News
Orhan K (Murray House) is a fantastic cricket player. His talent has taken him to South Africa to play the sport and get involved in the local community. We hope you enjoy the following report about his trip!
”There were 13 boys who went out, primarily from three different schools, representing the Hornsey Cricket Club. Orhan was the only boy from Mill Hill School. The majority of the boys were from Highgate School and a few from Fortismere School
We were told that he did wonderfully and integrated well. He has known some of the boys since primary school, but the Club said it was a credit to him how central he was to the whole team.
They played five matches during the 10 days that they were there. The boys were due to play a sixth game, but unfortunately, it had to be called off due to the weather. They won two of the five matches, and one was very close! The schools they played were from different backgrounds and one was a charity – ‘Leading Edge’- promoting cricket. Orhan noticed that the standard of cricket was very high, and the boys were very competitive on the pitch. However, once the games were over, they were all very friendly. Most of the schools had pools and they would cool down by diving in after the game. As a bowler, Orhan noticed that their bowlers did not run in as much as the bowlers here. He attributed this to the heat there. In their group, Orhan was awarded the best bowler award. Thank you to Sanjay, who provided some crucial training before he left.
On their first night, they watched a woman’s T20 game – South Africa versus Pakistan. However, it was not all about cricket. They visited Table Top Mountain, swam in the ocean, and saw penguins. The boys went to Robben Island and saw Nelson Mandela’s cell. They also visited a township.
Despite visiting India many times, this was a new experience for Orhan. Orhan noticed that as they went deeper into the township, the house quality deteriorated. He saw that eight to nine people shared a house that was effectively the size of a bedroom in the UK which was a shock. The children in the township were very friendly and the boys from London thought it was a very close-knit community. The cricket club organisers had worked very hard to get British Airways to agree to an extra luggage allowance. They used this to carry over 10 bags packed with donations for Leading Edge, the charity and the township. Orhan had also worked hard to secure £3500 in sponsorship from Kyma Capital. Some of this was used to support the kit for the team. However, half of this was set aside and donated to Leading Edge.
He came back an exhausted but happy boy. It has been a fantastic experience that will have a lifetime of memories. I wanted to thank the School again for permitting Orhan to leave early and for the fabulous cricket team at school.”
