A Batlharos youngster, near Kuruman in the Northern Cape, and his friends are introducing children in the rural areas to the sport of cricket.
They target disadvantaged boys and girls under the age of 13. Their focus is also on troubled youths, to help them steer clear from engaging in drugs and violent activities.
Ten year-old Tumisho Shupi stays with his unemployed mother. He has a passion for cricket and he hopes to one day play for the national team. He welcomes the opportunity to take part in the sport.
“I feel great because I am a good cricket player and I want to become one of Proteas player.”
One of the best players the founders have unearthed in the dusty village is 13 year-old Ontlametse Kesiamang.
Kesiamang is an opening batsman – which is not very common among black players in the country.
He took part in the provincial under-11 tournament in 2016, and in 2017 was in the first team for the Momentum National Tournament.
The founders say it has been an uphill battle ever since the initiative started in 2013. They do not have facilities, and use tennis balls and sandy pitches.
Founder Omphile Maemela says:”We started this because there was a need in our district or in our rural community. We found that our kids are involved in drugs alcohol and substance abuse in general. So we decided to start this as an agent that would sort of drive change in our community.”
Their next mission is to establish a cricket hub in the village.
There is a possibility that Cricket South Africa’s CSI team — expected in the area next week — could come to their assistance.
