Hi Everyone
zaterdag, 15 oktober 2011 06:12 | 
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By Anton Roux
I'm sure by now in Holland the hockey season is in full swing and that everyone is glued to the television watching Eredivisie Live to see what Ajax are up to. I managed to watch the Champions League game vs Real Madrid and I must say that Ajax were playing quite well at one stage but were undone by three quality goals, from three quality players. I'm sure the atmosphere will be awesome in the Arena for the return leg and hope that the result goes the way for us. Speaking about atmosphere, I do miss the hockey derby's in the Bos and follow the progress of Pinoke very regularly and stay in touch with Lloyd almost on a daily basis. I see the ladies team have also put their faith into some South African signings, and I wish them the same success that we had this past summer (or winter, depending on how you look at it). I am still yet to see Lloyd in action, but hopefully one day I'll get the opportunity to do so.
So what's news over in South Africa? I can tell you on thing, cricket and summer is in full swing over here, as I find myself coaching in heat that is in excess of 35 degrees on a daily basis (and they tell me that in jan and feb it gets to 43!!!). It's taken some getting used to from our poor summer we had in Holland and the colour of my skin is full proof that I'm back in the African sun. It's been a tough journey for me thus far in Natal. We haven't really had a great start to the season but I'm sure once the
guys get used to my coaching style, things will turn around for us. My team has struggled in the past few years, but I'm relishing the challenge to turn things around for them.
Being away from Heino and the boys is tough but I suppose thats all part of professional sport, keeping my head down and myself busy are the ingredients to stay focused. My time alone has been tough to say the least but I'm enjoying coaching the KwaZulu Natal Inland boys as we try resurrect cricket in the region which is famous for producing the likes of Jonty Rhodes, Kevin Peterson, Dale Benkenstein to name but a few.
What has been good to see are the contributions from our boys in the domestic competitions and just last week we had Graeme scoring 39*, Heino 90*, Le Clus 49, and Faf taking 5 wickets in a 20/20 game!! This was awesome to see and I'm glad the guys are all off to a good start and hope it just gets better and better. What was nice was that last week the Titans played the Dolphins here at my home stadium in Pietermaritzburg, and so got the chance to have a braai with Heino and catch up on the last few months or so. One thing I can say is that all the Titans guys wanted me to explain what happened in our final game vs VRA!!! This, unexpectedly, opened up sore wounds again and to be honest, don't feel like repeating.....ever again. What I will say is that I'm still very proud for what we, as a team and Club, achieved this year.
What was also great to see was Heino keeping wicket against the ozzies last night in the first T20 international for the season, and once again made keeping look very easy. I'm sure things will fall into place for him moving forward and my dream is to watch him at play for SA at Lords one day. I will be there having a beer in the stands and cheering him on. Graeme is doing well, he is trying his best not to collide into any of his team mates in Pretoria and so far he has succeeded. I phone the bugger every now and then to find out how he is and so forth, and it seems that he is happy but also ready to get back to ACC and fulfill our dream. I really hope he kicks on this year.
Unfortunately Faf did not get to play in the Champions League but now that he is back, I'm sure he will be more hungry than ever to build on the amazing season that he had last year for the Titans. He remains a batter that I will always pay money to go and watch bat.
Le Clus has been appointed captain of Northerns (1st Class team) and seems to be growing into a good cricketer on a daily basis. It's only a matter of time until he gets his chance for the Titans. He really wanted to do well for ACC and I'm sure he will in the future.
Apart from the cricket, the first few days that I was back in SA I went and visited my cousins in my home town of Mossel Bay in the South Western Cape. The eldest one is a pilot and I managed to get him to take me for a flip in the plane to do some whale spotting as the conditions were just right. Well, was I in for a treat, not only did we spot about 8 whales, we also saw a massive Great White shark in the shallows!!! Probably about 10 - 15 meters away from the shore. This was unbelievable, and what's worse is that we spotted the shark in the area where I do my swim training!! Not too sure if I'll be back there soon :) but still love swimming in the ocean none the less.
After our game vs Western Province, which finishes on Sunday, we have a month of no games and I plan to get away to the beach as much as possible. There is so much to do in Natal when it comes to adventure sport. Mountain biking is amazing, kayaking in the ocean, and of course body surfing (my all time favorite). I still haven't really had a break from cricket, but I plan to get away as much as possible in this off month, cause after that the schedule gets very hectic with three 3 day games and three 20/20's every month until March.
So what's news in Amsterdam? Im sure the Amstel River is a bit colder now than the last time i was there...I look forward to hearing some exciting stories from all Club members and will try and respond as quickly as possible. You can email me on Dit e-mailadres is beschermd tegen spambots. U heeft Javascript nodig om het te kunnen zien. .
Well that's it for now, I'll try stay in contact every so often and keep you updated on our boys progress and happenings in South Africa. You can follow our games live on www.cricinfo.com and the teams to follow are South Africa, Titans, KwaZulu Natal Inland, and Northerns. Peace out and keep it real...
