There are lessons to be taught and learned

 

The Fasken Time cricket festival at St David’s Marist was last held in 2019 and the results of the, then, 10 two-day games broke more or less even between results and draws.

 Time cricket, in essence, means that the game is limited only by time – a minimum of 110 overs must be bowled in a day and the game time will be extended to accommodate that – but the results of the matches will be determined by the target set and reached, or not reached, at the end of the two days.

 Under those circumstances drawn games are a distinct possibility. Last time out, if memory serves, some of the draws were due to poor captaincy: sides batted too long and declarations came too late to make a win possible. Some of the draws were honourable, though. That can happen when a team is in trouble and through grit and application their batsmen manage to stick around and avoid defeat.

 That’s one of the things that make cricket unique. Two days of play can end in a draw, and that can be really exciting. This festival follows this format because the belief is that the players can learn all sorts of lessons – cricket and life lessons – by being exposed to those sorts of situations.

 At the end of the day, this is school sport, and all school sport should be educational, first, foremost, throughout the contest and after the game is won or lost. And I don’t think any other game provides as many opportunities for lessons to be taught and learned as cricket does.

 Education is about building character – and that’s what cricket’s all about. It’s why the Aims and Format for this festival includes in its introduction the following lines:

 "We ask that Coaches and Managers understand that we encourage some really tough and ruthless cricket – but remembering to always play the game in the appropriate spirit whilst always respecting one’s opposition and putting the game first. Lastly, we encourage teams to play it hard in the middle – but knowing full well that there is absolutely no reason to cross any line."

 Cricket, I think, is the only game that is a metaphor for fair play and decent behaviour. Say the words “it’s just not cricket” and most people will know what you mean. It’s an expression of disapproval used when the rules have been broken and, in its narrow and wider meanings, that refers to the actual laws and the unwritten spirit of the law.

 Take the “mankad”, for instance. It refers to a batsman being run out when he ventures outside of the crease at the bowler’s end. According to the laws, he is out of his ground and certainly out. But the spirit of cricket requires the bowler to warn him once before removing the bails. To do otherwise is just not cricket.

 Any teacher or coach responsible for the running of a school sport programme who doesn’t have in mind that the most important task is to teach children to behave honourably and according to the values and ethics that are included in both the laws of the game and the ephemeral “spirit of the game” is not, in my opinion, doing his or her job.

And a cricket coach who teaches a bowler to mankad a batsman, or for that matter, tells a batsman that it’s OK to steal a yard backing up because there’s no chance that he will be mankaded, is out of line.

 Playing two two-day games over the next few days will present many opportunities for teaching young people to go out into the world, doing good because it’s the right thing to do, because it’s just not cricket to do otherwise.

Fixtures

1^st game September 1 and 2 - Jeppe vs Waterkloof (Baytop Oval, St Stithians), St David’s vs Paul Roos (La Valle Oval, St David’s), Maritzburg College vs KES (Mc Gregor Oval, St David’s), St Stithians vs Lions XI (Dlamini Oval, St Stithians), St Johns vs Clifton (Gier Oval, St David’s), St Andrew’s vs Noordheuwel (La Rosey Oval, St David’s).

2nd game September 3 and 4 - KES vs St Andrews (Baytop Oval, St Stithians), St David’s vs Clifton (La Valle Oval, St David’s), St Stithians vs Maritzburg College (Dlamini Oval, St Stithians), Noordheuwel vs Lions XI (Gier Oval, St David’s), St Johns vs Waterkloof (Mc Gregor Oval, St David’s), Jeppe vs Paul Roos (La Rosey Oval, St David’s).