Miguel soars high at international level
Last year, Miguel’s biggest accomplishment was realised when Portugal asked him to play for their international team
Miguel Machado (27) hails from Vryheid, where he matriculated at Vryheid High School. His is a cricketing success story that continues to rise to greater heights.
He started his schooling career at Michaelis Private School and was a Grade 6 learner when he was selected to play cricket for KwaZulu-Natal. Miguel was an all-rounder at school, playing hockey for the first team, as well as cricket and even rugby.
From a young age, Miguel had extraordinary hand-eye co-ordination and his father, Pedro, remembers how he hit a plastic golf ball over the roof when he was only three years old. Miguel, his wife and baby are now settled in England. He remembers that when he left school after matric, he ‘blindly’ went to England with only a bag in his hand. With no specific plan on how and what he would do, he knocked on Wimbledon Sporting Club’s doors and asked if he could play cricket for them. After trials, the club soon recognised his talent and not long after, Miguel was snatched up by several other clubs.
Last year, Miguel’s biggest accomplishment was realised when Portugal asked him to play for their international team. Portugal’s team was at number 55 on the rankings and they needed to reach number 33 to be recognised by the ICC. With Miguel on the team, they’ve managed to drop to the required position, which allowed them to play in the World Cup qualifiers for 2027.
Before Miguel left to pursue his cricketing dream in England, he had a few practice sessions with Gary Kirsten, who wanted him to rather stay in South Africa. However, Miguel had bigger dreams and they have panned out perfectly. In his first three games for Portugal, Miguel was crowned as ‘Man of the Match’ for each game.
Father Pedro’s eyes sparkle with pride when he talks about the accomplishments of his only child. From a father’s point of view, his advice to all youngsters is: “Pursue your dreams; if you believe in yourself, anything is possible. Miguel did all of this on his own; we just backed him up. We cannot take credit for what Miguel has achieved; it was all him.”
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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.
