Zululand’s Hash without the beard
Felixton's Abdullah Mahamed makes SA Rural cricket team
AFTER hours of extensive net sessions and much practice, Felixton College’s Abdullah Mahamed was selected for the South African Rural U17 cricket team, after his standout performances for the KZN Rural side at the CSA U17 Rural week in Worcester, Cape Town.
The 16-year-old batting all-rounder is currently in Grade 11 and plays for the school’s first XI, Felixton Cricket Club in the First Division and Illembe District in the Challenge League.
‘I was selected twice in my primary school career to represent uThungulu, but last year being selected for the KZN Rural U17 team and the SA Rural team are my biggest achievements thus far.’
Mahamed shined with not only the bat at the rural week, but also with the cherry.
He scored 58 against Boland and 78 against KEI in a timed cricket match, which is a combination of test and one day cricket.
He then scored 34 against EP Coastals and 11 against Border in a T20 match, before knocking an unbeaten 108 against EP in a 50-over game.
With the nut in hand, he took 14 wickets in the tournament, bowling off-spin.
‘I practice cricket three times a week at home in the nets. My brother feeds the balls into the bowling machine for me, where I work on my stance, technique and timing of the ball. I generally train 1-2 hours per session and twice a week with my school team. I then play school and club cricket matches on a Saturday and a Challenge League game on Sunday.’
When having spare time in his busy schedule, Abdullah can be found deep sea with a fishing rod in his hands or jet-skiing.
His highest score with the bat was against eShowe in 2014, where he smashed an unbeaten 129 in a T20 game.
His best figures are 6/21 in 10.
‘My goals for this year is to focus on my studies, aid the school’s team as best I can and hopefully make the KZN team again.’
