After about a year of anticipation since the sod-turning celebration, Pearson High School bowled over guests, stakeholders and staff last week with the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for its High Performance Indoor Cricket Centre.
The state-of-the-art facility offers six specialised cricket lanes, which are aimed at improving both the batting and bowling skills of the schools cricketers.
With PitchVision installed in two of the lanes, the aspiring talent of the youngsters will be monitored by the technical software that collects and records statistical data for analyses to improve individual performance.
On September 11, the facility was opened during a glitzy celebration that saw role players such as district director of education Ernest Gorgonzola, stakeholders and guests from visiting schools from around the country who participated in the Pearson Cricket Festival all in attendance.
Pearson High head of cricket Rudi Second said the technology would contribute immensely to develop the potential of each player at the school.
“Once the bowler has delivered the ball and the batter has played his shot, the recorded camera footage is available immediately for viewing on the TV screens behind the batter, as well as on a laptop,” Second said.
“The recorded footage can then be used for analytical purposes, and provides the coach the opportunity to show the batsman areas of improvement before the next ball is bowled.”
The facility is the brainchild of Pearson principal Haldane Pienaar and the school's head of sport, Charl van der Merwe.
Pienaar, along with the school governing body, said they are extremely proud to be able to provide a facility of this calibre and look forward to the future growth and development of young cricketers in the Bay.
International cricketer Anrich Nortjé, was on hand to bowl the first delivery in the centre to first team cricket players Cayden Wilson and Emma Tinley, remarked that it was “.unreal to see in PE” that facilities of this kind were available, adding that it would make a massive difference in the skills development of young cricketers.
The Herald
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