Adrian Watson’s inspiring story of hope and perseverance
Adrian Watson‘s tough cricket path turned into a smooth road just two weeks ago when he played a career-altering knock for Hoërskool Hans Moore in the Easterns Premier League.
Follow Watson’s progress through the 2025 Schools Cricket season on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)
Since he began playing cricket, his all-round talent had been evident. He was a tearaway fast bowler with the ability to bat anywhere in the order.
Paul Amorim, Hans Moore’s Director of Cricket and now the Deputy Head of Sport identified Watson’s potential and felt he would thrive in the Moories‘ strong cricket programme. But Watson’s hopes and dreams were struck a hammer blow before he was able to truly make his mark at the Benoni school.
Only two weeks before the u16 National Week, he was admitted to hospital with a kidney problem. That resulted in emergency surgery being performed and with that went Watson’s hopes of appearing on the inter-provincial stage.
“Missing out on an opportunity like that knocked me,” he admitted. “It has been a mental battle ever since.”
It wasn’t as if matters slowly became more manageable. In fact, only a couple of months later, he suffered another setback when he fractured his left foot while bowling during a tour to Kimberley. That put him out of action for another year.
Once again, he had to work hard on his rehabilitation, both mentally and physically. His path back to fitness involved plenty of hard work in the nets with his older brother, Tennant, a Hans Moore old boy, who represented the first team as a wicketkeeper/batsman.
It is said that bad luck strikes in threes and so, unfortunately, that proved to be the case for Watson when, just five matches into the 2025 season, he injured his back. That led to a disheartening number of visits to doctors, physiotherapists, and chiropractors. Without any positive results, that also spelt the end of a promising career as a fast bowler.
With his bowling hopes dashed, Watson gritted his teeth once more, reset, and focused on his batting. On Friday, 29 August, he put the fruits of his labour of love on display when he opened the Hans Moore innings against Hoërskool Dinamika, at Dinamika.
It was as if he was taking out the frustrations of the past three years on the home side. In only 129 deliveries, he obliterated the Dinamika attack, blasting eight sixes and a breathtaking 24 fours in a sensational knock of 196.
After Watson just missed out on a double-century, Amorim was full of praise for his contribution. “I would’ve loved for him to get to 200,” Amorim said, “but it wasn’t meant to be.
“The 196, however, will forever be special because of what he’s been able to achieve through all the hardships over the last couple of years.”
Adrian’s older brother, Tennant, shared how proud he was of his younger sibling. “It meant everything to me,” he said of the special innings.
“He was the one who worked the hardest in an environment where everything seemed to be against him. It was difficult to keep him positive when he felt nothing was going his way. Seeing his comeback, as his brother ánd coach, really meant the world to me.”
A week after his spectacular knock at Dinamika, Watson led Hans Moore against Hoërskool Marais Viljoen, one of the leading teams in the league, and he was again among the runs, contributing 70 from just 69 balls.
“I was able to keep going through my faith in the Lord, as well as through the support of Tennant and the rest of my team. My brother definitely played the biggest role, though,” he said.
“He spent countless hours with me in the nets, as well as keeping me grounded and humble.
“I owe him a lot,” Watson concluded with a bright smile of appreciation.
There’s some time to go in the 2025 season and a Fain Noordvaal title for Hans Moore to defend. That makes it very likely that we’ll be hearing the name of the Moories‘ captain, Adrian Watson, much more before the season is done.
