St Stithians College cricket Culture

The philosophy and culture of cricket at St Stithians College has gradually strengthened over the past few years. The school has produced players like Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder and Wandile Makwetu. SA cricketer, Rabada recently made history at the Cricket South Africa awards banquet by winning a record six awards on one occasion.

Mulder, who currently captains the St Stithians Coca-Cola U19 team, recently won three big accolades, 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.

Makwetu recently competed in South Africa’s U19 Team in a Test tour in Sri Lanka.

“It took us about five years to get the cricket culture going at the school,” said coach, Wim Jansen.

Their teams, from as early as U14, now participate in various competitive tournaments to strengthen the quality of the sport.

“We also play with some of the schools we don’t traditionally play against. We always get our players to participate wherever we get the opportunity and encourage them to play club cricket, where they get to play with bigger guys.”

Jansen said Rabada was very unusual. He explained that they specifically discouraged him from participating in club cricket due to their busy schedule as they competed in a national T20 tournament.

“Because of the amount of cricket we play there is a lot of strain on bowlers. But Kagiso worked very hard on his physics. Every winter he would be at the gym every day, and he had started swimming,” Jansen said.

He added that Mulder was a well-balanced athlete. When he went to the boys’ college he was U13 Lions Rugby Captain and U13 Gauteng Cricket Captain.

“He was a very good utility player in rugby but now he has made his choice and he is the school’s first player to acquire a contract while still at school,” he said.

The School’s 1st team wicket keeper, Wandile Makwetu, said his trip to Sri Lanka was a fantastic learning experience.

“I am currently enjoying high school cricket but obviously, I have [further] ambitions and goals to achieve,” he said.

His ultimate goal is to play for the Proteas. “I will be out of high school in two years. Hopefully, I will be playing franchise cricket for the Lions and perfect my skills,” he said.

Cameron Shekleton, a batsman who had just returned from England on the school’s exchange programme, said the trip taught him various perspectives about life and his cricket career.

Details: St Stithians College, 011 577 6000.

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