Tiny St Helena proves size does not matter
Mqondisi Dube | Friday November 2, 2018 13:36
A lazy morning jog can take one right round the entire island nation of St Helena within minutes. Situated 3,000 kilometres off the coast of Cape Town, deep in the Atlantic Ocean, St Helena measures about 16km by 8km, making it one of the smallest inhabited islands in the world.
Up until recently, there was no flight to St Helena meaning, they could only travel by ship to Cape Town to catch connecting flights.
St Helena is participating for the first time in the ICC World T20 cricket qualifiers, but that was hardly noticeable as they registered impressive results.
Team manager, Derek Richards said the small population has not hindered their progress in cricket.
“Look, we are competing with countries that have far larger populations compared to us. We have competed and beaten some of the teams. There is big interest in cricket in St Helena. Out of a population of 4,500 people, we have 10 teams competing in an amateur league,” Richards told Mmegi Sport this week.
He said the team has exceeded expectations against teams that are better resourced, and have a bigger pool of players to pick from. “We are pleased that we are now at this international stage. Other teams have far better facilities than we have in St Helena. We have one ground, which is shared between cricket and football. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far,” he added.
Both cricket and football are equally popular.
Richards said from what they have seen in the competition, it gives them much hope for the future. He said due to flight constraints, they had to be in Botswana a week earlier, in preparation for the tournament.
Richards bemoaned that for a small country like St Helena, they were hit hard by the $10,000 (P100,000) and the $4,500 (P45,000) registration fees paid to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Africa Cricket Association (ACA) respectively.
He said cricket is growing in St Helena, with junior leagues being mooted in a bid to expand the player pool.
Richards is confident that the name St Helena will now ring a bell after their participation and good showing at the ICC World T20 Africa C qualifiers.
“Since we came here, everybody has been asking, where is St Helena, but after our performance, I guess people have googled what we are all about. It’s a rock outcrop in the middle of the south Atlantic, we are mid way between Africa and Brazil. We are 12,000miles of the coast of Namibia. The weather is much cooler than here. Botswana is very, very hot, but it is a nice place,” he said.
By Tuesday, St Helena had registered three impressive victories over Malawi, Swaziland and Mozambique. Although they fell to Botswana, they have already made their mark, and are proof that the size of population does not necessarily matter.
Richards said St Helena is a safe place where there is virtually no crime.
“The people are friendly and there is virtually no crime. You can leave your car with doors unlocked.”He said there is one secondary school, which absorbs pupils after primary school, while there is no university. Successful students are funded by government to pursue their studies in the United Kingdom. People in St Helena hold British passports and still sing ‘God save the Queen’ as their national anthem.