Ochan, Okello share wicket with Ponting
THE elite cricket world revolves at such pace these days that the humanity and universality of the game can be obscured. Regrettable but true.<br>To this end, there was a reality check for all last week and especially for those with the capacity to look well beyond the boundary.
THE elite cricket world revolves at such pace these days that the humanity and universality of the game can be obscured. Regrettable but true.
To this end, there was a reality check for all last week and especially for those with the capacity to look well beyond the boundary.
Just how did it come to pass that two strapping young Ugandan refugees were excitedly jockeying to be photographed with Australia captain Ricky Ponting behind the ivy-covered western stands at Adelaide Oval?
Given they had bowled to Ponting and Phil Jaques at the nets, the photograph was an entitlement and their smiles and bright, dancing eyes spoke of considerable joy and excitement.
This is a remarkable tale and worthy of recounting, particularly on Australia Day.
Jimmy Okello and Patrick Ochan were born barely a year apart in the village of Gulu in the war-torn north of Uganda. Okello was orphaned by the age of five and Ochan at 14. Closer than brothers and fiercely loyal to each other, they were sent to the capital Kampala to study and duly completed the high school certificate. Aside from an intense emotional bond, they shared a passion for sports.
Okello played soccer with dash and daring and Ochan was a gifted tennis player, representing Uganda at the Davis Cup at the age of 15. But it was cricket they truly loved. Ochan, a fast bowler, played at the last two Under-19 World Cups, in Bangladesh (2004) and Sri Lanka, and for the Ugandan senior team at the International Cricket Council Trophy tournament in Ireland in 2005. Okello joined him in the Under-19 World Cup squad in Sri Lanka in 2006.
And, in a sense, this is where their journey to Australia began. In casual conversation with players from around the world, the boys learned that Australia was a country of many nationalities and had a history of providing opportunities for the dispossessed.
But how, they mused, could they ever reach Australia? As fate would have it, they were members of the Ugandan team which in June last year won Division Three of the ICC’s World Cup in Darwin, Ochan starring in the final against Argentina with an undefeated 56 and bowling figures of 3-25.
With scarcely a dollar to their name, there was still a lightness to their step as they headed to Adelaide in the hope of finding a new life.
Not long after reaching Adelaide, Okello was fishing from the jetty at Henley Beach when a chat with a passerby, Tania Ahrens, suddenly switched from hook and line to hook and line and length.
Ahrens had once worked at a local sporting club and knew she could introduce Okello to Denis Brien, a stalwart of the West Torrens District Cricket Club and a champion of the young.
Okello, now 20, remembers trailing Ahrens to the club's home at the Henley and Grange Memorial Oval in the hope of meeting Brien. When they reached the ground, the club's assistant under-14 coach was tutoring a young hopeful at the nets.
Of course, Okello could not have been expected to know the coach was Eric Freeman, the fine South Australian all-rounder who played 11 Test matches between 1967 and 1969.
Freeman threw the ball to Okello, also an all-rounder, and immediately he knew the ranks of the Western Eagles were to be significantly strengthened. Imagine his delight when he learned of 19-year-old Ochan. Both are playing B-grade district competition, Ochan having already had a short stint in A-grade.
The Eagles have adopted the boys as their own and club luminaries and their families and friends have dug deep to assist financially and to find them work and a home unit at West Beach.
They are now self-sufficient and with the legal assistance provided by the Australian Refugees Association earnestly hope that they will be permitted to remain in Australia.
Their legal team will be armed with glowing references from the Western Eagles and from the South Australian Cricket Association. In just seven months, both young men have made a great impact on the local cricket scene.
“Every day is like a blessing,†Okello said. “We want to settle in Australia.â€
Their working visas are valid only until next month and the uncertainty of their future is causing considerable anxiety.
Okello and Ochan miss their Ugandan team-mates but remain in email contact with them. Their pride in each other and in their achievements at the club is unmistakable and their joy at being able to bowl to Ponting and company knew no bounds.
