Growing the game of cricket is an objective of the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union and in partnership with the Willowton Group the tournament continues to bring cricket to all township children in KwaZulu Natal (KZN)

“When we commenced the programme, the objective was to develop a cricket culture within townships and to encourage children from disadvantaged communities to become involved in a team sport. The KZNCU established the Township Development blue print for cricket in KZN that strives to ensure that the game of cricket is shared with all South Africans,” said Shoaib Moosa, marketing director of Willowton Group.

Looking back at the past five years of the programme, the benefits that have been seen thus far are the improvement of junior clubs teams within the Durban and District Cricket Union (DDCU) league 2011/2012 season. Coaches have enjoyed advanced training which has contributed to these improvements.

Three age groups won the DDCU leagues and two were runner ups in the junior teams. INK U/15 moved from position 9 in 2010/2011 season to 2nd position in 2011/2012. The Umlazi U/13 Division One and INK U/13 Division Two both moved from tenth position to winning the league in 2012/2013.

At the closing ceremony, the players cheered as an elite team of cricketers were selected for the U/15 and U/19 Sunfoil Township teams to play against KwaZulu-Natal U/15 provincial Team and Suncoast Academy respectively, in a 20-over match.

The elite Sunfoil Township squads were invited to a number of cricket camps at Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead where they received advanced coaching. Last season out of five matches that were played against the traditional cricketing schools the Sunfoil Elite Squad won four.

Together with support from Cricket South Africa, the eThekwini Municipality, the Department of Sports and Recreation and sponsorship from Willowton Group, a plan has been developed with financial infrastructure to support this township development programme.

The programme has drawn considerable praise from CSA, especially from Niels Momberg, CSA national schools manager. It is now used as a template for other cricket franchises. Currently the Willowton Group’s Sunfoil brand also sponsors Gauteng Development Cricket.

“Willowton Group hopes to unite children through the game of cricket and show them that they can rise above any circumstance with the right attitude. Perseverance and hard work makes any dream achievable and this tournament teaches the players just that. Empowering children through sport is just one of the ways Willowton Group hopes to uplift communities throughout South Africa,” concluded Moosa.