4 September 2023
Cricket academies have sprung up at schools across South Africa in recent years, but the longest-running academy, the one that set everything in motion, began at Glenwood High School. To this day, the Linda Zondi Cricket Academy remains a very active and very successful initiative.
The man driving the programme at the school is Director of Cricket, Zayne Bux, a Glenwood Old Boy. In fact, Glenwood Old Boys clearly love their school because, as this story will reveal, there are many of them sharing their coaching expertise at their alma mater.
Bux, who matriculated in 2007, studied psychology at UKZN and sports psychology at UNISA. Ever since, he has been involved in coaching schools’ and club cricket, both in South Africa and in the United Kingdom. He took up the Director of Cricket post at Glenwood in 2022.
Chatting with Pinnacle Schools recently, his passion for cricket was evident, as was his passion for Glenwood. His primary goal, too, reflected his love for his school, but also the insight he had gained from his study of psychology and working with players on the mental side of the game.
“We’re looking to run the best programme in the country,” he said earnestly. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to win every game but, if you love cricket, or you have a child who loves cricket, then Glenwood is a school that you’re going to want to come to. Our programme runs throughout the year. It’s the school programme, as well as the Academy programme.”
It was during his time as a schoolboy at Glenwood that the school began its academies programme, which started with cricket, but then came to include other sports.
“Four or five boys were chosen to be a part of that academy, and now it has blossomed into an academy programme, where any Glenwood boy may now join in,” said Bux.
“Linda Zondi, who was the first team coach and Director of Cricket at the time – and he is an Old Boy, who played SA Schools and SA u19, and was convenor of selectors for the Proteas – was a key guy in getting it off the ground.”
Now, Bux explained, there are two cricket academies at Glenwood. “The Linda Zondi Cricket Academy is for Glenwood boys exclusively, and that is run in the mornings, before school starts, and then we have the Green Machine Cricket Academy, which is a private academy that specialises in one-on-one coaching, and caters to Glenwood boys, and also for students from outside.
From grass roots to elite development
“We’re able to coach boys who are in primary school, from mini-cricket and grassroots development right through to boys who are in matric. Also, the Green Machine Cricket Academy programme is for the elite guys, who are outside of school.
“It’s for guys who want to play professional cricket, or who want to play cricket in other parts of the world. We’ve created an ambition pipeline. They can come and train with us. They also coach at the school. We send them on coaching courses, so we upskill them as players and coaches.
“We work on all aspects of the game, including the mental side. Cricket is challenging mentally.”
A holistic approach
It’s clear from talking with Bux, and given his background, that the importance of the mental aspects of cricket are an area of focus for him and the Glenwood academies. So often, at the top levels of all sports, it’s not the talent that sets players apart, it’s their mental fortitude.
A number of aspects are worked upon: a foundational and collective mindset, alongside individual work, to help Glenwood cricketers to “develop their own mental skills toolbox”, according to an overview of the cricket programme.
Not surprisingly, Bux takes the lead in the mental sphere of the game. “I do it,” he said “but we try to upskill all of the coaches to be competent.
“Cricket is a challenging game mentally. You are thinking and resting more than you are playing, and it’s in these moments where distractions set in, and your performance can become derailed. A bowler runs up, bowls a ball, and that may take five seconds. Then it stops, the ball becomes dead. It could be 30 or 40 seconds before the batsmen faces the next ball. In that time, it is challenging.
“In sports, like rugby, hockey, soccer, they’re end-to-end, and there are phases and passages of play. When there’s a stoppage, you get to think. But during the flow of the game, you’re reacting more than you’re [consciously] thinking. In cricket, you’re thinking about every single ball. That’s what makes it different, same as golf, same as baseball, those games that are start/stop. They’re very challenging mentally.”
The programme also states, as one of the aims of the Linda Zondi Cricket Academy, “the primary focus is on the individual skill development of each player, and in line with the Glenwood brand of cricket”.
