Written by Nigel Briers, Master i/c Cricket

The Test Match between Australia and South Africa had just finished when Marlborough's eager, young cricketers arrived in Cape Town for their 2006 tour. The cricketing atmosphere was made complete when Somerset County Cricket Club arrived at the Cape Suites Hotel to share their accommodation! A large, air-conditioned Springbok Atlas coach provided very comfortable transport to the cricket fixtures.

Here was a different culture, climate and sporting ethos in a still developing nation, set against the historical perspective of the evils of apartheid. The poverty in the townships was on an unimaginable scale, set in stark contrast to the happy, welcoming faces there.

The Games
Excursions

The Games

The tour started with a win at Langa against a Development XI comprising players from the township; four of them had represented Western Province but all their players were competent cricketers.

Wynberg boys' school provided very strong opposition (one of their old boys, Jacques Kallis, had just been battling it out against the Aussies!).

First rate hospitality continued at Bridge House School, the Marlborough XI managing a crushing victory in more than picturesque and mountainous surroundings.

The Blue Leopards, drawn from a number of local schools, proved impressive young cricketers. Lack of batting in the middle proved to be Marlborough's downfall on this occasion.

The match at Newlands against a Western Province XI was a superb day in all ways except for the result. The boys revelled at playing on such a magnificent ground and having their names up on the electronic scoreboard; there was even a dressing room attendant to wait on them!

The final match of the tour was played at South African College School. This school had played twenty-six matches in their last season and possessed some outstanding cricketers. Marlborough did well to hold them to 158 in the allotted 50 overs.

Excursions

The boys really enjoyed the various excursions: a cable car up Table Mountain, a sunset cruise, fraternising with the colony of endangered jackass penguins on Boulders Beach and a wine tour of KWV and Robben Island. The latter proved particularly moving as the guide around the former political prison had been an inmate for twenty years; he had actually had a cell just four down from Nelson Mandella.

Cape Town's flourishing hospitality industry has firmly established itself on the V&A Waterfront. Here, a blend of cafes, fine cuisine and trendy stores provided a safe haven for rest and relaxation.