Player Profile – Gavin Genis (Hoërskool Middelburg)
“My dad’s cricket bat was taller than I was when I first tried to pick it up. My older brother, Tiaan, seven years my senior, started playing cricket when he was nine and I had to stand ready every afternoon in the corridor when he wanted to practice his bowling.
“The kicker was that I was never allowed to duck, sway, or cry. Otherwise, I wasn’t allowed to play anymore,” Gavin Genis recalled about where his love for the game of cricket started.
That’s where the 16-year-old Hoërskool Middelburg all-rounder began to learn about fighting under severe pressure.
Genis, already a star for his side at a young age, enjoyed a fruitful 2024, but it was in the playoffs of the Fain Noordvaal Competition that his talents became known to a wider audience across South Africa.
In almost unbelievable fashion Genis snapped up a staggering 17 wickets in only four matches, including a special return of 6/51, his third consecutive five-wicket haul, in the semi-finals against a loaded Hoërskool Waterkloof side.
His cricket journey officially started at the age of eight, when Abré Vollgraaff, then at Cambridge Academy in Witbank, and now the Head of Sport at Hoërskool Eldoraigne in Centurion, invited him to attend the u11 regional trials.
“Although I didn’t get picked that year, I already knew it was one of my goals. In my u9 and u10 years, I played for the u10 Mpumalanga Indoor side, and also made the u10 national side in both,” the all-rounder shared.
He also attained his goal of playing for the u11 Mpumalanga side, representing the union for two years in succession in the age group, which showcased his burgeoning cricketing talent at a young age.
Unfortunately, Genis, like other sports lovers, was halted through the Covid-19 years, but that didn’t dim the determined Middelburger’s drive. In the years following the pandemic, he went on to earn yet another provincial call-up, joining the u15 side at the annual Regional Week.
Following a very successful 2024, he was selected for the Mpumalanga u16 team, which will travel to Pretoria in December for the annual CSA u16 Boys Week. He also earned national indoor cricket colours again.
“Jacques Else is one of the Middelburgers I look up to the most. Coaches Shaun Neethling and Conrad Viljoen have also played a significant role in my cricketing journey thus far,” Genis said when asked about the major influences on his young cricket career.
When stepping over the rope and onto the field, the youngster aspires to be like current opening test batsman Aiden Markram. He’s the one Genis has looked up to since day one. However, the Protea isn’t the sole holder of the title of biggest role model. “My father, Barry Genis, has been another I’ve looked up to”, Genis explained.
The all-rounder has produced many memorable moments during 2024, including during his side’s Mpumalanga League match against Hoërskool Nelspruit, where he scored a masterful 128 and they won a tight contest by only eight runs to keep their unbeaten run alive. Another outstanding memory was created in the Fain Noordvaal semi-final against the Klofies.
“We didn’t score close to enough runs and, after lunch, there was some nervous energy, which was to be expected, but somehow everything just clicked. Eduan Strydom and I just found a new rhythm with the ball in hand and we just went with it.
“He eventually ended up taking four wickets and I snapped up six, my best figures ever thus far,” Genis said while fondly recalling his favourite moments as a Middies’ cricketer.
Talented, with a love for the game, and with a drive to succeed, Genis has clear goals for the future. “My dream is to play for the Proteas one day, or just any form of professional cricket. I just want to play cricket, that’s all,” he said.
