Wanting to take his game to the next level and develop his skills, 19 year old, Harry Came arrived at the Gary Kirsten Cricket High Performance Academy in November 2017 with some clear goals in mind. He recalls, “I wanted to work on my short ball strategy and playing through the off side. I also aimed to improve my bowling, fielding and fitness.” These were elements which were consistently practiced with a diligent work ethic and attention to detail over the next 4 months.
Fast forward a few months, Harry is excelling for both club and county. Upon returning from Cape Town, Harry trained with the Hampshire 2nd XI and MCC Young Cricketers as he aimed to continue his training habits learned at the HPA. He started the season playing for his club St Cross and recently has run into a rich vein of form. He has amassed 5 hundreds and 3 fifties so far this season with the highlight being 101 not out for Kent 2nd XI against Sussex to see the side home along with an unbeaten 60 in the first innings.
In a league fixture this weekend for his club St Cross, Harry was joined by fellow HPA player Billy Mead at 85 for 3 and the pair were only separated 190 runs later as Mead got to 70 off 103 balls. Harry however was in full swing and raised his bat on 3 occasions as he finished on 151 off 162 balls with 15 fours and 2 sixes pushing the St Cross boys past 300.
Harry’s day was far from over, he was thrown the ball after a good opening stand and started to make inroads to the Alton middle order. He was chief destroyer as he finished with 18 overs, 7 wickets for 52 runs resulting in a 56 run win for the away team. A remarkable all round performance which upon reflection Harry laughs and says, “I doubt I will have a better day on a cricket pitch!”
He didn’t have to wait long for that day to come, less than a week later Harry opened the batting for the Kent 2XI against Leicestershire and was out just prior to declaration in the 2nd innings for 185 off 278 balls.
In the current form that he is in, who knows what his next achievement may be but he is staying grounded and humble in his aspirations for the rest of the season. “I hope to keep playing regular 2nd XI cricket, keep putting scores on the board with the hope of pushing for a professional contract.” His time and effort at the HPA seems to be paying dividends and he is complimentary of the program, “I loved every minute of the HPA, it definitely improved all aspects of my game. I met some amazing people and had some unbelievable experiences.”
We will be following Harry and the other HPA players seasons closely and will continue to provide updates. For more player reflections for the HPA click through to garykirsten.com/high-performance-academy/
Image credit www.basingstokegazette.co.uk
