Congrats classy Kai

I have the habit of driving through Paarl on a Saturday morning on the look out for a good game of school cricket. My 10-year-old son and two of his mates accompanied me to Paarl Gimnasium this past Saturday. It was a typical hot summer day with the temperature rising to about 38, no wind and no clouds. This took my memory back to when I was in primary school. My late father played cricket for the first XI of Paarl. Their captain for a few seasons was a gentleman from Hampshire called David Turner. He came over during his off-season to visit his wife’s family in town.

His first-class stats, thanks to Wisden, speaks for itself: “David Roy Turner (born 5 February 1949 at Chippenham, Wiltshire) is a former English first-class cricketer for Hampshire. He played 426 games between 1966 and 1989, making 19 005 runs at a batting average of 30.55 with 28 hundreds.

“Turner was part of the Hampshire side which won the County Championship in 1973, only their second-ever title. In a side featuring Gordon Greenidge and Barry Richards, Turner was a solid left-handed batsman and he scored 1 000 runs in a season on nine occasions. His highest score was 184 not out against Gloucestershire in 1987, when he and Greenidge put on 311 for the third wicket, and Hampshire won by an innings.”

Why mention this? Me and the boys had the privilege to see Paarl Gym take on SACS at Under-15 level. We arrived about 90 minutes into the game. At the south-end of the pitch was a young, lefthanded No 4 batsman of SACS. Within a few deliveries, I could gather that he was something special and did he prove me right.

His temperament , composure and level of fitness were remarkable. This, together with sound technical skills, made for a batting exhibition of note; an innings that would make Turner proud. Congratulations to Kai Curren on the best innings (101) that I have seen at this age. Good luck with your future. I will remember your name and the day you entertained me and the boys forever.