How cricket has united the Stanger community over the past 80 years
The introduction of the Stanger Cricket Union in 1944 formalised the sport, but it was not the first time cricket had been played in the town.
The KwaDukuza Indian community has found mutual ground around the cricket pitch for more than 80 years.
Although occasionally divided along religious, cultural and economic lines, the community remained largely united in their love for cricket, leaving rivalries on the field.
The introduction of the Stanger Cricket Union in 1944 formalised the sport, but it was not the first time cricket had been played in the town.
“Teams such as Kismet and Ottomans of Durban came out here to Stanger. Our ‘gunna land’ cricketers were reminiscent of the village blacksmith wielding the willows.
Though lacking in basic skills they gave a fair account of themselves,” reads a commemorative brochure prepared by the union for its 40th anniversary in 1984.
To qualify as a union, Stanger needed to produce two teams, and so the Commercials and Pirates (changed to Royals a year later) were born. Initially the Commercials represented the business class and the Royals the working class.
The Schools team, made up of staff and talented pupils from the Stanger Government Aided Indian School joined soon after and one of their players, Jay Chengiah, registered the union’s first century (118) against Commercials in 1944/45.
“Many have testified to his mighty sixes with the ball being retrieved from the Umviviana River!” reads the commemorative brochure.
The first major change in the union came when Dr EI Bhorat, a doctor who had played first class cricket while studying in India, arrived in Stanger.
His input is widely credited as improving the level of the game locally and he also represented SA Indians in the 1951 Inter Race tournament.
But it was Bhorat’s contemporary, Dawood Asmal, who earned the highest honour ever claimed by a Stanger cricketer.
In 1958, the young wicketkeeper was selected to the South African non-racial side, captained by Basil d’Oliveira, that toured East Africa (now Kenya).
Stanger had by that point become an incubator for cricketing talent and the teams became provincially competitive by the mid-60s.
A Royals team who won back-to-back Super League (a league including club teams from across KZN) titles in 1967/68 and 1968/69 is regarded as one of the strongest in Stanger history.
“The Royals and Commercials developed a strong rivalry over the years, which would inevitably draw large crowds to watch,” said former Union president and administrator, Jayce Singh.
“There were no limited overs back then, you just played for a day. That could mean multiple innings per team or one, it all depended on the performance and weather.”
Stanger cricket reached its peak in the early 70s, welcoming teams from as far afield as Mandeni and Tongaat, before administrative division caused near collapse of the Union at the end of the decade.
But a new generation of leaders, including Singh, spearheaded a return to prominence and the Union later welcomed a move to the Stanger Country Club grounds, previously reserved for white residents.
The Indian cricketers had until that point played on a neighbouring ground which was originally used as a grazing field by the municipality.
“It made a significant difference to the level of professionalism for our union to be able to use the Country Club grounds,” said Singh.
The Country Club was later demolished to accommodate the KwaDukuza Mall and the current iteration of the Stanger Cricket Union (now iLembe Cricket Union) plays in Gledhow.
All told, 16 cricketers from Stanger have played men’s provincial cricket, with Asmal regarded as the only national representative.
As the decades have rolled on, it has become impossible for club sport to hold the monocultural support of a town in the way cricket did for Stanger.
But there remain many residents who can recall growing up on the side of the field, watching their local heroes do battle and doing their best to make their own mark
on history.
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