With one month to go until the Under 15 Boys set off for South Africa, Alfie Butterfield reflects on the 2025 trip for this year's tour brochure.

I first started playing for Devon at Under 12s, and that was also the first time I heard about the South Africa tour that would eventually happen three years later.

From that moment, it was something I always looked forward to. The idea of getting on a plane and travelling to a completely different part of the world felt unreal. When the day finally came, it still didn’t feel real. Stepping off the plane after an eleven-hour flight and being hit by a wall of heat was something I’ll never forget. It honestly felt like the country itself was welcoming us.

The tour began in the Kruger National Park, which is easily the most amazing place I have ever been. Seeing wild animals in their natural habitat was unbelievable and unlike anything I’d experienced before. The early morning game drives sounded tough at first, but as soon as you saw your first lion, leopard or even wild dogs, you completely forgot how tired you were. You stopped thinking about the time and just took everything in.

Cricket was still at the centre of the tour, and our first game quickly showed us how challenging the conditions were. Playing in the heat was exhausting, and at times it felt like the Kruger itself was the toughest opponent we faced. On that day, we also met Frik, who we first thought was just the groundskeeper. Later, during a presentation he gave, we found out he was much more than that.  He had dedicated his life to protecting the Kruger wildlands. Listening to his stories over bowls of buffalo stew made us realise we were in the presence of someone truly special.

For me, the two-day game in the Kruger summed up the whole tour. It was about much more than just cricket. Over those two days, the heat slowly started to affect us, and one by one, players began to fall ill. At times, it felt like there were more people off the field than on it, and those who were left had to dig deep and keep going. Despite everything, we battled hard and managed to secure a draw.

That match also taught us important lessons away from cricket. After the first day, we went for a swim with the opposition and shared a braai together, where we learned a few inappropriate South African words that definitely made the evening memorable. It reminded us that cricket isn’t just about winning and losing, but about the people you meet and the experiences you share. On the second day, we were tired and worn down, but we pushed through and eventually shared the spoils, drawing the Battle of Kruger. Those moments are exactly why I wanted to go on this tour, and they’re memories I’ll always keep.

After a week in the Kruger, we travelled to Cape Town, which was a huge contrast. We went from eating braais by candlelight in the bush to being surrounded by skyscrapers and eating at the V&A Waterfront.

Our first game in Cape Town was played under floodlights, which is something I might never experience again. The conditions were tough, with cold ocean winds and heavy dew making the ball slippery and our fingers numb, but we stuck together and managed to come away with another win.

Personally, this was one of the biggest learning experiences of the tour for me as a spinner. Bowling with a wet ball in changing conditions completely changed the way I thought about bowling, especially in T20 cricket. It forced me to adapt and develop parts of my game that I hadn’t needed before.

Visiting the District Six Museum was another powerful experience, but in a very different way. Learning about apartheid and the struggles South Africa faced was eye-opening. Hearing how Nelson Mandela helped shape the country it is today made me think much more deeply about my own life and the privileges I have.

We finished the tour on a bittersweet note. Our final match was played at one of the most stunning grounds I’ve ever seen, Rondebosch Cricket Club, with Table Mountain towering in the background. Earlier that week, we had climbed Table Mountain and looked out over Cape Town, which made playing there even more special.

We played a two-day match against Western Province, who showed us the true quality of South African cricket. There were moments of success and moments of disappointment, and in the end we lost on the second day. We swapped shirts afterwards and once again realised that cricket itself had been the real winner.

This tour has shaped me not just as a cricketer, but as a person. Cricket, like life, teaches you more through challenges than successes. You improve through failure, not comfort, and that is the most important lesson I took away from this experience.