Milton Road, the home of Oundle Town Cricket Club

"In 1997 my son joined Oundle Town Cricket Club. He was just five years old, and through that summer enjoyed some wonderful cricket training under the expert direction of a new visiting coach from South Africa.
Each summer since, our visitor has returned. It’s no exaggeration to say that Merwe Genis has changed and enriched our lives, and the lives of our young people, through our wonderful game of cricket. And it was largely due to his inspiration back in those early days that the idea of a tour to South Africa first began to take shape.
In the years that have followed I, like many others, have been drawn into Merwe’s world and his vision for developing cricket at Oundle. It’s usually been hard work, but we’ve enjoyed the rewards of bringing a community together in teamwork, friendship, success, growth and achievement.
In my case I started with no history of sports club membership, let alone cricket. Yet I found my role developing from that of a mere spectator to squad manager, ECB-qualified cricket coach and club officer. Over ten years, cricket has become a major part of my life.
The nucleus of our touring U15 squad for 2007 first came together as eight year-olds in 2000. Over the next two seasons they competed in the Higham Ferrers youth league as a young U11B squad. Despite not winning a single match, they enjoyed the game and worked hard developing individual and team skills. Such a spectacular lack of match-winning success would have ended the career of most managers but I survived, and in 2003 the boys formed an impressive U11A squad. After a thrilling season they eventually triumphed as league winners.
It was in July of that year that Merwe first suggested this tour, and he was quite specific about the timing: “When these boys are 15,” I remember him saying, “we must take them to play cricket in South Africa.” At the time it seemed a distant dream. But now, thanks to a huge amount of work by a group of wonderful people, Merwe’s dream is a reality.
Cricket at Oundle is flourishing. The Merwe effect goes far beyond sport. South Africa here we come."

Colin Crawford
Membership secretary and U15A manager