Thursday, December 26, 2013

Nanti Hayward talks about his first Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week at Kearsney College in 1994



The last time the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week was held at Kearsney College, in 1994, there was a scrawny red-headed fast bowler in the Eastern Province side who got the people talking with his raw pace and aggression.

His name was Mornanteu (Nanti) Hayward and, despite taking a heap of wickets, including a hat-trick in one of the games, he never made the SA Schools side that year. He had to wait one year for that honour – 1995 in East London – where he was the top wicket-taker at the week, and his opening partner in that SA School team was none other than Makhaya Ntini, and the wicket keeper was Mark Boucher. Also in the team was Boeta Dippenaar.

Hayward is back at Kearsney this week in his role as a specialist bowling coach who has several of his protégés in the EP schools team.

“I went into coaching to pass on the knowledge of my experience,” he says. “I especially want to help young players to make different choices to the ones I occasionally made and which did not do me much good.”

Among his charges in the EP side is young Bradley Bopp who he describes as very promising. “He works hard and is focused, he says. He is very fit and never holds back. He clearly wants to be professional cricketer one day and I see it as my role to give him the tools and skills to make that possible.”

Hayward believes the modern school players have more opportunities. “The coaching is far better, than in my day. I found, for example, that I was holding the ball all wrong only when I started playing 1st class cricket for EP.”

He has fond memories of the Coke weeks that he played in. “In 1994, I remember that we tied with a very strong Gauteng team and I will always remember the hat trick that I took against Northerns that year.”

He believes the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week is a great cricketing institution.

“The partnership between Coca-Cola and Cricket South Africa has been going on for so many years and it has provided a showcase for talented players to show what they are worth,” he says. “In my case, I was all raw talent, with very little technique, but I was able to take wickets at the week, which was noticed and I was taken into the EP setup where, with lots of help, I progressed to play for South Africa five years later.

“These days the franchises are all here and the top players have already been identified. This week makes a massive contribution to that.”


Morning T20 Scores
Free State vs Boland
Free State 25/4 (Botha 3/8) game abandoned

Limpopo vs Border
Limpopo 27/2 (Sigwili 2/9) game abandoned

Mpumalanga vs Eastern Province
Mpumalanga 122/6 in 20 overs (Griesel 39*Carlisle 23, Manjezi 3/9) game abandoned

Easterns vs Northerns
Easterns 122/7 in 20 overs (Germishuizen 67, Rasemene 2/6) game abandoned

KZN Inland vs Griqualand West
KZN Inland 51/0 (Mahmoud 27*, van Wymeersch  16*) game abandoned

KZN Coastal vs SWD
KZN Coastal  74/6 (Naidoo 22*, Phehlukwayo 21*, Oberholzer 3/3) game abandoned

Western province vs North West
Western Province 26/0 (Fortuin 16*) game abandoned

Gauteng vs Namibia
Namibia 29/2 (Kruger 23*) game abandoned




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