Jaffar honoured at Boxing Day Test match

GREENWOOD Park Primary School teacher and resident, Achmat (Aggie) Jaffar, was recently honoured at the Boxing Day test match between England and South Africa, where he was presented with a Heritage Blazer. The 71-year-old, who is well known in the area, is considered a stalwart within the coloured sporting community for his stance on non-racial cricket.

Cricket South Africa a few years ago made the commitment to honour every player who has represented South Africa by bestowing special Heritage Blazers. The Heritage Blazer idea was to honour players who were awarded national colours by their respective federations in the period before unity.

In the apartheid years before unity there were ten federations that administered cricket in South Africa. The federations were: the South African Cricket Board of Control (SACBOC), the South African African Cricket Board (SAACB), the South African Coloured Cricket Association (SACCA), the South African Indian Cricket Union (SAICU), the South African Malay Cricket Board (SAMCB), the South African Cricket Board (SACB), the South African Cricket Association (SACA), the South African Cricket Union (SACU), the South African and Rhodesian Women’s Cricket Association (SARWCA) and the South African Women’s Cricket Association (SAWCA).

Jaffar, who was a member of SACCA, said he was honoured to be presented the blazer. The new blazers have the standard CSA badge on the pocket with the simple designation of the board the players represented and their début year under it.

“It just so happened that my nephew, Faeez Jaffar (president of KZNCU) awarded me the blazer, it was a special moment for me personally. My brother, Ighsan, was also among the nominees but he sadly passed away before he could recieve the honour. His wife phoned me the morning that I was recieving my blazer, we shed a few tears and she congratulated me on my achievement. I’m very honoured and it’s lovely to be acknowledged for my contribution to cricket at such a late stage,” he said.

Besides being a talented all-rounder, Jaffar also showed that his athletic prowess extended beyond the cricketing oval by representing Manning Rangers in football. He is also one of the founding members of staff of Greenwood Park Primary School when it was formed in 1966.

“I’m a member of the so-called ‘The Originals’. It’s been a great honour teaching at the school and many current pupils have come up to me to remind me that I also taught their parents as well as their grandparents. I’m looking forward to celebrating the school’s 50th anniversary this year,” he said.