Anton Roux
Head Coach KwaZulu Natal Inland Cricket Union
+27 836 796 334
I'm sure by now in Holland the hockey season is in full swing and that everyone is glued to the television watching Eredivisie Live to see what Ajax are up to. I managed to watch the Champions League game vs Real Madrid and I must say that Ajax were playing quite well at one stage but were undone by three quality goals, from three quality players. I'm sure the atmosphere will be awesome in the Arena for the return leg and hope that the result goes the way for us. Speaking about atmosphere, I do miss the hockey derby's in the Bos and follow the progress of Pinoke very regularly and stay in touch with Lloyd almost on a daily basis. I see the ladies team have also put their faith into some South African signings, and I wish them the same success that we had this past summer (or winter, depending on how you look at it). I am still yet to see Lloyd in action, but hopefully one day I'll get the opportunity to do so. So what's news over in South Africa? I can tell you on thing, cricket and summer is in full swing over here, as I find myself coaching in heat that is in excess of 35 degrees on a daily basis (and they tell me that in jan and feb it gets to 43!!!). It's taken some getting used to from our poor summer we had in Holland and the colour of my skin is full proof that I'm back in the African sun. It's been a tough journey for me thus far in Natal. We haven't really had a great start to the season but I'm sure once the
guys get used to my coaching style, things will turn around for us. My team has struggled in the past few years, but I'm relishing the challenge to turn things around for them. Being away from Heino and the boys is tough but I suppose thats all part of professional sport, keeping my head down and myself busy are the ingredients to stay focused. My time alone has been tough to say the least but I'm enjoying coaching the KwaZulu Natal Inland boys as we try resurrect cricket in the region which is famous for producing the likes of Jonty Rhodes, Kevin Peterson, Dale Benkenstein to name but a few.
What has been good to see are the contributions from our boys in the domestic competitions and just last week we had Graeme scoring 39*, Heino 90*, Le Clus 49, and Faf taking 5 wickets in a 20/20 game!! This was awesome to see and I'm glad the guys are all off to a good start and hope it just gets better and better. What was nice was that last week the Titans played the Dolphins here at my home stadium in Pietermaritzburg, and so got the chance to have a braai with Heino and catch up on the last few months or so. One thing I can say is that all the Titans guys wanted me to explain what happened in our final game vs VRA!!! This, unexpectedly, opened up sore wounds again and to be honest, don't feel like repeating.....ever again. What I will say is that I'm still very proud for what we, as a team and Club, achieved this year.
What was also great to see was Heino keeping wicket against the ozzies last night in the first T20 international for the season, and once again made keeping look very easy. I'm sure things will fall into place for him moving forward and my dream is to watch him at play for SA at Lords one day. I will be there having a beer in the stands and cheering him on. Graeme is doing well, he is trying his best not to collide into any of his team mates in Pretoria and so far he has succeeded. I phone the bugger every now and then to find out how he is and so forth, and it seems that he is happy but also ready to get back to ACC and fulfill our dream. I really hope he kicks on this year.
Unfortunately Faf did not get to play in the Champions League but now that he is back, I'm sure he will be more hungry than ever to build on the amazing season that he had last year for the Titans. He remains a batter that I will always pay money to go and watch bat. Le Clus has been appointed captain of Northerns (1st Class team) and seems to be growing into a good cricketer on a daily basis. It's only a matter of time until he gets his chance for the Titans. He really wanted to do well for ACC and I'm sure he will in the future.
Apart from the cricket, the first few days that I was back in SA I went and visited my cousins in my home town of Mossel Bay in the South Western Cape. The eldest one is a pilot and I managed to get him to take me for a flip in the plane to do some whale spotting as the conditions were just right. Well, was I in for a treat, not only did we spot about 8 whales, we also saw a massive Great White shark in the shallows!!! Probably about 10 - 15 meters away from the shore. This was unbelievable, and what's worse is that we spotted the shark in the area where I do my swim training!! Not too sure if I'll be back there soon :) but still love swimming in the ocean none the less.
After our game vs Western Province, which finishes on Sunday, we have a month of no games and I plan to get away to the beach as much as possible. There is so much to do in Natal when it comes to adventure sport. Mountain biking is amazing, kayaking in the ocean, and of course body surfing (my all time favorite). I still haven't really had a break from cricket, but I plan to get away as much as possible in this off month, cause after that the schedule gets very hectic with three 3 day games and three 20/20's every month until March. So what's news in Amsterdam? Im sure the Amstel River is a bit colder now than the last time i was there...I look forward to hearing some exciting stories from all Club members and will try and respond as quickly as possible. You can email me on Dit e-mailadres is beschermd tegen spambots. U heeft Javascript nodig om het te kunnen zien. .
Well that's it for now, I'll try stay in contact every so often and keep you updated on our boys progress and happenings in South Africa. You can follow our games live on www.cricinfo.com and the teams to follow are South Africa, Titans, KwaZulu Natal Inland, and Northerns. Peace out and keep it real...
Anton Roux
Head Coach KwaZulu Natal Inland Cricket Union
+27 836 796 334
