Day 7 - Final match

Due to some heavy rain in the region overnight the matches were delayed to a 2pm start. This gave us the chance to get out and visit Bayworld Oceanrium. This was a real treat for the team, and we arrived in time for the seal and penguin show. The show was entertaining and educational at the same time. We also spent some time walking around the snake park and museum.

It was then on to Westering Primary for lunch and the final match of the tour. The delay meant that the matches had to be shortened to 30 overs, which was not too bad, as it still gave us the chance to give as many people an opportunity as possible. As has become somewhat of a tradition on u11 tours, the A team consisted only of Grade five boys and the B team was mainly Grade 4's with the left over Grade 5 boys making up the 11.

In the B team game, Bridge House batted first and scored a staggering 154 runs. Contributions worth mentioning came from James Boyes - 19, Tom Hando - 27 and Jack Crowther - 28. We then went in to bowl and thanks to some disciplined bowling, managed to bowl Westering out for 30 runs. Jacques Saayman picked up 2 for 4 runs, Jean van der Westhuyzen 2 for 9 runs and Sid Gray managed to pick up 2 for 5 runs. James Boyes picked up 3 wickets for just 8 runs in his 2 overs. The end result was that we won by 124 runs. A fantastic way to end off the tour.

In the A team game Westering Primary batted first and scored 138 runs in their 30 overs. Douglas Kerkmann was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets. He was well supported by Cameron Shepherd - 2 for 6 runs and Luca Schwarte - 2 for 7 runs. Bridge House then went in to bat and got off to a cracking start with a run rate of 4 runs per over in the first 10 overs. However, in the end we just lost too many wickets and couldn't keep up with the required run rate. The end result was that we lost by 32 runs.

Final tour Statistics:

A team - Played 5 won 4 lost 1

B team - Played 5 won 3 lost 2

Well done to all the boys for their fantastic efforts and the way in which they have carried themselves throughout the tour.

Tomorrow sees us travel to Oudtshoorn for the final night of the tour and a chance to relax and have some fun as a squad.

Photo Gallery Day 4-6

Muir College Club House overlooking fieldVisit to 2010 Nelson Mandela Soccer Stadium
Post match photo at Muir College (B Team)
Post match photo at Muir College (A Team)
Taxi man hits the lanes
Post match photo after Addo encounter
Synchronised drinking
What lion? Watch out for the BH Tiger!
Milk Shakes in Somerset East
The Real Wizard of Oz (Mr Ettiene Keyser Aka Shakeys Boet)
Another one bites the dust - But victory was still sweet!

Day 6 - 21 Sept 2009

After a good rest day the boys were allowed a late wake-up call! Breakfast was served at 07h30, which the boys demolished. A laundry stop was required before we headed out to see the World Cup Soccer stadium.

On arrival it looked like we had lucked out but that didn't deter us as we got onto the phone and called Eastern Cape Tourism. A couple of calls later and we were linked up with the stadium manager. Funny thing was that he came from Rondebosch and recognised Andrew Stamper's name, which was the key for him to make time to show us the stadium. He took us to the stands and gave the boys a chance to ask questions about the stadium.

The next stop was to the B&B before we headed out to Muir College. On arrival we were greeted and fed KFC, a treat the boys had been asking Mr Stamper about. These were gulped down so that we could start the day's matches.

The A Team took to the field and managed to bowl out Muir College for 84. a Great performance by the team, especially Cameron Shepard, Joshua Van Marken and Andrew Dicey who all took 2 wickets for 8 runs. Doug, Luca, Jack and Ivor picked up the rest of the wickets.

Bridge House then batted and cruised to 43 before losing their first wicket in the 7th over. This resulted in a mini collapse, with us losing another 4 wickets for only 20 runs. But Luca and Alex dug deep and steadied the ship and took us to the required total in the 21st over. Well done to the boys on a 4th successive victory!

The B team game was a real humdinger! Muir batted first and it looked like BH was going to bowl them out for less that 100, but a vital 60 run partnership for the 9th wicket took Muir to 154 all out. A very formidable total by anyones standard. 2 wickets a piece for Nicholas Howes and Peter Meihuizen.

BH then set about chasing the target. First a fine knock by Dylan Wintle (31), followed by a super 17 by Peter Meihuizen, set the tone for the rest of the game. Tom Hando (28) and Sam Sendzul (19) made a huge contribution and got the team right back into the match before been dismissed. At the end, the match came down to the last over! Unfortunately, the boys came up short of Muir's total, and lost the match by two runs. Still a super effort by the whole team!

The trip back was wet and the evening ended with pizza's and pasta.

All sound asleep as I post today's results. Goodnight!

