DUAL STAR SHANE GETKATE:FROM DURBAN to Dublin and with an eye to making it on to the world stage, Shane Getkate is one of the leading lights of a fine young generation of cricketers coming through the ranks in Ireland .
Born on the Eastern Cape, he moved to Ireland when he was 11 with his South African father and Irish mother. Although he knew cricket was played here, he wasn’t prepared for the joys of an Irish summer.
“The first season wasn’t too great, it rained a lot, but you get used to that after a while,” says Getkate, who joined the Malahide club in north county Dublin.
A talented all-rounder, he made a big impression from the start and was quickly drafted into the Ireland underage structure. “I came over in April from South Africa and played for Ireland in July at an under-13 tournament in Denmark,” he recalls.
He would go on to make his senior debut for Malahide at just 13 and was given a trial by Warwickshire a year later. Offered an Academy contract, Getkate has spent recent summers with the county side.
With legendary South Africa pace bowler Allan Donald as a coach, Getkate has enjoyed his time so far at Edgbaston and is hoping to secure a senior contract when he turns 18.
The benefits of playing at one of the bigger grounds in England also allowed him to test himself against some of the best batsmen in the world. “When I was over there I got to bowl to the Test teams from New Zealand, South Africa and Bangladesh when they came over to Edgbaston. That was a great experience, as well as working with Allan Donald and the other coaches,” he says.
Getkate has also picked up some tips from Ireland opening bowler Boyd Rankin, who plays with the county, while Eoin Morgan takes a keen interest in his progress. “He rings me to ask how I’m getting on and he gives me plenty of advice on what professional cricket is like,” says Getkate.
In many respects his career has mirrored that of the Ireland and Middlesex batsman as both played cricket at Malahide before going on to earn a scholarship at CUS in Dublin. “Eoin left when I was in first year, so I played one season with him on the Senior Cup team. In the Leinster senior cup final that year I was 12th man and had to come on to field after Eoin injured his back. We won the game and went on to win three-in-a-row after that,” he recalls.
The fifth-year student also turns out for the school’s rugby team at secondrow or flanker and will be on the bench today for their senior cup clash against St Michael’s at Stradbrook.
Cricket, though, is his big love and it has enabled him to see plenty of the world during his transition year, playing for Ireland at an under-15 event in the West Indies not long after he took part in the under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. He is still eligible to play in the next two under-19 world cups, while Ireland coach Phil Simmons has kept a close eye on his progress, playing him in an Ireland XI against an all-star Lashings outfit in Wicklow last summer.
An opening bowler at underage level, Getkate is also an attacking middle-order batsman, who styles his game on his cricketing hero, former South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock. The similarities don’t stop there. “I was a great follower of Shaun Pollock as I look a bit like him with my red hair. I got to meet him when he played once against Ireland in Clontarf, but he retired last year, which was a pity,” says Getkate.
He still follows the land of his birth and has been enjoying their recent successes in Australia, and he’s looking forward to the day when he gets to play against the Proteas wearing the green of Ireland.
For the time being he is working hard in school with the intention of going to university in England, while also continuing to play for Warwickshire during the summer. “Last year I missed a lot of school, but it was during transition year. I have to get my head down for the next two years. I’d like to go into sports science or sports management.”
