‘Black Express’ remembered in cricket tournament
ALEXANDRA - Walter ’Bafana’ Masimula was arguably one of the best black cricketers of his generation to come out of the Alexandra township.
Walter ’Bafana’ Masimula was arguably one of the best black cricketers of his generation to come out of Alexandra township.
A product of South African cricket’s development programme, Masimula was nicknamed the ‘Black Express’ because of his ability to bowl extremely fast. Masimula was discovered in the Bakers Mini Cricket tournament and he went through the ranks. In 1991 he toured with the South African U19 team to the West Indies.
Masimula was born in Alexandra, and sadly in 2002 at the age of 26 he passed away following a medical condition called thrombosis which is the formation of a blood clot inside a vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system.
He had just arrived in England to play for Brook in the Surrey Championship. The unsung hero took 33 wickets at at an average of 26.90 for Gauteng in his 18 first-class games. The Walter Masimula U15 Cricket Knockout tournament took place at the Alexandra Cricket Oval in honour of the man.
