WATCH: The meteoric rise of St Stithians Boys’ College cricket

St Stithians Boys’ College is fast becoming one of the best cricketing schools in the country.

The development of a strong ethos of discipline and hard work have been one of the key elements in reviving cricket at the school.

Having won various cricket competitions, they have become one of the most feared school cricket teams in Gauteng. This year, they claimed the Coca-Cola Schools T20 Championship, won the Johnny Waite final and they are the Lions franchise winners of Gauteng.

Director of cricket at Saints is Wim Jansen who has been at the school for eight years and previously worked at Gauteng cricket for 12 years.

Jansen said, when he first came to the school, the standard of cricket was not of the highest level and he was glad that all the hard work was paying off. “When I was a youngster, St Stithians cricket was good, they had a very strong culture and ethos. Over the years it had sort of eroded and, when I came in, there was no coaching,” he added.

However, over the years the college has produced many cricketers who have gone on to become household names including Grant Elliot, who became the first player from South Africa to represent New Zealand in a Test match.

Proteas player, Kagiso Rabada, who has taken international cricket by storm, is one of the latest stars to come out of the school’s cricketing ranks.

Another promising young star is current Saints cricketer, Wiaan Mulder, who is also the South Africa U19 captain. Mulder recently walked away with the big awards in his age group at the Cricket South Africa awards when he was awarded the Coca-Cola U19 Cricketer of the Year, Coca-Cola Schools T20 Cricketer of the Year and Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week Player of the Tournament.

The 18-year-old has been described as a modern day all-rounder and has scored a total of 428 runs and claimed 22 wickets in the year under review, both internationally and at domestic level. “This has definitely been a year of highs and lows for me,” said Mulder.

Jansen praised Mulder for leading by example. “Wiaan is a great example to the boys. He has reached the pinnacle of schoolboy cricket but is still humble.”

Mulder recently signed a contract with the bizhub Highveld Lions and made his debut on 7 September against the Titans in the Momentum Kasi Challenge.

“Through the work that we are doing on the cricket field, we are producing the good guys who are going to be the doctors, teachers and lawyers. The good people in society are going to come from here because of the discipline that cricket teaches you,” said Jansen.

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