KFC mini cricket hosts festival to promote women’s cricket
The girls were taught hand and eye coordination, throwing, fielding, bowling and batting techniques.
The Isaac Makau Primary School sports field in Wattville was a hive of activity on February 24 as young female cricketers came out in their numbers to attend the Easterns girls’ KFC mini cricket regional festival.
Despite women’s cricket having good innings with the CSA Women’s Provincial T20 competition and Proteas women staking their claim to world cricket, Julius Maziya of KFC mini cricket explained that women’s cricket still needed exposure at a grassroots level.
“We realised that women’s cricket is not given enough attention and it, therefore, needs more exposure. Each region hosts two festivals and we decided to host one for girls to promote women’s cricket,” he said.
According to Maziya, the KFC mini cricket programme is the largest grassroots programme in the country and offers young cricketers with critical building blocks to learn the basics of the game.
Maziya, who is also a product of the programme, said that understanding the basics of cricket from a young age is critical as this helps fast-track their development.
“This programme is very close to my heart because it’s where the fundamentals of the game are taught. This is where the passion for the game is developed and we always strive to produce cricketers who will represent the Easterns from schools to the senior side,” he said.
He added that their hard work over the years has seen many graduates of the programme go on to play at the highest level.
“We have a few girls who were a part of this programme and are now part of the Easterns set-up. One of them is 14-year-old Mpumi Mashiloane who was brilliant for the Easterns at the u-16 girls’ national tournament last year,” he said.
“She’s rated number one in her age group in the country. So, this means the basics they are learning here are worthwhile.”
The girls were taught hand and eye coordination, throwing, fielding, bowling and batting techniques.
“This is where they learn the basic skills. The whole idea is to give the children an idea of what hard-ball cricket expects from them. We also want them to have fun and enjoy themselves as that’s the only way to learn,” said regional KFC mini cricket chairperson Lerato Nchabeleng.
Also Read: KFC Mini Cricket Provincial Seminar, Eastern Cricket Union, August 5, 2016
Also Read: KFC mini cricket coordinator of the year
