Phiwokule Mothemela
Aspirant young cricketers from Walmer Township in Gqeberha have received a welcome boost with the official opening of three cricket nets.
This was the brainchild and initiative of Gqeberha local and former South African cricketer, Malibongwe Maketa, whose three-year-long dream became a reality at the Walmer sports precinct along Buffelsfontein Road on Tuesday.
Young cricketers, clad in T-shirts that emphasised their love for the sport, could not contain their excitement to finally train in the brand-new nets.
One player, as young as three years old, could not wait to show off his bowling skills.
"This is a surreal moment. It has taken so much work to get where we are today," said Maketa, who is also Cricket SA National Academy and SA u.19 head coach.
He said the motivation to see the project through was the faces of the young children he encountered regularly on the streets playing cricket.
“I believe it’s my duty as a South African citizen to play my part in improving my community, and I noticed that there were no cricket nets available for the youth of Walmer Township to practice and build their skills”.
According to a statement, Maketa had been working on getting a cricketing facility built for three years, but it was the major sponsorship from Boardwalk earlier this year that finally got the project underway.
“Contributions from Boardwalk Mall, PPC Cement, and Kelston Motors also helped to see the nets and artificial pitch open to the community on October 28”.
"I would like this to grow into a hub supported by Cricket South Africa to create a pipeline of players for Eastern Province Cricket," Maketa added.
A Walmer Township resident Maziz’onke Ngwendu said he would volunteer his time to coach the youngsters.
The Boardwalk Hotel and Casino general manager, Tati Tsunke, said the project was a perfect fit as Sun International has a group-wide focus on supporting education, and believes that the youth are the country’s future.
“We hope the cricket nets provide hours of fun and that some future Protea stars will be made,” he added.
