Lady Luck shines on St. Patrick's Cricketers' quest to reach NSG semi-finals!
(The Patricians gather jubilantly after a much-deserved victory over Victoria School. Photo Credit: Emaad Akhtar)
By Emaad Akhtar
If there is one sport that relies on camaraderie, trust and team spirit, it is cricket. And if there is one team that embraces these traits with open arms, it’s the St. Patrick’s Secondary School boys. They'd lost their opening 3 round-robin matches in the Boys B Division championship at this year’s National School Games (NSG). And on 12 April though, the Patrician athletes stepped out onto the Ceylon Sports Cricket club outfield, knowing that only a win against a more fancied Victoria School side would give them, even a sniff of a chance of progressing to the playoff stages of the competition.
(For all the news, post-match interview videos, stories, photos, fanzone details and much more from the 2022 National School Games, do visit our website : go.gov.sg/nationalschoolgames)
But while winning is a desirable outcome, S. Sivalingam, coach and teacher-in-charge of St. Pat's cricket who watched the contest and took visual notes from the sidelines, explained that it wasn’t everything and that his ultimate goal was to instill some essential values into his boys.
“I use cricket to develop discipline and character,” says Sivalingam, who has been the coach since 2011. “It’s about gentlemanly behavior, sportsmanship; the results are not so important. We most definitely play to win each and every time, but going down fighting or losing gracefully is also necessary for these guys to learn.”
St. Pat's unsung heroes. From left: M. Arjunan, (Teacher-in-Charge, St. Pats Cricket), S. Sivalingam (Coach and Teacher-in-Charge) and Prem Ahire (Head Coach). Photo Credit: Emaad Akhtar
And true to his word, 12 April was a day Sivalingam decided to build the discipline and character of Aslan Ali Xi Jafri, a talented St. Pat's cricketer who was promoted to the captaincy for the very first time, in a bid to have him ready to potentially helm the team during next year’s Games.
“I wanted to give him the leadership role today, test out how he handles situations,” says Sivalingam.
Jafri may not be the tallest boy on the team, but the southpaw possesses immense skill and has tremendous confidence both in his and his team’s abilities. His father plays for the Singapore Cricket Club, which is where Jafri himself often trains. And Jafri’s first stint in the hot seat proved a successful one on all fronts.
(St Pat's captain Aslan Ali Xi Jafri hits a few practice balls in the nets. Photo by Emaad Akhtar)
During Victoria’s batting innings, he was a sea of calm, leading by example and opening the bowling. He was constantly by the side of his fellow bowlers to guide and motivate them, and setting fields astutely, which resulted in 3 of the 5 Victoria wickets being run-outs. In the end, Victoria posted a daunting, but not insurmountable 104 in their 20 overs.
Bowling being the Patricians' strong suit, the chase was always going to be a tricky one. But Jafri’s message in the team huddle was simple: go out there and fight till the end. The St. Pat's openers started off slowly and patiently, but didn’t lose their wickets. Jafri and his teammates cheered on passionately from beyond the boundary line, never losing hope of a positive outcome.
(St. Pat's boys cheer on their batsmen during the chase against the Victorians. Photo Credit: Emaad Akhtar)
At the fall of Pokala Pranav’s wicket, Jafri headed straight to the nets parallel to the ground and had a team-mate feed him practice balls. And then Roshan Ravichandran got out for a well-made 30, bringing Jafri to the crease alongside an a well-set Jawahar Hussain Mohamed Rayan. Jafri’s calm demeanor allowed Rayan, who top-scored with 35, to express himself freely and play shots without consequence. The result? A resounding victory for St. Pat's with nearly 4 overs remaining. (105/2 in 16 overs)
Jafri’s full array of talents with both bat and ball may not have been on display, but that didn’t matter, because his leadership is what propelled the Patricians to an unlikely win and kept them in the competition. His coach, Sivalingam, would’ve been mighty proud.
(Post-match Interview with St Pat's captain, Aslan Ali Xi Jafri. Video Credit : Emaad Akhtar)
St Patrick's School will meet Anglo-Chinese School (I) on 21 Apr from 9am onwards, in the 2nd semi-final. The 1st semis fixture sees Raffles Institution up against St. Andrew's Secondary School.
