Parched Cape Town ground St Cross Symondians teenage batsmen Harry Came (left) and Billy Mead (right) have been marooned in Cape Town without any competitive cricket following the abandonment of the Western Province League due to the chronic water shortages in the Mother City.
The two 18-year olds have spent the past winter in the Cape at Gary Kirsten’s Cricket Academy in Constantia.
But, whilst they have trained hard and fine tuned their respective batting skills, physically playing cricket has proved impossible for the past month.
The WPCA cancelled its entire league programme at the beginning of February due to the ongoing drought across Cape Town and surrounds, where cricket fields have been left in disrepair due to a severe lack of water.
“Clubs have simply not been allowed to water their pitches and outfields, so they’ve had to cancel the league cricket and a lot of schools’ stuff as well,” explained Longparish-based Mead.
“It’s obviously disappointing not to have played lately – though there are probably worse places in the world to spend the winter than Cape Town - but the academy training here has been superb and hopefully plenty of positives will emerge.
“We’ve trained in a highly professional environment with a lot of emphasis on personal needs.
“Each player’s physical condition is regularly assessed, followed up by an individualised training programme.
“We also have regular interventions with a qualified mental conditioning practitioner. A personal development plan which includes best practice in leadership across sporting codes is also a hallmark of the programme.
“Sadly, it’s all coming to an end very soon now. We’ve two weekends left here and then its home to prepare for the English season.”
Mead spent his maiden season with St Cross Symondians in 2017, turning out on several occasions for Hampshire seconds once his term as Marlborough College captain ended.
Came was the Southern Premier League’s Young Cricketer of the Year last season.
The two 18-year olds have spent the past winter in the Cape at Gary Kirsten’s Cricket Academy in Constantia.
But, whilst they have trained hard and fine tuned their respective batting skills, physically playing cricket has proved impossible for the past month.
The WPCA cancelled its entire league programme at the beginning of February due to the ongoing drought across Cape Town and surrounds, where cricket fields have been left in disrepair due to a severe lack of water.
“Clubs have simply not been allowed to water their pitches and outfields, so they’ve had to cancel the league cricket and a lot of schools’ stuff as well,” explained Longparish-based Mead.
“It’s obviously disappointing not to have played lately – though there are probably worse places in the world to spend the winter than Cape Town - but the academy training here has been superb and hopefully plenty of positives will emerge.
“We’ve trained in a highly professional environment with a lot of emphasis on personal needs.
“Each player’s physical condition is regularly assessed, followed up by an individualised training programme.
“We also have regular interventions with a qualified mental conditioning practitioner. A personal development plan which includes best practice in leadership across sporting codes is also a hallmark of the programme.
“Sadly, it’s all coming to an end very soon now. We’ve two weekends left here and then its home to prepare for the English season.”
Mead spent his maiden season with St Cross Symondians in 2017, turning out on several occasions for Hampshire seconds once his term as Marlborough College captain ended.
Came was the Southern Premier League’s Young Cricketer of the Year last season.
