Three young cricketers, Eldrich George, Shawn April and Winston Johnson, from Kuyasa Special School represented South Africa and excelled all round at the recent International Federation for People with Intellectual Disability (INAS) Tri-Nations cricket tournament against Australia and England.
Three young cricketers, Eldrich George, Shawn April and Winston Johnson, from Kuyasa Special School represented South Africa and excelled all round at the recent International Federation for People with Intellectual Disability (INAS) Tri-Nations cricket tournament against Australia and England.
Based on their performances at the tournament, Johnson and George have been named as part of the World team.
The event, hosted by Cricket South Africa (CSA) with (INAS) and the South African Sports Association for the Intellectually Impaired (SASAII), was held in Kimberley from 14 to 28 November.
Each side played the other on two occasions, with the two sides with the most points making it into the final. South Africa lost to England in the opening match of the tournament, but went on to win their second game against them. Australia lost all of their matches and so South Africa and England went through to the final where South Africa lost by 20 runs.
In both their matches against Australia, Johnson was named Man of the Match. He took a total of 13 wickets, eight wickets in the first match and four in the second. George made a highest score of 36 against Australia, amassing a total of just under 100 runs throughout the tournament, while April took a total of four wickets.
George, April and Johnson began their cricket careers in 2010 when Kuyasa took a group of their pupils to Port Elizabeth for the Eastern Province trials. The three were then selected for the Eastern Province team, under the South African Sports Association for the Intellectually Impaired, and played for the EP side for both the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
When the school recognised their potential, school principal Jill Rothman registered the pupils with INAS, and in March this year they travelled to Kimberley to take part in the South African trials, where all three were selected. The three are coached by their teacher Khuthala George.
Their performance at the Tri-Nations was rewarding for all concerned. They enjoyed the experience and were popular amongst their team mates. South African team co-ordinator, Lizzie Vogel, said the three Kuyasa pupils had been “a fabulous influence” throughout the tournament. She said they were well behaved and congratulated the school on the “fantastic job” they had done in raising the children.
A celebratory lunch was held at the school for the three cricketers this week, where members of the Intellectually Impaired Federation and Eastern Province disability cricket officials were present.
On a sadder after note, it was a bittersweet return to Grahamstown for Eldrich George who returned to Grahamstown on Saturday, to find that his family house in Hooggenoeg had burnt down. George was left with only the clothes he took to Kimberley.