(For all the news, post-match interview videos, stories, photos, fanzone details and much more from the 2022 National School Games, do visit our website : go.gov.sg/nationalschoolgames)
Related Articles
Related Topics
Related Events & Programmes
Related Articles
Related Topics
Related Articles
View AllRelated Topics
[BlogPost 164749641842 NSG 2024 Netball: Senior Div Girls League 3 Preliminary Round 2, BlogPost 163985727414 Beyond the Field: Exciting Sports Careers for Non-Athletes, BlogPost 164438712123 NSG 2024 Badminton: Senior Div Girls Quarter-Finals, BlogPost 164238055490 Evergreen Aleksandar Duric Still Making Headlines at 53, BlogPost 164170080646 NSG 2024 Rope Skipping: Junior Div Girls Freestyle Team Finals, BlogPost 162884973666 Move and Rest Better With Data From Your Own Body, BlogPost 163393049482 Life Comes Full Circle For Serangoon Garden Secondary School's Fahrish Khan, BlogPost 163258797651 Making Golf a Sport for All, BlogPost 162512222328 NSG 2024 Sepaktakraw: Senior Div Yuhua Primary School vs Qihua Primary School, BlogPost 162233592997 Gritty Lions Suffer Loss to China, BlogPost 162089384371 On Your Mark, Get Ready, Go Running, BlogPost 161670652697 Lions' Excellent Showing Against China, BlogPost 161435270031 Ogura Optimistic for Exciting Clash against China, BlogPost 161127614758 The Future of Basketball in Singapore: Why 3x3 is Here to Stay, BlogPost 161033673012 The Active Lifestyler's Guide to the New ActiveSG Delta Sport Centre, BlogPost 161128356680 Grand New Champions Crowned at WTT Singapore Smash 2024, BlogPost 160844835218 NSG 2024 Table Tennis: C Div Boys Pool Round, BlogPost 160210745115 NSG 2024 Basketball: Senior Div Girls Tampines Primary School vs Frontier Primary School, BlogPost 159881180544 Whirlwind Return to Women's Football, BlogPost 159633541417 Singapore Smash to Elevate a New Legacy, BlogPost 158983580420 NSG 2024 Rugby: B Div Damai Secondary School vs Peirce Secondary School, BlogPost 159003960202 SFA Fiesta: Kicking off 2024 to a Roaring Start, BlogPost 158830735126 NSG 2024 Football: B Div Girls Preliminary Round Meridian Secondary School VS Bowen Secondary School, BlogPost 158536989718 Team Nila Volunteers Recognized At Awards Ceremony, BlogPost 158270107806 NSG 2024 Hockey: B Div Boys Preliminary Round Raffles Institution VS St. Hilda Secondary School, BlogPost 157966862615 NSG 2024 Floorball: B Division Preliminary Rounds Kick Off!, BlogPost 157562433712 What Is Safe Sport?, BlogPost 157559446197 Sengkang Secondary: Cultivating Well-Rounded Footballers, BlogPost 157368261167 New National Training Centre for Cricket at West Coast Ground, BlogPost 155340164987 Active Ageing with Joey Bonifacio, BlogPost 155930815517 Inaugural Singapore Youth League kicks off from 24th February 2024, BlogPost 155340164727 Bukit Canberra : the Coolest Spot in the North, BlogPost 155368905255 How Padang Fandi Inspired Ayden to Chase his Dream, BlogPost 154755572826 Ageing Backwards with Elizabeth Cheang, BlogPost 154094657315 Running For Fitness, BlogPost 153318636178 Excitement Builds for FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2024, BlogPost 153198644247 World's Top Four Confirmed for 2024 HSBC Women's World Championship, BlogPost 149413941770 Cultivating Your Kids’ Interest in the Outdoors, BlogPost 149413941163 Making Sport More Appealing for Our Kids, BlogPost 149412549409 Solo Or Team Sport – Choosing the Best for Your Child, BlogPost 151197478798 Former Lions Stalwart Baihakki Khaizan Sheds Light on New Accreditation to Elevate Grassroots Football and Youth Development, BlogPost 80703591291 New Year, Fitter You! Here are the top 3 workouts for the New Year, BlogPost 81171151456 7 Reasons Why Sports are Great for Children’s Mental Health, BlogPost 80542065330 17 Best Yoga Classes & Studios in Singapore [+ Rating & Prices], BlogPost 149404351798 From Brush to Lens: A Student's Journey in the World of Art and Sports Photography, BlogPost 149402825063 The Benefits of Active Parenting, BlogPost 149397832009 Sweden Claim 9th Straight Gold at the Women's World Floorball Championship, BlogPost 149397831449 Lion City Sailors Win 2023 Singapore Cup, BlogPost 148511324266 Pitch Perfect with Jonathan Teo, BlogPost 148511724402 Seniors: Increase your flexibility bit by bit with these stretches]