10 July 2023
(We welcome CS Chiwanza to Pinnacle Schools with this article. For more of his stories, please visit C. S Chiwanza | Substack where you’ll find plenty on established and rising stars of cricket)
In January 2023, Romashan Pillay did something special at the Franchise Cubs Week. When he arrived at the crease, the Coastal Conquerers were in trouble against the Western Legends. They were on 26/2 chasing 316.
The Westville Boys’ High learner pulled, hooked, swept, punched and ducked. He also drove. Pillay drove the hell out of the ball. He drove with the panache of an in-form Jacques Kallis. Pillay shared a 129-run match-winning sixth-wicket partnership with fellow Westville pupil Blake Simpson. The Conquerors won by one wicket.
In the year that Pillay was born, Kallis scored four Test centuries and seven ODI half-centuries. It was also the year Kallis was named the Test Player of the Year by the International Cricket Council.
Inspired by Jacques Kallis
Pillay did not get to watch much of Kallis, who retired six years after Pillay’s birth. As Kallis wrapped up his career over the next six years, Pillay would join his father and grandfather on the living room couch to watch South Africa tour the world. To Pillay’s young mind, there was no greater cricketer than Kallis. When he wasn’t in the company of his father and grandfather watching Kallis and South Africa take on the world, Pillay faced underarm bowling from his grandmother as he re-enacted Kallis’ heroics.
During his years at Wynberg Boys’ High, Kallis had to perform rescue jobs now and again. The team he played for was not the strongest, and there was a lot of pressure on his small shoulders. That metaphor is driven home by the fact that Kallis was a small boy growing up. He only became an imposing figure later, after experiencing a growth spurt.
And now, minus Kallis’ patience and careful construction of an innings, Pillay was doing exactly what his role model used to do for Wynberg. He drove Coastal Conquerers to victory. He finished with an incredible 163 off of 126 balls, which included featured nine fours and six sixes. Pillay also drove himself into the history books. His 163 was the third-highest individual score in the history of the Cubs Week.
Proud
Wayne Scott, the Director of Cricket at Westville Boys’ High, speaks of that innings with pride. Well, Scott speaks of Pillay with the pride of a father sharing his son’s accompaniments.
When Pillay was added to the Dolphins Invitational team that played Oman as part of Oman’s preparation for the ODI Qualifiers, Scott spoke of Pillay as if he had made the Dolphins’ first team. Pillay scored a brace of half-centuries in the two matches he played, and Scott recounts the two quality knocks as if Pillay had scored them in finals.
Scott and Pillay first met when Pillay was 14. Pillay had come through the CSA Hub system. Desigan Reddy, who ran the Chatsworth Hub, roped in the then-10-year-old Pillay after watching him play for the Under-11 Durban South Regional team. Cricket South Africa established the hub system to offer support to youngsters from communities that lacked cricket resources.
Pillay plays cricket with a hunger to do well. Each stroke is like a step towards a goal that only he sees. The result is that he turns spectators into believers in his talent. “Romashan is one of those players that makes you sit up and say this kid can play,” says Scott.
Making a big impression
In February 2022, Scott and Westville Boys’ High old boy Errol Stewart, who made both the SA Schools rugby and cricket teams, were watching a match between Westville and Northwood in the KZN Coastal 100-Ball Tournament. “This boy can play,” Scott said softly. He was not telling Stewart something he did not know.
The former Proteas and Dolphins player is the Head of the Westville Boys’ High Trust and had watched Pillay in the nets earlier in the day. Scott’s statement was said in the same manner as a Christian would tell a fellow Christian that Jesus is good. As if to back Scott’s appraisal, Pillay “played some sublime shots for his 30-odd score.” It was a taste of things to come.
“Romashan had a big year in 2022,” says Scott. Pillay had always been outstanding through age group cricket. He captained almost every team he played in, and he perennially picked up awards. But 2022 was different. There was something special about the way he played, and his Cubs Week century was where it all began.
Decisive contributions
Pillay bossed Michaelmas Week. He inspired Westville to a 15-run win over St. Stithian’s with 119 runs off 117 balls and a tidy 3/18 with the ball. On day three of Michaelmas, he grabbed a hattrick on his way to 5/11 in six overs when Westville overcame Grey Bloem by 23 runs.
In the Eston Day-Night Series, Pillay scored a sensational 112 off 57 in a game where Westville beat Hilton College. He closed the year as one of the top run-scorers at Khaya Majola Week in December 2022.
“In 2023, he picked up from where he left off in 2022,” says Heinrich Strydom, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins’ CEO.
Strydom first saw Pillay in 2019 and it was belief at first sight. “He was playing for the wrong age group. He was the youngest of the lot, but his overall demeanour and skill level were just way ahead of his peers.”
“The right attitude”
Imraan Khan, the Dolphins’ head coach, had the same reaction when he saw Pillay playing for the first time. And when the Dolphins’ think tank deliberated on whether or not to offer the youngster a contract, Strydom and Khan pushed the Pillay agenda. “He has a good skill set and has the right attitude,” says Khan.
Khan shares Strydom’s opinion that Pillay is a ‘proper all-round prospect.’ Scott agrees with both men. He has always asked Pillay to bat in the top three and often asked him to bowl his full quota.
Scott refuses to take credit for Pillay’s behaviour and skill, despite spending more time with the teenager than anyone else outside Pillay’s family. They interact three times a week when the Westville Boys’ High first team practices, then twice a week in their private sessions, and then on every Wednesday and Saturday, which are matchdays.
“Everyone speaks highly of Romashan, of his character and demeanor. That is not because of me. I play a small part in who he is. He has a solid foundation,” says Scott. It’s not faux humility on Scott’s part. He is quick to point out the sacrifices Pillay’s family has made to accommodate his passion.
Dedicated support
Pillay’s mother, Pregashini, has dedicated her life to being on the sidelines cheering since forever. She enrolled him at Amanzimtoti Cricket Club when he was eight, and that was the start of years of chauffering Pillay up and down, interrupted by long days of sitting in the sun, loudly cheering him on.
Sometimes the situation dictated that she attended the matches alone. At other times, she did so in the company of Davashini, Pillay’s sister. There are odd moments when there is a full complement of the family. Besides the moral support, Pregashini and Soma, Pillay’s father, made sure that Pillay always had all the equipment he needed.
“They are also big on Romashan leading a balanced life, being a regular teen. They also push him on his academics,” says Scott. Again, when Scott speaks of Pillay’s balanced life, his voice betrays a touch of paternal pride. The same pride that swept over him when Pillay called him the day that he was selected for the SA Under-19 team to tour Bangladesh.
“My reaction was one of excitement, but also relief, as Romashan has worked so hard to try and achieve this goal and it’s been a long haul.
“To get there was absolute joy for the young man, but I am relieved that he now has the opportunity to showcase his skillset at the highest level,” Scott concluded.
The dedicated work that Romashan Pillay had put in over the past seven years is paying off.
Leave a Reply