We had a fairly uneventful flight to East London on 5 December 2000, except for a few bumps before landing. When we arrived in East London it was pouring with rain and we thought we would not be able to get much cricket in. Fortunately the weather was sympathetic to the cause of cricket and we managed to get six decent games on the tour.

Our first game was against Border (6 December) and after delays caused by the rain and an accident involving some of their players, coach and umpire, we eventually started the match at 10.15 a.m. and fitted in a full 50-over game. Border batted first and were bowled out for 242. We then went in to bat and were in trouble at 67 for eight when Shane Phillips and Russell Kambarami came together. We ended up on 193 for eight after our 50 overs, losing the match by 49 runs.

The second match was against Natal on December 8. The match was played at a township ground which had one of the best pitches we played on. Our boys played well apart from allowing one of Natal's players to get a hundred, dropping him three times on the way. The boys soon learnt the value of playing consistently good cricket for the full 50 overs.

The third game against Northerns was characterized by some below-standard batting and indifferent bowling. The highlight of this match was the catch of the tournament by Marc-Antony Eysele. We only managed 113 and lost the game by six wickets.

The boys finally produced the standard of cricket expected of them in the fourth game. They played with a more positive approach and Nicholas Mwayenga bowled one of the quickest 10 overs by any player we saw at the tournament. Captain Marco Marabini hit a solid 41 to lay a solid foundation for our victory. However, too many middle-order batsman gave their wickets away and we almost lost the game. Shane Phillips with the help of Andrew Lobser managed to pull off the victory by three wickets. This game boosted the morale of the team immensely.

Game five against Griquas was played on a wicket that looked wet when we tossed and dry when the first ball was bowled. As a general rule East London pitches favour the team batting first and we lost the toss on this occasion. Griquas batted well but inexperienced field placings allowed them to get more runs than they should have. Inconsistent umpiring (which had come to characterize most of the games) allowed players on both sides to get away with a lot. This inconsistency weighed heavily against us when we were batting and two of our top batsmen went out to decisions that shocked the opposition management.

The last game was against Gauteng on 12 December. We decided to reward Kambarami (a legspinner who we hadn't expected to excel with the bat) for his 63 in the first game by asking him to open. He responded very well and scored 52 runs that made him look like a top-order batsman. Roland Benade eventually put bad umpiring decisions behind him and batted like the class player he is. He was unlucky to be out on 49. Marabini hit another 40 but failed to score the extra 30 runs we should have made. Chasing 211, the Gauteng batsman reached their target with three wickets down.

The boys learnt a lot about playing at a higher level and I only wish our school system allowed them to play with such passion and determination in every game. Kambarami was the man of the tour and won two nights at a local lodge courtesy of The Holiday Club. Below is a summary of the match results.

Played 9
Won 2
Lost 7

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