What a privilege it was for the Union Schools’ cricket boys to share an unforgettable afternoon with a legend of the sport, 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻!
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵.
The afternoon began with an air of excitement as the boys eagerly awaited their special guest. Gary Kirsten, known for his remarkable international career as a player and later as a successful coach, arrived with a warm smile that instantly put all the boys at ease.
The younger boys, particularly the u/7s, were a delightful highlight of the session. Their hilariously innocent questions brought laughter and joy to the room. 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵.
As the afternoon progressed, the tone shifted slightly as the senior players took their turn. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.
Each question was met with generous insights from Gary, who shared personal anecdotes and valuable advice accrued through years of experience on the world stage.
Throughout the session, Gary’s passion for cricket was evident. It was inspiring to witness how he effortlessly connected with the boys, fostering an environment where learning and laughter thrived. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲.
