Cricket enthusiast and coach Suvedh Ramprith had the privilege of managing the KZN Inland U13 Cricket team during Cricket Week.
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The 23-year-old was appointed manager and accompanied the team and coaches to Pretoria from December 6. Inclement weather unfortunately cut the trip short and the team returned on December 9.
The Estcourt News caught up with Mr Ramprith to find out about the journey in this national tournament.
How were you feeling as the departure date drew closer?
I was excited that the time for the tournament finally arrived and couldn’t wait for the experience but at the back of my mind I was hoping we won’t get interrupted by rain.
On arrival, where were you hosted? And when did the team meet? What was the feeling like?
We were hosted at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool Pretoria (Affies). The team travelled together on the bus so we all met on the bus as there were different pick up points from Pietermaritzburg right until Montrose Garage, as players were based across our region and those were the easiest pick up points for them. The boys were all hyped up and the whole trip they were talking about tactics and making bets with one another as to what they want to achieve in the tournament, the tournament buzz was very alive on the bus until we reached Villiers and the rain started. That’s when the energy started to fade.
Take us through the days that you were at national week and the outcomes/results?
We arrived on the Friday and did our registration, took team photos and had our opening ceremony at Affies hostel.
The Saturday morning, we woke up to rain and when we went to breakfast, the tournament directors told us that play will be impossible for the day so we had to come up with something to do. Luckily majority of our teams’ parents also came up to Pretoria, so I had asked them to take their children out for the day. We then came together again for supper that night and were told that if the rain continues through the night it’s highly possible to call off the tournament and that’s exactly what happened, which left the boys spirits really shattered as they never even get to see the fields they were going to play on. On Sunday morning, we had breakfast and like the previous day, play was called off. We, as management and coaches of the team, decided to take our boys to Menlyn Park for the day out and go have lunch. While we were there, we received message that Cricket South Africa has called the tournament off due to the weather and unplayable grounds so we went back to the hostel and most boys left with their parents on Sunday very disappointed indeed. Five boys remained and together with out management and coaching staff we left Monday around 5:30am to come back home.
When the weather interrupted play, what was the feeling from the team?
The team were really heartbroken because they really wanted to get onto the field but they realised that they can’t control Mother Nature so even though the mood was glum the boys made the best of their time in Pretoria, we even had a mini match against ourselves on Saturday in the rain with a mini bat and tennis ball for about two hours.
What is the result now that the entire tournament was not played? Unfortunately that’s the end of the tournament; it can’t be rescheduled so for this bunch of boys it’s unfortunate because their next level to play for their province will only be at u15 level, which for most will only be two years from now.
What were some of your highlights?
Since we never even play cricket, the highlight was just spending time as a team and watching the boys make the best out of a frustrating and unfortunate situation. The fact that the boys bonded and made new friendships and got to improve their skills over the weeks of training they had was great. Even with the fact that they were frustrated for not playing they had a good time and gave our management team a lot to laugh about, which was great.
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