“Even in his short life he became a role model."
“Even in his short life he became a role model."
The words were in praise of local cricket star Masixole Mkrakra, who died trying to save a friend from drowning.
Mkrakra was the first member of the Bathurst-based Tiger Titans cricket club to earn Eastern Province selection, as wicket-keeper for the EP rural side in 2010. The club was started by former St Andrew's College pupil Ross McCreath.
It was McCreath's mother, Anne, whom Mkrakra's friends called to the scene after the accident and she told Grocott's Mail the sequence of events as they'd been related to her.
During the first part of the December school holidays Mkrakra, who completed Grade 9 at Velile Senior Secondary School in Bathurst this year, underwent traditional Xhosa initiation.
On Monday, he and several other initiates walked to a quarry in Bathurst. The quarry has filled with water after recent heavy rains.
According to the boys, McCreath said, the young men went to the quarry to wash off the white clay – used traditionally to show their status as initiates.
They decided to cool down in the water and because none of them could swim, some used two-litre cold-drink bottles to float.
One of the boys got into trouble and “being the boy he is”, McCreath said, Mkrakra gave his bottle to the boy in trouble. It was then that Mkrakra himself battled to stay afloat and drowned.
McCreath said the boys had been about to celebrate their homecoming after their initiation towards traditional Xhosa manhood, “but now we are going to bury him”.
Mkrakra, who started out as a wicket-keeper for the Tiger Titans began concentrating on batting over the last few months. He was the top run-scorer for Tiger Titans in the Grahamstown Cricket Board.
McCreath said Mkrakra had been very excited about starting matric next year and had enrolled for the gold Presidents Award.
“Even in his short life he became a role model and did things he thought he would never do,” said McCreath.
Mkrakra was invited, in March, to speak at a gala dinner at the Lords Cricket Ground.
Mkrakra was an orphan and lived with his aunt. McCreath said Tiger Titans became his family.
