{"id":82104,"date":"2025-09-01T11:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T09:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=82104"},"modified":"2025-09-01T11:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T09:41:10","slug":"loveland-joined-an-elite-group-at-fasken-time-cricket-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=82104","title":{"rendered":"Loveland joined an elite group at Fasken Time Cricket Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Alec Loveland achieved a rare milestone when he became the 13th player from St John’s to reach 100 first team caps. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alec Loveland<\/strong> made St John\u2019s College<\/strong> history when he became the 13th player to earn 100 caps for the school\u2019s first team at the just-ended Fasken Time Cricket Festival<\/strong> at St David\u2019s Marist Inanda<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying for the first team is a huge privilege, and doing it 100 times is an even bigger honour. This is one of the best feelings that I have ever experienced,\u201d Loveland shared after The Blues\u2019 contest against Nelspruit.<\/p>\n

The all-rounder marked the occasion with a haul of six wickets. He took 4\/66 in the first innings and 2\/38 with the ball and scored 11 runs in a single innings as he helped The Blues draw with Nelspruit<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am really honoured to lead the side. Mr Ntini<\/strong> and Mr De Villiers<\/strong> help me to develop as a person and as a cricketer with their advice and guidance. They also help shape my character with the tough conversations we have,\u201d Loveland told SuperSport Schools Plus<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Loveland fell in love with cricket early. The first toys he was drawn to were a cricket bat and ball. However, it wasn\u2019t until his Grade 5 year at St John\u2019s Prep<\/strong> that he took his game to the next level. The transformation was spurred on by his change from medium pace to left-arm spin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to be that pace bowler that knocks the stumps, but Mr. Mahony, my coach at the time, proposed to me that I try out spin,\u201d Loveland explained.<\/p>\n

He took to spin like a duck to water and earned his spot in the teams he played for as a bowler; however, he enjoyed his batting and put work into it to develop as an all-rounder. Loveland\u2019s progress wasn\u2019t immediate; he took a little time to find his feet.<\/p>\n

However, once he got going, he did well enough to earn selection not just in the school teams, but also in the provincial squads and teams at every level through the junior age groups. The matric student\u2019s hope for 2025 is to make the Gauteng Lions u19<\/strong> side at the Khaya Majola Week<\/strong> in December.<\/p>\n

Loveland, who admires David Miller<\/strong>\u2019s approach to cricket and AB de Villiers\u2019<\/strong> 360-degree game, is less like his South African heroes and more like his Indian role model, Ravindra Jadeja<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Loveland and Bongani Ntini discussing strategy. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI really like Jadeja\u2019s consistency, the way he puts batters under pressure, and how he keeps them guessing. His batting is also something I enjoy watching,\u201d Loveland stated.<\/p>\n

He just doesn\u2019t spin webs around batters; he takes down opposition spinners with the bat. His ability to play the turning ball well makes him a great middle-order batter. Loveland, who came into his own as an all-rounder in the 2024-25 season, preferred positions are numbers five, six, and seven.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ability to rotate strike and get into fifth gear to kick on make me a great candidate for those positions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Blues skipper is an all-rounder in every sense. He has played first team hockey for St John\u2019s in the last two years and is, in his words, \u201can all-right student,\u201d expecting several distinctions at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Loveland made his first team debut in Grade 9 and bagged a wicket with his first delivery on his way to a three-wicket haul. While that was a moment to cherish because he had an immediate impact in his maiden outing, Loveland\u2019s most memorable performance was a couple of years away.<\/p>\n

Loveland scored a steady 38 from 43 balls and shared a match-winning 47-run third-wicket partnership with Joe MacRobert<\/strong> on a tricky surface and against a strong St Stithians <\/strong>bowling attack led by Kwena Maphaka<\/strong> in the 2024 Johnny Waite<\/strong> final<\/strong><\/a>. With the ball, Loveland took 3\/16 in four overs to help his side win the trophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great match. Playing with great players like Joe MacRobert and Cole Francis <\/strong>and winning the title made everything great,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n

Loveland finished the Fasken Time Cricket Festival with 101 caps and is keen to add more to his tally of appearances for St John\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The list of St John\u2019s College centurions includes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bradley Dial (2010 – 2013) – 139 caps.
\nLorenzo Masselli (2011 – 2015) – 135 caps.
\nWesley Coulentianos (2010 – 2013) – 123 caps.
\nConnor Esterhuizen (2016-2019) – 115 caps.
\nDevon Conway (2006 – 2009) – 108 caps.
\nM Strydom (2010 – 2014) – 108 caps.
\nM Blair (2014 – 2017) – 106 caps.
\nC Smith (2013 – 2016) – 105 caps.
\nConnor McKerr (2012 – 2015) – 102 caps.
\nJack Lees (2016 – 2019) – 102 caps.
\nNick Halsted-Cleak (2016 – 2019) – 102 caps.
\nJoe MacRobert (2022 – 2024) -101 caps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alec Loveland made St John\u2019s College history when he became the 13th player to earn 100 caps for the school\u2019s first team at the just-ended Fasken Time Cricket Festival at St David\u2019s Marist Inanda. \u201cPlaying for the first team is a huge privilege, and doing it 100 times is an even bigger honour. This is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":82106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/82106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}