Naturally enough, this experience was the subject of a stream of emails from West Beach to Kampala and beyond these past few days. These are impressive young men being sustained and protected by a glorious game and by the good people it has always attracted.
The Australian
To this end, there was a reality check for all last week and especially for those with the capacity to look well beyond the boundary.
Just how did it come to pass that two strapping young Ugandan refugees were excitedly jockeying to be photographed with Australia captain Ricky Ponting behind the ivy-covered western stands at Adelaide Oval?
Given they had bowled to Ponting and Phil Jaques at the nets, the photograph was an entitlement and their smiles and bright, dancing eyes spoke of considerable joy and excitement.
This is a remarkable tale and worthy of recounting, particularly on Australia Day.
Jimmy Okello and Patrick Ochan were born barely a year apart in the village of Gulu in the war-torn north of Uganda. Okello was orphaned by the age of five and Ochan at 14. Closer than brothers and fiercely loyal to each other, they were sent to the capital Kampala to study and duly completed the high school certificate. Aside from an intense emotional bond, they shared a passion for sports.
Okello played soccer with dash and daring and Ochan was a gifted tennis player, representing Uganda at the Davis Cup at the age of 15. But it was cricket they truly loved. Ochan, a fast bowler, played at the last two Under-19 World Cups, in Bangladesh (2004) and Sri Lanka, and for the Ugandan senior team at the International Cricket Council Trophy tournament in Ireland in 2005. Okello joined him in the Under-19 World Cup squad in Sri Lanka in 2006.
And, in a sense, this is where their journey to Australia began. In casual conversation with players from around the world, the boys learned that Australia was a country of many nationalities and had a history of providing opportunities for the dispossessed.
But how, they mused, could they ever reach Australia? As fate would have it, they were members of the Ugandan team which in June last year won Division Three of the ICC’s World Cup in Darwin, Ochan starring in the final against Argentina with an undefeated 56 and bowling figures of 3-25.
With scarcely a dollar to their name, there was still a lightness to their step as they headed to Adelaide in the hope of finding a new life.
Not long after reaching Adelaide, Okello was fishing from the jetty at Henley Beach when a chat with a passerby, Tania Ahrens, suddenly switched from hook and line to hook and line and length.
Ahrens had once worked at a local sporting club and knew she could introduce Okello to Denis Brien, a stalwart of the West Torrens District Cricket Club and a champion of the young.
Okello, now 20, remembers trailing Ahrens to the club's home at the Henley and Grange Memorial Oval in the hope of meeting Brien. When they reached the ground, the club's assistant under-14 coach was tutoring a young hopeful at the nets.
Of course, Okello could not have been expected to know the coach was Eric Freeman, the fine South Australian all-rounder who played 11 Test matches between 1967 and 1969.
Freeman threw the ball to Okello, also an all-rounder, and immediately he knew the ranks of the Western Eagles were to be significantly strengthened. Imagine his delight when he learned of 19-year-old Ochan. Both are playing B-grade district competition, Ochan having already had a short stint in A-grade.
The Eagles have adopted the boys as their own and club luminaries and their families and friends have dug deep to assist financially and to find them work and a home unit at West Beach.
They are now self-sufficient and with the legal assistance provided by the Australian Refugees Association earnestly hope that they will be permitted to remain in Australia.
Their legal team will be armed with glowing references from the Western Eagles and from the South Australian Cricket Association. In just seven months, both young men have made a great impact on the local cricket scene.
“Every day is like a blessing,†Okello said. “We want to settle in Australia.â€
Their working visas are valid only until next month and the uncertainty of their future is causing considerable anxiety.
Okello and Ochan miss their Ugandan team-mates but remain in email contact with them. Their pride in each other and in their achievements at the club is unmistakable and their joy at being able to bowl to Ponting and company knew no bounds.
Naturally enough, this experience was the subject of a stream of emails from West Beach to Kampala and beyond these past few days. These are impressive young men being sustained and protected by a glorious game and by the good people it has always attracted.
The Australian