The Glenwood brand of cricket
What exactly is the Glenwood brand?
It takes Bux no time at all to express it. He knows what it is: “We want to play courageous cricket.
You’re not going to be hitting sixes every ball, but we want to be aggressive. We want to apply pressure on our opposition.
“We work so hard to develop ourselves mentally, so we know, when we are under pressure, if we don’t have the tools to deal with it, we are in trouble. If we work on our minds and play courageously and apply pressure on the opposition, then, if they don’t have the tools and the mindset to deal with it, we will have the upper hand.”
The Green Machine Cricket Academy, which is also based at the school, specialises in one-on-one coaching, including masterclasses with professional cricketers. It benefits Glenwood boys, too; Ten percent of all the money generated by the GMCA goes towards underprivileged Glenwood cricketers’ tours, uniforms and equipment.
Tailor-made coaching programmes
Bux detailed how the Academy’s specialists approach one-on-one coaching, tailor-making programmes for the players under their tutelage: “We coach from the viewpoint of finding out from the boy how he wants to play the game. We’re not dictating how we want the boys to play. It’s about how they want to play. Where are they strong, where are they not so strong, and how we can help them improve?
“Coaches, in all sports, often tell boys to go out there and express themselves. But, if you haven’t spent enough time thinking about who you are as a person and player, then what are you expressing when you are out there? So, we try to start with how they want to play. Then, we can say ‘go out there and express yourself. You know what you’re about’.”
Of course, the big question is, does the academy programme work? And, does it prepare schoolboys for potential careers as professional cricketers?
The simple answers are, emphatically, yes and yes.
Professional cricketers
Among those Glenwood Old Boys currently plying their trade as cricket pros are Andile Phehlukwayo, Prenelan Subrayen, Colin Munro, Cody Chetty, Smangaliso Nhlebela, Khwezi Gumede, Okuhle Cele, Thamsanqa Khumalo and Jerome Bosser. They’re playing locally and abroad.
Mthokozisi Shezi has played for the Proteas, Dolphins and Cobras but is now retired. Chad Laycock (see feature photo, courtesy of Ngceboyezulu Mthembu) and Banele Cele have High Performance contracts at the KwaZulu Natal Cricket Union.
Phehlukwayo and Subrayen are South African internationals who have played for the Paarl Royals and the Durban Super Giants in the SA20, while Colin Munro is a New Zealand international. Cody Chetty, meanwhile, recently displayed his talent in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket.
“Cody matriculated in 2008 and is playing for the Texas Super Kings, batting at three, with Devon Conway and Faf du Plessis opening the batting. In that team, as well, is David Miller and Calvin Savage, who are Maritzburg College boys. They’re all together, and Dave, Devon, Calvin and Cody were all at the Dolphins together,” Bux said.
Pro players, Glenwood coaches
Cele, meanwhile, is one of the aforementioned Glenwood Old Boys still making an impact at the school as a coach. He’s currently at the National Academy in Pretoria, but will return to Durban this month, when he will resume coaching at Glenwood.
Also returning in September is batting specialist, Jonathan Vandiar, who is playing club cricket in The Netherlands.
Cele and Vandiar are joined by Phehlukwayo and bowling specialist Quinton Friend, who played for, among others, the Cape Cobras, the Dolphins and the Knights during his career.
The former fast bowler’s son is now at Glenwood. He’s a talented cricketer and golfer, and a growth spurt this year has Bux hoping he’ll soon see the younger Friend putting batsmen into all sorts of sticky situations with his pace, much like his father once did.
Andile Phehlukwayo
When one talks about cricket at Glenwood, though, it’s Phehlukwayo who has become synonymous with the academy programme. In fact, it’s his name that is now attached to the long-running Glenwood under-13 Cricket Festival, which is now known as The Glenwood High School Andile Phehlukwayo Cricket Festival. With 24 teams participating in 2023, it is one of the larger cricket festivals in South Africa.
