PE cricketers fly SA flag high
U18 side bring back silver from Tri-Nations tourney
PORT Elizabeth’s Metro Eagles Cricket Club flew the South African flag high when they participated in the Tri-Nations Series tournament held in England.
The six boys who played in the tournament are all in the U18 age category and were selected from a local tournament held by the South African Sports Association for the Intellectually Impaired last year.
They formed part of the Eastern Cape contingent, which had seven players in the squad. The seventh cricketer was from East London.
The team delivered one of their best performances of the tournament when they posted an impressive score, enabling them to beat Australia.
However, with the matches being played over 40 overs per team, they went down to the England outfit in the final and had to settle for the silver medal.
They then also came up against England in the final of the Twenty20 tournament, but again had to settle for silver.
“We are really proud of our boys for doing so well in the tournament,” South African team manager and coach Zilindile Fiki said.
“The exposure these boys got from an international setup will certainly improve their game.
“I know they learnt a lot from the experience of playing overseas.”
Having been inspired by champion Eastern Cape cricketers such as Edward Habane and the Nkwinti brothers, who, among others, helped bring cricket into the township, Fiki founded the club in 2009.
He offered his own house to act as a clubhouse for 40 boys and 20 girls who make up the Metro Eagles squad.
The club has produced a number of talented players who have all competed at an interprovincial level.
“You always see children who are good at sport, but lack in their academics in the classroom, and it has been a pleasure for me to work with such special children,” Fiki said.
“Teachers need to normalise the practice of assisting children where they excel the most and nurture the skill of playing cricket.
“The reality is that not all children were made to sit behind a desk and therefore it is vitally important that parents support children into taking sports as a career to better their lives.”
The boys will join pupils from Mzamomhle in Uitenhage, Happydale and Kuyasa in Grahamstown in a two-week training camp, where they will share some of the lessons they learnt in the tournament.