Khayelitsha Cricket Club received a much needed boost ahead of the 2016/2017 cricket season with donation of equipment and R4 200 to cover one team’s travelling costs to away matches.
The donation came from Claremont Cricket Club and the handover – of bats, pads, gloves, helmets and more – took place at the Khayelitsha Cricket Oval on Saturday October 8.
The players present wasted no time and tested each piece of equipment from ball to bat.
It seemed they couldn’t wait to get to the field and use them.
They warned Claremont that they should expect fireworks when they meet each other on the field. Khayelitsha’s third team and Claremont’s fourth team play in the same league.
Claremont Cricket Club captain Gordon Lorimer made it clear that was not a case of charity but rather a “proper investment” in the talent they saw there.
“We played against Khayelitsha last season and realised their youngsters are highly talented.
“We were bothered by the fact that players had to share some equipment.
“That’s when we decided to get involved. We drove around Claremont, talking to people and, in no tim, got 11 bats fully paid for. More equipment followed,” he said.
We know they will make good use of the equipment and we still want to beat them on the field of play,” he said.
Khayelitsha CC chairman Wonga Matshabane, who played for Claremont CC in his day, agreed saying the equipment is of great value to the club.
“We are not a well resourced club and cricket is an expensive sport. Talented and eager players are there but the problem,most of the time, is that one bat is worth around R2 000 so it can easily cost about R5 000 to kit one player,” he said.
“People want to play the game, the problem is that they can’t afford to do so. This means that the players will get motivated because we also had to pay for our transport to away matches. Now the pressure on that aspect will be eased off because we won’t have issues travelling to matches,”he said.
Having played for Claremont CC, Matshabane said he knows from experience that club values cricket development.
“These are good stories we need to hear more often. We need to see more able clubs investing in the needy ones. We know it is not charity but rather an investment in the future of the game,”he said.
Khayelitsha CC’s third team captain Lihle Adam said the team could only go forward from then on.
“This means a lot, especially for us players because when you properly kitted you feel confident and a confident player performs better. I am already looking forward to the season’s kickoff,”he said.