Bux said it was at Glenwood that Phehlukwayo really found his way in cricket: “Andi came from the south coast. He was more of a hockey player. But through hard work in the school’s programme, he became a brilliant cricketer, and he represented South Africa in both [cricket and hockey].
“When he was in matric [2014], the Dolphins were invited to a T20 tournament in India [the Champions League T20] to play against the other teams that were the top two in their T20 leagues. He was in matric and he ended up playing with the Dolphins.”
The Pelican Foundation
Crucially, in relation to Glenwood, Phehlukwayo and his best friend, former Glenwood Deputy Head Boy, Nhlakanipho Madwe, sat down one day in conversation and talked about giving back to the school that had given them so much. Out of that conversation, the Pelican Foundation was born.
Teaming up with Sihle Sibiya, the foundation is working with Glenwood to provide opportunities for boys from development hub pipelines across South Africa. In 2024, The Andile Phehlukwayo Cricket Bursary will launch for the Green Machine’s grade 8 intake.
Referencing the strong support of Old Boys, especially among the coaching staff, which includes Sithabiso Zungu and 1st team coach Darryl Govender, who is a rare Cricket South Africa Level 3 coach, Bux said: “I have been intentional about bringing them in.
“Seeing the work ethic of an Old Boy, how much it means to develop his younger brothers, really, because these boys that they have been coaching now are going to become our brothers once they matriculate. The passion that they come with, the love for the school…you always appreciate the opportunity you had at the school more when you have left.
“So, we impart that onto the boys. These five years are important for where they end up after school. The Old Boys help with that.
“It’s that feeling. It’s your school, and you want your best for your school. You want the best for the boys who are in the school. They’re going through the same things that you went through, playing on that same field that you played on. I enjoy that about the Old Boys. We also have some amazing people on our staff who positively impact the lives of our students every day. Our boys are blessed to have some incredible role models on our staff.”
A bright, indoor future
It has been almost two decades since the Cricket Academy was founded, but big moves are afoot as the initiative strives to stay at the forefront of coaching at the schoolboy level. Bux’s enthusiasm is palpable when he mentions the creation of a massive indoor facility, measuring 2000 m².
“We have had the plans drawn up, and we have submitted them to the Department [of Education]. When that comes back, we’re allowed to build. We envisage it being one of the best facilities in South Africa.
“It will have a gym that is four times bigger than the one that we have now. It will have a basketball court. It will have four cricket lanes and two cricket bowling machine lanes.”
The facility will cover the school’s multi-purpose area, which is currently outdoors. Again, Old Boys are helping to drive the process of fund-raising for the initiative. They’re donating funds, and they’re helping to bring others on board to assist with the project.
“It’s exciting. I think every Glenwood boy has dreamed about the indoor centre for so long. When I was in school – I matriculated in 2007 – I wanted an indoor centre. For it to happen now for our current boys and those to come is going to be a blessing,” Bux enthused.
He believes in the Glenwood way, and the way in which the cricket programme educates the boys about cricket.
“Humble, but hard-working”
“Glenwood is about humble but hard-working people,” Bux said. “We have a lot of boys who come from not a lot. Then, we have the other side of the spectrum, where we have boys from families that are well positioned financially. But you bring them together, and it’s all ‘green’. And, when we get it together, they love this place, and they love the sport.”
“Glenwood has always had that fight. We might not have had the indoor centre, or all the money that some of the other schools have, but our boys have a fight and a work ethic to them. We are definitely looking to tap into that now.”
With an indoor centre adding to the impressive coaching talent and drive of the cricket staff, the academy can help to drive cricket at Glenwood to new, even more impressive, heights. These are exciting times for the boys and the cricket staff, so many of them Old Boys, who are deeply committed to achieving the best they can in the sport.
“We have such a large number of Old Boys, across all sports, who are currently playing professional sport. I think our academy programme, as a whole, has helped to produce those players,” Bux said. The drive remains, though, to strive for ever higher achievements.
And, like many around the world say today, the future is green.
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