125 This page is sponsored by: The Airey family CRICKET 1ST XI BACK LEFT: .T Pears, S Kelly, C Matthews, Jacques van der Merwe, M Hodnett, J de Bruin MIDDLE LEFT: M Whitelaw, J Lambert, C Thompson, S Hudson, R Hawke, T Smith, R Wallace FRONT LEFT: C Kirsten, Mr D Moodley (Ass. Coach), D Ahern (Capt), M Airey (V/Capt), Mr A van Zyl (Coach), M Shadwell 1ST XI This year’s season can be described pretty much like my relationship with my mother-in-law: rosy, positive and impressive at first – then the harsh reality set in.The first term ended with four teen wins in nineteen games the highlights of which were good wins against Paarl Boys and Hilton. Mark Airey’s 125 (not out) and Declan Ahern’s 6/28 against Bishops stand out as excellent individual performances. Then the cricketing gods intervened. We had a number of injuries to key players during the season which played havoc with selection and confidence. Craig Kirsten, Craig Matthews, Mark Airey, Jacques van der Merwe, and Ryan Hawke all lost valuable game time and the opportunity to display their prowess. The weather conspired to rob us of a few results which would have gone our way and we were also the victims of ‘calculator cricket’ in the 20/20 format.Vagaries in the fixtures also put us against a very powerful Maritzbug College side four times this season. The odd interesting umpiring decision and bad luck all played their par t in a season wherein we played 37 games, won 15, lost 15, drew 2 with 5 washed out. The positives of this challenging season far outweighed the negatives and the following achievements bear this out: Michael Shadwell, Mark Airey and Craig Kirsten will also represent the KZN Coastals side at the Khaya Majola U19 Cricket week in Cape Town in December ; Ryan Hawke and RyanWallace represented KZN at an international week in Benoni in July; RyanWallace and Tyler Smith will represent KZN Coastals at the national U17Week in Bloemfontein in December ;Tyler Smith represented KZN U17 at the SA games in September andWalter Jordaan was selected to represent the Kingsmead Mynahs side in December. As a result of the injuries, we unear thed new exciting talent and the likes of Sean Kelly,Walter Jordaan, Simon Hudson, Jordy Gregory, Chris Lines and Tyler Smith will all add an extra dimension to the stalwar ts who remain. I often tell the boys in my class that cricket is life – and life is tough.We have all learnt tough lessons this year which will stand us in good stead as 2012 unfolds. I would like to extend my thanks, and those of Dean Moodley, to all the players, parents and our patient and forgiving families for all their contributions to this passionate game. André van Zyl CRICKET
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