CRICKETER Sam Crichard had South Africa’s batsmen in a spin during England Deaf’s whitewash in Pretoria.
The 21-year-old was asked to bowl off-spin and finished with overall figures of 5-28 as England won all seven matches on the tour.
“I think we are the first disability team from England to have won every game on a tour,” said Sam, who was named captain’s player of the tour.
“The pitches were slow in South Africa so I bowled off-spin and England want me to carry on with it - so that might be the end of my seam bowling.”
England made a slow opening to the tour, winning a warm-up match against Hoerskool Montana by 28 runs.
But England then hit top form, brushing aside South Africa’s national deaf team in four one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches.
Sam snapped up two wickets in the second Twenty20 match and scored 20 runs.
His first-ever international victim was Andre Van Rooyen and he also claimed a wicket with the next ball to skittle out the hosts for 65. Sam, who lives in Aylton, near Ledbury, bagged three wickets in England’s third one-day game and also a run-out.
“The tour was a fantastic experience - it was amazing and very well organised,” said Sam, a Colwall player.
He added: “We also sampled the culture, went to Centurion Park and saw some elephants at a safari park.”
Sam returned to the UK last week and is now enjoying working at The Grange in Monmouth.
His grandfather, John Wigmore, is the long-serving president of Monmouth Cricket Club.
RESULTS l Warm-up match: Hoerskool Montana - England 108, Hoerskool Montana 80; Eng won by 28 runs.
l First ODI - England 273-6, South Africa 213 - Eng won by 60 runs.
l Second ODI - South Africa 109, England 110-3 - Eng won by seven wickets.
l Third ODI - South Africa 99, England 100-1 - Eng won by nine wickets l Fourth ODI - England 262-6, South Africa 82, Eng won by 181 runs.
l T20 - England 145-7, South Africa 124 - Eng won by 21 runs.
l T20 - England 118, SA 65 - Eng won by 53 runs.
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