Durban - UNCAPPED and selected to captain the Coca-Cola South Africa Under-19s in their tour to India next month, Matthew Montgomery said it was a shock at first but now it was starting to sink in.
“It is an honour and I am really excited. It is the first time I have been selected,” Montgomery said.
“It’s quite a whirlwind, I have never been exposed to this before, it’s my first time being in the spotlight.”
He said it was a “big thing” to represent his country and that it would be a learning experience for him.
The tour will take place from February 16 to March 12 and will include two four-day Youth Test matches and four Youth One-Day Internationals.
Montgomery he did not have enough time to prepare for the tour because he recently returned from Cubs Week in Stellenbosch.
“I think playing spin is one of my strengths. I enjoy facing it a lot,” he said about facing spin bowlers.
The 18-year-old uMhlanga resident said that when he was 6 years old, he would play in the backyard with his father, who used to play cricket.
The right-handed batting all-rounder bats at No3 but he also bowls. The cricketer he looked up to the most was AB de Villiers.
Montgomery’s good news do not end there. His matric results revealed that he achieved eight As and one B.
His Delta Cricket Club coach, Clive Naidoo, said from the first year he watched Montgomery play cricket, when he was 15 or 16 years old, he excelled.
“His maturity far exceeded his age and he is a very well grounded person,” Naidoo said.
He said it was a prestigious thing for him to be selected and he thought the last cricketer from here who was chosen to captain the side was Hashim Amla. “We are absolutely proud. It is not everyday something like this happens,” he said.