (SH, UVI) 

Sunday 

Boys match v Gary Kirsten Foundation XI   

On Sunday we arrived at Durbanville CC after an early breakfast at the hotel. The first match was special not only for being the first overseas game for many but also for Josh M (PH, LVI) and Ed P (I, LVI) making their 1st XI debuts. They were welcomed to the group with a cap presentation during the warm up, a great achievement and a moment that neither will ever forget. 

After a thorough warm up the boys were ready to take to the field in the intense African sun. We won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch lacking pace and consistent bounce with Ed C (O, LVI) and Jack H (Rb, LVI) opening the batting. The pair made a fantastic start to the game taking us to 50-0 until the first wicket fell in the 12th over.  

A few wickets fell in quick succession leaving the team in a spot of bother at 55 for 3 bringing Rhys L (Rt, UVI) and Ed P to the crease to rebuild bringing us back into the contest. Another couple of wickets yet again put the side in a tricky situation at 124 - 7 in the 30th over when Harvey W (SH, UVI) made his way out to bat. Harvey fought incredibly hard in the tough batting conditions making an invaluable 35*(63) without a boundary proving just how difficult it was to score quickly, His contribution aided by Oscar C (PH, LVI), Ollie P (Rb, LVI) and George H (PH, UVI) brought the team up to a fighting total of 203. 

The boys took to the field high on energy excited to defend the total which we thought was about par on that pitch. Will J (Rb, LVI) and Jack H took the new ball with Will striking first blood in the second over with Jack the other end bowling at high speed with great control. The opposition got off to a good start with some highly skilled batters taking the attack to our bowlers making them think.  

We then turned to Anuvrat S (Rt, UVI) and Guy B (I, UVI) as our first change in an attempt to gain some control with spin. Guy took a wicket quickly and we were soon into the middle order. Special mention to Anu who bowled 10 overs at an economy below 2 taking one wicket on return from injury after being out of the side for a year working so hard to get back to fitness. Ed P also bowled 10 overs at an economy under 3s. This phase of the game was crucial in keeping us in the game and the spinners really fought back with Rhys L also taking 2 wickets. Jack H and Ollie P then finished up at the death taking some key wickets. 

Overall a great first game to get us underway in foreign conditions. We then had a presentation and a drink with the opposition who played in great spirits and were also highly competitive and skilful. 

Rhys L (Rt, UVI) 

Monday   

The weather forecast was dampening the opportunity for the Boys to win another day's cricket.  We received anticipated news the game was cancelled due to rain and we were all very disappointed. Despite this the afternoon was brightening up and Mr Hughes thankfully organised a great afternoon for the group, which included a trip to see the penguins and another encounter with the beach and ending with dinner at the waterfront. 

We were up and out early to explore the V&A waterfront and had a chance to spend some money, as-well as getting lunch and milkshakes to fuel them for a busy afternoon. We had a 30 minute drive to Simons Town with spectacular views on the way to visit the penguins, also we had the entertainment of seeing a few baboons roaming the streets.  

It was a fantastic experience watching the penguins at Boulders Bay and there were some fantastic pictures taken.  After seeing the penguins, we headed to another beach where there was some quality football on display from the lads. Disappointingly, most of the boys couldn’t face the water, but the girls seemed to enjoy it.  

Dinner quickly came upon us and the everyone went their separate ways in search of where to eat and yet again they were all very satisfied with their food, steak and burgers becoming very popular amongst the group. We returned to the hotel exhausted from a busy day, despite the weather we were still making the most of every minute out in Cape Town. They boys now prepare for a very competitive day-nighter vs Bishops the following day. 

Josh M (PH, LVI) 

Wednesday

Wynberg was the setting for our third game of the tour, with the beautiful Table Mountain once again providing the backdrop for our match against one of the strongest schools in South Africa. We lost the toss and fielded first under beautiful blue skies, with a couple of chances to dismiss the opposition openers not being taken. We were made to pay for these mistakes as the batsmen both passed 50 in quick time. Despite Ed C (O, LVI) taking five wickets for just 22 runs at the back end of the innings, the damage had been done and the hosts had posted a commanding 241 all out.

Shrewsbury never recovered from 47-5 in the face of some accurate seam bowling, and while Ed C (O, LVI) added a battling 46 to his earlier five-for, the tourists were never in the hunt and fell well short. 

Thursday 

Rondebosch had lifted the Silk Trophy at Shrewsbury just seven months earlier during their tour of England, on which they won every single game against the finest cricketing schools in the country.  Revenge was Shrewsbury's aim when the tourists won the toss and batted in the final match of the tour. With several Shrewsbury players continuing to suffer from the stomach bug that had blighted the tour, a much changed top order flew out of the blocks and were 106-3 after just 16 overs. The loss of captain Rhys L (Rt, UVI) for a 51 ball 75 was the start of a slide that brought an end to the innings on 199 with seven overs left unused, although a spirited 31 from Josh M (PH, LVI) held up the home attack.

The hosts never looked in danger of failing to reach the target after an opening stand of 100, and cruised home by 7 wickets and 13 overs remaining.

The Cape Town experience never fails to deliver top quality opposition, great weather, and both sporting and cultural experiences to treasure. Every single member of the touring party returned home having learnt many lessons and will be in a far better position as we excitedly near the beginning of another English season that promises so much.