Prince Edward School was once a cricketing great amongst high schools in our country (boasting products such as Hick, Houghton, Penny, Brandes, Pohl and many others) but has sadly fallen away (though merely in this area!) over the past several years. I have taken over as coach of the first XI from George Lee-Bell, who is now at Falcon College.

Our first fixture was against Peterhouse, with firsts, thirds, and Under-16, Under-15 and Under-14 A teams at Peterhouse and the seconds and B teams at PE. This is our regular pipe-opener, and is not the best one for building confidence, as Peterhouse remain one of the giant cricketing schools.

All teams lost, EXCEPT for the Under-16As, who notched up an excellent victory against a good Peterhouse side captained by David Seager. The match-winner here was the extremely talented young leg-spinner Cremer, only in Form 2, who took seven for 34 to destroy the experienced Peterhouse batsmen! Well-known ex-Zimbabwe selector Kiff Seager reported to me afterwards that he had never before seen such controlled and intelligent leg-spin bowling from a schoolboy leg spinner. I am watching him as a possible first XI player, along with two other talented Under-16s, Chauhan (left-arm seam) and Galieou (attacking bat).

The first XI's performance, though not victorious, was encouraging to me. The sense of enjoyment, enthusiasm and team effort was most pleasing as this is the beginning of progress. Neethan Chauhan handled his bowlers and field placing well, though perhaps was a little inclined to over-attack at crucial periods of their innings. Durham, the Peterhouse captain and clearly the central figure in all aspects of their team, dominated the match, making a positive 94 and then taking five wickets to stop PE's early progress with both bat and ball. Sherezad Shah had taken the first Peterhouse wicket with a `jaffer', first ball of the day, and Conan Brewer looked classy with the bat, especially on the hook and pull, with an attacking 35 that included six fours and a six. However, when wickets fell, PE did not change their approach to one of determination to dig in, and thus wickets continued to fall regularly, and disappointingly we fell over 100 short.

There is much natural ability in this team, and with the right attitude and approach from coach, captain and players, I believe we can mould into a winning team this year! Watch for Chauhan, Brewer, Shah, who are all playing league cricket. Quincy Antipas, ZCU scholarship boy and appointed vice-captain' wrote O-levels and has not reappeared for practices. Once his leg-spinning, pinch-hitting skills and infusive enthusiasm are added to the team, we will have a well-balanced side, full of variety and flair. I am confident we will realize our full potential.

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