Testimonials

With operations now fully developed over five years, Cape Cricket has an ever growing band of supporters and satisfied students...

I spent nine weeks from January 2009 at The Cape Cricket Academy. The lead coach throughout the academy is Martin Van Der Merwe (ex- South Africa under 19 and grade 3 level coach.) Martin is a great technical coach and combined with the knowledge and experience of the two guest coaches (Will Jefferson of Nottinghamshire and Dawid Malan of Middlesex) they are a very good coaching team.

Alasdair Wilson
Class of '09

A typical day would involve 3-4 hours of training, with a specific fielding session after the gym on Mondays. Days would be tiring with an hour and a half gym session from 9 until 10.30 (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) followed by cricket training up until lunch at 2 o’clock. Training took place at two places, the indoor facilities at Boland Park Provincial Cricket Stadium (a first class venue used by the Cape Cobras). We also would train at the Paarl Boys High School outdoor nets, a great facility with a mixture of both grass and astro nets.

During my time in South Africa, the month I benefited and enjoyed the most was the time I was able to work with Will Jefferson and tap into the knowledge of a professional cricketer. For me in particular, this was brilliant as Will has been through the process of university cricket that I am about to enter into and he had some valuable advice that I took on board on how to approach it. On top of this, he encouraged me to have real confidence in my game that I can play the level of cricket that I want to achieve. Throughout the time, Will was not only one of the best coaches I’ve come across but a friend and I feel the academy in South Africa definitely benefited my game.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Cape Cricket academy as I had a fantastic time and definitely feel as though I learnt a lot while I was out there. The Academy itself is of a great standard and being able to share the knowledge of professional cricketers was priceless.

Alasdair Wilson - Sussex

After finishing school and A-levels I was offered the chance to undertake six months of work, coaching children of differing ages and abilities in the Western Cape area of South Africa. This was principally for the Merwe Genis Cricket School, but later, also for The Paarl Boys High School.

Initially it was intended for this trip to be part of my gap year before attending University, however, the fulfilling and enjoyable nature of the work meant that I actually returned for six months the very next year! The tremendous cultural diversity of the area and the welcoming nature of the people were key factors that influenced my decision to return.

During each stay, I was living and working with people of a similar age which offered an ideal opportunity to meet many new people. I spent a season playing for Paarl Cricket Club which enabled me to become further integrated into the local community.

Paul at Boland Bank Park

Overall it is an experience that I am truly grateful for and I would recommend it to any cricket lover who wishes to sample the beauty and diversity of South Africa.

Paul Campbell – Nottingham

From finishing my A-levels I really wanted a gap year doing
something cricket related. I decided to work for the well known Merwe
Genis Cricket School for 6 months and also coached at Boys High School
in Paarl. This meant I was involved with players from the age of 4 to 18
from all areas of the local surrounding, this I found very rewarding. To be
able to teach the basics to young players and to be able to get more
technical detail across with the older players is something that was most
enjoyable. My personal cricket skills and coaching confidence have
improved as a result.

The trip was not only good from a cricket point of view but from a personal
prospective it gave me more independence, more confidence, better
communicational skills; since English is not necessarily the first language
and not to mention improved organisation. The trip has helped to bridge
the gap between school and the working world by giving me more skills
and life experience which is something that can never be taught!

This was an amazing experience that I will never forget. To be able to live in a different culture was brilliant and an area that is so passionate about their cricket. I would recommend this to any player or coach who wants to
do something different and rewarding – it definitely beats a cold English Winter!

Neil Fox – Southwick

Neil up Table Mountain

I took a career break for 6 months and was based in Paarl working under Merwe Genis at his Cricket School. As a volunteer coach I found the work very rewarding

Justin on a Cape Town beach

and enjoyable as I met many people from all walks of South African life. I played 2nd team cricket for Young Peoples Cricket Club in Paarl which really helped me to get involved in local life plus I experienced playing cricket from a very different perspective.

Not only did I have the opportunity of getting to know Cape Town and the province but I took advantage of the Christmas holiday break to book onto a proper Safari through the Kruger Park, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. This was awesome.

A truly memorable experience – I would not hesitate to recommend this sort of trip and CapeCricket to any club cricketers or coaches, who might be lucky enough to be in a position to escape the British winter.

Justin Jeffrey - Oundle

Phil in Cape Town

Having finished my exams in the summer of 2005 I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity of spending 6 months abroad in Paarl where I coached a range of different aged kids under the wing of the vastly experienced cricket coach Merwe Genis. I combined this with playing cricket for Wellington Cricket Club at the weekend and also attended training sessions twice a week. After a nervous start to life abroad I started to make new friends and had an active social life. I progressed to become far more independent and mature. It was so refreshing to be able to experience all that the beautiful Western Cape has to offer from the golden beaches of Cape Town to the hair raising game parks in the great Karoo.

My ‘Gap’ year experience was extended another 2 years and I returned to Paarl for both of them. I went on to play at different local cricket clubs such as Young Peoples CC and Paarl CC. My game as a player advanced a lot after guidance and training with highly regarded coaches and extremely good players at all of the clubs I played for over the 3 years.

I now have an excellent life experience in hand, I’m sure this will stand me in good stead as I concentrate on my career. I am extremely grateful for the chances Cape Cricket gave me I had and would recommend it to people who are looking for a great experience in their Gap year (or years) !

Phil Adams - Cambridgshire