Cricket SA introduces new hubs

Kwatsaduza – Cricket South Africa (CSA) has added five new hubs countrywide to grow and improve the sport in the townships.

This is after its board of directors approved the new facilities in line with its growth strategy.

CSA’s general manager Corrie van Zyl says the initiative will see the sporting body increasing the number of training centres by five hubs each year over the next four years.

“The new facilities are in the Sedibeng Hub (Gauteng), the Botshabelo Hub (Free State),the Lichtenburg Hub (North West), the New Brighton United Hub (Eastern Cape) and the King William’s Town Hub (Border),” he says.

Corrie explains that CSA’s process to determine which areas qualified to get an additional hub was exhaustive and based on four criteria, including adequate facilities.

“The newly identified hubs/RPCs (regional performance centres) must already have suitably qualified coaches and management structure.

“They must have community involvement; girls and women cricket structures; partnership with local government; and active feeder systems that can provide a minimum of four secondary and four primary schools for the programme, with these schools based in a previously disadvantaged community,” he says

Corrie says there was a need to introduce more hubs particularly in those areas that produced 138 junior provincial players in the past three years.

“Over the next four years we’re going to grow by five hubs a year.

“The board has approved the budget for that.

“Although we are looking to grow to improve access within the pipeline, we will at the same time be consolidating our efforts within this programme to attend to the quality.”

Corrie says after spending the last three years on getting the structures right to produce new talent, the focus is now shifting to the quality of the programme.

“We believe that we are now at a stage that we have the structures in place and that our focus must be on the quality of these structures and the coaching, as we need to produce quality players.

“We are doing our research on player performances and monitoring and analysing the performances of our hubs and RPC players who participate in the national youth cricket weeks,” he says.

Connect with us:

Do you have an interesting newsworthy story? Contact the newsroom on 011 812 4800 or send an email to Samantha Keogh (editor) samk@caxton.co.za, Izahn Krige (digital journalist) izahnv@caxton.co.za, Doreen Mokgolo (journalist) doreenm@caxton.co.za or Xoliswa Kali (journalist) xoliswak@caxton.co.za

For the latest breaking news in your community, follow us on Twitter @AfricanReport and like our Facebook page for daily news.

For news straight to your phone and daily weather updates, invite African Reporter on WhatsApp by sending a message with your name and surname to 079 408 9334.

To see what we get up to in the newsroom and in town, follow us on Instagram at african_report