by Ashraf Allie
A journey is to enrich our Hanover Park community by breaking boundaries using sport (cricket) as a vehicle for positive change on and off the field.
For Fishrite Hanover Park Cricket Club the past seven years have been a journey of toil, heartbreak, failure and success all rolled into one.
The journey reached a high point when, on March 26, we won the First Division 1D league title and gained promotion to 1C. This came despite a setback the previous week when we lost in the AMA T20 final at Newlands.
Our 2nd team gained promotion to a higher league, from 1G to 1F, as well. This in itself is an amazing accomplishment as we are grooming a number of young players for the 1st team in the 2nd team.
This article is to also relay the stories of some key team members, who despite many challenges, have brought the club to this point.
Riyaad Gamieldien, the club’s vice-chairperson for four years, is a talented sportsman at both cricket and rugby.
I have witnessed him struggling with difficulties, but Gamieldien is a key player in our flagship team, with a best score of 63 and best bowling of 5 wickets for 9 runs. He now boasts a league winners medal, and having won the AMA T20 1D title at Newlands as the captain in 2018.
This is his second promotion.
Our flagship team is led by Shafwaan Doutie – a cancer survivor. His bowling stats indicate that he led by example by taking 26 wickets.
Doutie comes from a family with sport in their blood. His uncle, former international player Faiek Davids, was one of the leading cricketers in an era when our talents were not recognised.
At club level, we are not shy to tell our fellow members we love each other. It is a sincere culture I introduced at the club. Shafwaan has taken my lead and his last words for both the T20 final and the last league match was that he loved each and every squad member. He delivered as a captain.
Vice-captain Carlyle Roberts, the youth in our squad, ended up the lead wicket taker with 41 wickets. Cheslin Fredericks followed with 32 wickets. Both players are 20.
Fredericks was 16 when he played in the SA Schools under-19 in 2017/18. Carl Damon, who turned 16 on the day of the AMA T20 final, is a composed all-rounder who took 11 wickets and scored 207 runs to help win matches for us.
All three young men played pivotal roles in the club annexing the league title. Three other youngsters to mention are:
* Sherwin Mei, 16, a batsman being groomed to become a great wicket-keeper.
* Aiden Vigeland, 16, a fast-bowler and an accomplished fielder. He toured the UK with our under-14 squad in August 2019.
* Chanlin Roberts, 18, was injured shortly after he made the 1st side and had to miss the latter part of the season. We have big hopes for him.
These home-grown young men have to navigate the daily socio-economic problems in Hanover Park. Some of them erred and ended on the wrong side of what we want them to become. However, cricket and the love and care we have shown have ensured that they are back on track.
Our club’s mantra is to always be kind, show love, and be sincere towards each other as we strive to become a club that is self-sustainable to succeed.
Cricket is not a cheap sport and it remains challenging for us to maintain to develop our members, especially our youth and women. I want to reach out to readers to kindly help us to continue to achieve our goals and objectives.
I can be reached on +27 82 442 7920, email: [email protected] and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
* Allie is chairperson of Fishrite Hanover Park Cricket Club.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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