I don’t like cricket, I love it
JOBURG - Iconic Advocate George Bizos is behind the revival of cricket in the inner-city through the Joburg Cricket Club.
Some of Johannesburg’s top business leaders have thrown their weight behind the revival of cricket in the inner-city as part of the upliftment of the poor communities in the area.
This follows the hosting of the inaugural Joburg Cricket Club’s corporate benefit match in the Bertrams area of the inner-city. The club is part of efforts by business leaders to revive both cricket and the inner-city which they hope will result in business people returning to the inner-city.
The 20-over per side game is being used as a platform to demonstrate the role the corporate sector can play in promoting the development of Johannesburg, cultural diversity through sport as well as the upliftment of underprivileged communities.
The club’s ground, Hope Village, is a demonstration of the positive socio-economic benefits that stem from the concerted efforts of private individuals to uplift their communities. “The cricket game in itself is secondary to this message of unleashing the potential within areas that are easily dismissed as downtrodden and neglected,” said club chairperson Indarin Govender.
The ground was transformed from an under-utilised dust bowl in 2007, to an oasis that feeds the cricketing dreams of youngsters from Bertrams. The club has since developed talented youngsters who compete in the Gauteng Cricket Board league structures.
Apart from cricket development activities which includes a Saturday clinic for youngsters from the surrounding areas, the club has participated in the Corfu Spirit of Cricket Youth Tournament in Greece for the past two years, claiming the 2013 title earlier this year.
The youngsters’ participation in this international event was thanks to the support of iconic Advocate George Bizos. Bizos promoted the club’s inclusion by virtue of the close ties that have been forged with Saheti School which he co-founded.
“This great old game is a microcosm of life itself; its trials, tribulations, temptations, tragedies, tall stories and the great test of time,” said Bizos. “We live in a time of change and challenges as we make meaning of the 21st century inside our homes, within our communities and within the broader human family.”
