Off the bat and on the ball

Two top-class local cricketers have set their sights on playing at the highest level – one wicket at a time.

Playing for Manor Cricket Club (MCC) in Stanger, Saidii ‘Sailor’ Mhlongo (32) and Brian Dube (24) are no strangers to the pitch, with almost two lifetimes of playing experience between them.

Mhlongo has a long cricketing resume, representing the KZN provincial team at U13-U19, the KZN Academy squad and the KZN Dolphins ‘B’ side before enjoying six successful years playing professionally for the Sunfoil Dolphins as their dangerous left arm fast bowler.

Having been out of the professional arena for some time, ‘Sailor’ has been in intense training for his goal of rejoining the Dolphins squad in a year’s time.

“Playing for the Dolphins was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I have been working hard to earn my place back in the team,” said Mhlongo.

Fellow MCC teammate, Brian Dube also has an impressive sporting background and not just in cricket, but rugby as well.

“I was born into a cricket family in Zimbabwe and started playing when I was in pre-school,” said Dube, who is playing his first season for MCC as a right arm fast bowler.

Dube has also won international caps representing the Zimbabwe national rugby sevens squad.

“Sevens rugby is a very fun game to play, but to represent Zimbabwe was a real honour and something I will never forget,” said Dube, who played his rugby at College Rovers in Durban before moving to the Ballito Dolphins first XV, where he currently alternates as a fullback and wing.

Mhlongo currently runs a cricket academy at Umhlali Preparatory School.

Started by Mhlongo in 2012, through Sailor’s Cricket Academy he and Dube now coach over 60 young cricketers from a number of local schools.

“We started small, but it is so encouraging to see the growth of the academy over the last three years. We had 33 boys at Sailor’s last year, so for our ranks to have almost doubled this year is amazing,” said Mhlongo, who has nine years of premier cricket experience under his belt, both as a player and a coach.

Five of their boys went for provincial trials in the last 12 months, with both Dylan Hulett and Roan Marais successfully making the KZN squad.

Mhlongo said that he is proud to coach such skilled young players and excited to see what the future has in store for the academy.

“I would like to thank Astra Russell and Greg Howard for their support of SCA, and of course to Pam Golding,” said Mhlongo with a broad smile.

For more information contact ‘Sailor’ on 072 138 7711.