DURBAN: Hilton College Congratulates Lungi Ngidi
There was great excitement at Hilton College this week in the wake of Lungi Ngidi’s successful Test debut. Boys and staff members were seen trying to find a television between classes and meetings to catch a sneak-peak of their hero in action.
Ngidi attended Hilton College on a full scholarship from 2010-2014. He was a good student in the classroom and excelled at cricket, rugby and swimming, but he is remembered by most at the school for being a thoughtful, humble young man with excellent leadership ability.
“Lungi was a very well-respected head of house. The current group of Hilton matrics were in Grade 8 when Lungi led them, and they still speak about the positive influence that he had,” said Mike Mill, Ngidi’s former house master.
Stuart Roy, the 2018 head of school says that what he will remember most about Ngidi’s debut is “how he went over to Virat Kohli, respectfully raised his cap, and shook Kohli’s hand after the Indian captain scored a century in the first innings”.
One of Ngidi’s former coaches at Hilton, Sean Carlisle, said “it was always very clear that Lungi had plenty of talent, but what has really driven his success has been how hard he has been prepared to work and how eager he has been to learn. I remember him being particularly proud of his parents and appreciative of the way that they brought him up”.
Warren Kirsten, director of cricket, has noted a significant increase in boys wanting to play cricket at Hilton which he puts down to Ngidi’s success. “Lungi’s influence, however, extends far beyond cricket. He serves as a reminder to all boys about what can be achieved with a positive attitude. Lungi has had some serious injuries in recent years, but he showed wonderful resilience, and never considered giving up,” he said.