Mini cricket pilot kicks off in Merebank
The project is sponsored by the KZN Cricket Union and KFC.
A LACK of sports in Merebank is the reason behind the piloting of a cricket programme.
The MereRidge Group initiated the idea of hosting mini cricketers to get the project started. The inaugural game was hosted at Settlers Primary School on Saturday, November 6 with a handful of learners from the school.
For two hours, the amateur cricketers were on the field learning the game in no time and showed enormous potential. The mini cricket project was under the banner of the KZN Cricket Union and KFC.
One of the organisers, Pastor Victor Kupsamy, said he hopes to see the project benefitting other schools as early as next year.
“We want to introduce the sport because we think it lacks seriously in our community. We believe that cricket is a nice place to start.
“We thank the principal, Patrick Naidoo and the educators for allowing us to pilot this programme at the school. We also appreciate Horatius Sokhanyile of KZN Cricket Union together with KFC for sponsoring us the equipment,” he said.
He said as the programme gains popularity in the community, he looks forward to seeing more children on the field.
The handful of learners who played on the day are from the school and played with consent from their parents. Pastor Kupsamy added that even though everything is at its teething stage, they already saw potential in some of the children.
“We hope to one day see them playing some very serious cricket, representing KZN or even the country. For some of these children, the day was their first try at the game and we were really impressed with what they could do.
“Thank you to the parents for attending and ensuring that the game went well. We hope to get to other primary schools to buy into the project next year, to have coaching in those schools too. Alternatively, we could get all the schools together and coach them at once on a bigger field,” he said.
He also thanked ward 68 councillor Aubrey Snyman and all the coaches for their passion for bringing cricket back into our community.
Pastor Victor Kupsamy invites others to call to launch the project at their school. Call him on 073 510 0011 for more information.
