Young pacer Lutho Sipamla closed off a training session at Imperial Wanderers late last month by telling us how he simply cannot wait for the season to start. We spoke teammates, expectations and appreciations. Have a read, we’ve no doubt you’ll love Lutho as much as we do.
How you feeling right now?
I’m feeling really well at the moment. Coming off the back of a long season, I had a good rest in the off season and will continue to work hard throughout this pre-season. I have worked hard on my body – to get stronger and fitter which is so important in terms of building up for the upcoming Test series. I am so excited!
Talk to us about the upcoming England series?
As you can see, the England stadiums are full, creating a great vibe. I know that the Proteas ODI team currently in the UK, is working extremely hard as always and I wish them the very best come the series.
England are playing an attacking brand of cricket and are very tough competitors at the moment – their cricket is exciting; in your face; taking the game to you. But I believe we are prepared for that sort of game and I am certain that we’re going to go out there and give a great fight and really put on a good show.
I think it’s going to be a cracking series and I’m extremely excited to be a part of it. I am honoured to be in the squad and I really want to do well, and hopefully I can get into the starting 11 and perform well for the team.
If I look at how far I’ve come from my dreams as a young boy, a lot has been achieved, but I believe that there’s still so much more to come: I want to push harder and push through and I know that I am being challenged to do so by the coaching staff, players around me and management. The environments that I am in are really conducive to allowing me to grow as a player, which is what I want for myself.
Life as a Lions player – tell us how you’re enjoying yourself here?
In terms of the Imperial Lions, the depth here is incredible – it is a great environment to engulf yourself in – the likes of Sisanda, Duanne, Bjorn and many others are behind me in the nets right now as we speak. The calibre constantly surrounding you, pushes you and doesn’t allow you to rest because you know that those guys are pushing and working just as hard as you if not harder.
I love being in this type of environment – constantly pushing me to be better and better. In terms of the younger players coming through the ranks now such as Connor (Esterhuizen); Ronan (Herrmann) and Mitch (van Buuren) all of whom had a great season last season as did Levert Manje. These are just some of the talented players, aspiring to do great things: They are fit and strong, challenging you on the fitness front of things for sure.
The whole environment of Lions Cricket is awesome: Quality through and through, High Performance wherever you turn; and it’s honestly lovely to be here.