Mabanga chuffed with passing matric after busy cricket year
He passed matric despite a busy schedule where he played club, schools and provincial cricket.
Although his matric journey was not filled with interesting anecdotes, like playing in the ICC U19 World Cup or jetting off to India to play in the IPL like young Proteas seamer Kwena Maphaka, Easterns colts spinner Sabelo Mabanga also had a lot of juggling to do in 2024.
Like Kwena, Sabelo found a working formula that ensured neither his cricket nor school work suffered.
He started the year as part of the Actonville Spurs Cricket Club’s first team that fought for title honours in the Eastern Premier League; played schools and provincial cricket. He also attended morning, afternoon and weekend classes at Ephes Mamkeli Secondary School.
It was not easy and to ensure he balanced the scales well, Sabelo sacrificed some of his commitments. Such is his dedication that if he missed a session or lesson, he made up for it.
“I have to be honest. I missed lots of Saturday classes to attend cricket matches but I made up for it with lots of afternoon classes before going off to practice in the late afternoon. I also dedicated four hours to my studies after each game,” he said.
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The all-rounder understood early that there would be challenges, especially at the back end of the season at the beginning of last year and towards the end when the new season started in October.
He made hay in the off-season mid-year, attending extra lessons to prepare for the preliminary exams, which coincided with his preseason and start of the 2024/25 season in September and October.
“It’s a matter of knowing what you want. If you have a goal, you make ways to achieve it. I did not want to let either my cricket or school suffer because when I succeed in both, it is killing two birds with one stone,” said Sabelo.
He killed those two birds after passing his national senior certificate (NSC) exams and contributed to his school’s 75.8% pass rate. He is also a vital cog in Eastern Cricket Colts and the Actonville Spurs senior team.
Sabelo, who looks up the West Indies great, Brian Lara, represented Easterns at the annual Khaya Majola week in December in Cape Town and CSA Cubs Week from January 5 to 10 in Stellenbosch.
“The Khaya Majola Week is schools cricket on a different level because everyone represents their province. There is a lot more ‘gees’. We lost in the semis but it was an excellent learning experience. The cubs week was a learning curve. It is the biggest age-group tournament you can play as a young cricketer.”
The youngster would like to represent the country internationally in the world’s famous ovals in Australia, England and India.
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