1st X1 Cricket Captains. During the next few weeks Schools That Rock will be chatting to 1st team cricket captain from schools across South Africa. Our twelfth ball is bowled at Jason Muirhead, 1st team cricket captain of St Charles College, Pietermaritzburg.
“I first started playing cricket when I was 3 years old. I’ve just loved the sport from the first time I held a bat, and since then my addiction has just grown.
My first experience on the cricket field was in grade one in a mini cricket game. I remember enjoying every single second of being on the field, whether it was bowling, batting or fielding, everything was just amazing to me! I just loved the entire thing. The only difficulty I had in my first game, was that there were never enough people who wanted to play for as long as I did!
The first time I was appointed cricket captain was in grade 8. I see the biggest task of the captain, on and off the field, is leading by example with everything they do.
I believe a good cricketer has to be dedicated and determined because getting where one strives to get to takes hard work and a lot of practice. You also need to be able to stay focused and ultimately have that fight in you that will get you through long, hard days of cricket.
Training sessions
I have four to five training sessions per week, and then game day on a Saturday. My key to success on the cricket field? I think it’s just being coachable, it’s listening to the help my coaches give me and then applying this to my practices and in matches.
My inspiration for playing cricket is AB de Villiers, after reading his book and realising the hours of hard work he put in to get to where he got to, it’s something I strive to do. AB is my model cricketer.
What inspires me to give your best every day and with every game? Every week I just try and do better than I did the week before, in my practices and on the field, I just strive to always improve.
I prefer batting to bowling. I’ve always just had a talent for it and it’s where I feel I’ve performed more. My favourite batting shot is the straight drive. The best bowlers we’ve played against has to be the Bishops 1st XI’s two opening bowlers. They hit their areas every single time whilst swinging and seaming the ball miles. The most memorable match I played, was our victory against Maritzburg College earlier this year. Our team worked so well together to defend our score and showed the fight that we always talk about in the change room. It was a really special victory!
Managing stress on and off the field? I just try and worry about the things I can control. I do what I can to the best of my ability and the rest will take care of itself.
Advice to newcomers
My advice to newcomers is to have fun. Of course you need to work hard and remain committed, but the ultimate goal at the end of the day is to enjoy what you’re doing.
In difficult times on the field I generally speak to my coaches and they give me the advice and encouragement I need. My head coach is Mr Lucky Dladla. I also consult a few of the senior members of our team.
The person in the team who always surprises me on the field, has to be Tahir Khonat, taking blinders out of nowhere. The entertainers of our team is probably shared between Matthew Urquhart and Thabiso Ndlela.
I do watch cricket games on television as often as I can when I go home on the weekend because I really enjoy seeing how batsmen, who I bat fairly similarly to, adjust and play their cricket in different scenarios of the game.
My future cricket plans? I’d like to go to university at Stellenbosch and hopefully make the team there, and then look at possibly going to the UK to play some county cricket there and then take it from there.
What do you do in my free time? Well, in the little bit I do get, I prefer to spend time with my loved ones, family and friends. I also do a lot of fishing with my dad as well as playing golf with my mates.
Describe myself in one word? – Reliable.
Photo supplied
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