David Millward, The Daily Telegraph, 7th May, 2012
Cricket fever is sweeping St. Helena a volcanic outcrop in the South Atlantic best known as the island where Napoleon was exiled.
A heroes’ welcome awaits the St. Helena team, which has just won its first ever international match, beating Cameroon by nine wickets, when it comes home next weekend.
With a population of just under 4,000, the odds have been stacked against the “Saints” even though cricket has been played on the island since a local league was founded in 1903 by Honourable Humphrey Solomon, a local businessman.
The sport has had a interesting and even tragic history on the island with a soldier on the army garrison plunging to his death after trying to head off a boundary by chasing a ball to the edge of a cliff.
Even sending a team to South Africa was a feat in itself given the isolation of St. Helena, which can only be reached by ship, the RMS St. Helena, which arrives every couple of weeks.
The islanders raised £24,000 to cover the cost of sending them to the tournament, with the team putting their five days on the mail ship to good use by thrashing the crew in matches played with a rope ball.
This was the second time that St. Helena had been invited to participate in a 20 over cricket tournament.
But last time it had to turn the invitation down because it was impossible to tie up the trip with the ship’s sailing schedule.
This time, however, it was able send a team with the star of the team being Gavin George, 57, who was joined by his son David, 33. The youngest team member is only 15.
There was still the odd hurdle to be overcome before the Saints could make their international debut.
Participating in a “pyjama cricket” tournament, the team discovered to its horror that it did not have green wicketkeeper pads.
This was rectified with a swift and judicious application of a coat of green paint.
The tournament could not have started better with the Saints skittling out Cameroon for 36 runs and knocking off the required total for the loss of only one wicket.
“It was overwhelming ,” said Gavin George, “It was very emotional, this was our first game away from St. Helena.”
Formerly an all-rounder, Mr George is now a batsman, though he bowls occasionally. In another historic first the Georges both hit the highest score recorded by a St. Helena batsmen in the same match, 48 runs each against Gambia.
In the tournament St. Helena beat Cameroon, Mali, Gambia and Morocco. It also lost to Morocco as well as being defeated by Zambia, Rwanda and the Seychelles.
Cricket is in the Georges’ blood. Gavin George’s parents and grandparents were enthusiasts.
Even Mr George’s wife, Barbara, has caught the bug, acting as secretary for the Association, where she has been able to keep up with the news of the team’s latest triumph thanks to phone calls and the internet.
“The vibe on the island is incredibly high,” she said . This is the first international tournament they have ever played in and when we compare the demographics of the large African countries to our 46 square miles of St. Helena with under 4000 people here and an ageing population.
“We have shown that there is natural sporting ability here and with training we can compete in the international arena.”
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