Day 5 - Rest Day

Today gave the team a well deserved break. After a fairly early start we said farewell to Somerset East and headed for the much anticipated game drive through the Addo Elephant Park. Only 1 km in we were treated to a fantastic sighting of a herd of Elephant. Other animals spotted included caracal, zebra, ostrich, warthogs, kudu, buffalo, tortoise, eland, hartebeest, Egyptian goose, meerkat as well as other smaller species of animals. A interesting sighting was that of the Flightless dung beetle, which is only found in the Addo Park (due to all the elephant dung they have adapted and no longer need wings) It was then off to the famous Nanaga Farm Stall for lunch, which consisted of delicious pies and refreshing drinks. After lunch it was back to Port Elizabeth to check-in to the B&B’s. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around and playing lots of four square.

This evening we went to the Boardwalk centre and Tenpin bowling. This was great fun and there was much inter-team competition. Mr Stamper and Alex shone showed that their skills are not only limited to the cricket field by winning the player and coach sections. It was then time for supper at the spur. Yummy.

After a long day of driving around and spotting animals the boys were tired and keen to get a good nights rest ahead of what will be one of the toughest matches of the tour against Muir College in Uitenhage.

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement, always good to know that people are interested. Keep them flowing.

Day 3 - Photos

B team supporting the A team
Score board showing the A team on their way to victory.
Another wicket!
Team Talk after B team victory
Bridge House B and Kingswood B
Shaking hands after match!
Textbook backlift!
Supporters Club!
Two matches on the go at the Doll Fields.
Doll field pavillion
Pre-match practice session.
Ice-cream treat after Albany observatory.
Happy Family!

Day 4 – 19 Sept 2009

After an early wake up and breakfast, we said goodbye to our very friendly and warm hosts. After another short and beautiful drive through the Eastern Cape country side we arrived in the quaint town of Somerset East. After meeting our host Mr Etienne Keyser (brother of the Great the Wise and not soo wonderful Mr Shaun Keyser) we had a short warm up before starting the third round of matches against Gill College.

In the A team game Gill won the toss and put us into bat. It was a somewhat unsettled start, but Josh van Marken held things together at the top of the order and scored a very valuable 19 runs. Other solid performances with the bat came from Jean van der Westhuyzen – 11, Luca Schwarte – 10 and Ivor Taverner – 10. We managed to score 109 all out in our 30 overs. We then took to the field and bowled a tight line and looked sharp in the field. Pick of the bowlers were Cameron Shepherd – 3 wkts and James Boyes, Andrew Dicey and Douglas Kerkmann who all picked up 2 wickets. The end result was that we won the match by45 runs.

The B team had a tough start to their game with Gill getting off to a quick start and scoring runs frequently. But the bowlers showed determination and fought back to pick up some crucial wickets. In the end we restricted them to 114 runs in 30 overs. The top bowlers were Dylan Wintle – 3 wkts, Jack Crowther 2 wkts and Sam Sendzul 2 wkts. We then batted and reached the total in 28 overs. The top batsmen were Jack Crowther 41 runs and Andreas Beukes 15 runs. The end result was that we won by 4 wkts. These were two great performances by the teams’, especially after moving from the lush fields of Grahamstown to the very dry and almost grassless fields of Somerset East, where they have been experiencing severe drought for the past year.

It was then off to the swimming pool for a cool off dip, which was enjoyed by all. We even managed to fit in a delicious milkshake at the Blue Crane restaurant before supper. It was then back to the hostel for some touch rugby and soccer, and a mouth watering country style supper. Mr Bones 2 was the DVD of choice for the evening, this was enjoyed by all.

Must go now and put the boys to bed because we have another early start tomorrow as we head off to Addo Elephant National Park and try to spot as many of the Bi 5 as possible. Will hope fully not have any more connection problems from now on seeing as how we are slowly making our way back to PE.

Day 3 – 18 Sept 2009

Boys survived a chilly night in Grahamstown before joining the St Andrews pupils for breakfast. After breakfast, we visited the Albany Museum in Grahamstown. The boys were suitably impressed with Obscura Camera at the museum, some even rating the clarity better than DSTV! A short ice-cream break was had before we headed off to Kingswood to warm-up for the 2nd match.

On arriving at Doll Field, we enjoyed a light snack and then had a short practice. Kingswood arrived at 12h00 and the matches commenced around 12h30.

The A team won the toss and elected to bat, we got off to a good start with a number of partnerships seeing us through to 120 all out. Significant contributions came from Joshua Van Marken 15, Douglas Kerkman 20 and Andrew Dicey 28.

Kingswood then batted and were restricted to 80 for 5 in their allotted overs. Some tight bowling supported by some superb fielding took us to a victory by 40 runs.

During the day, we also celebrated Sid Gray’s 10^th Birthday, which included a delicious cake after the day's play.

The boys returned to St Andrews for supper and an early night.