By OBAKENG MAJE
In the past, cricket was not a popular sport among black people, however, that has gradually changed since the dawn of democracy. Nowadays, many young people continue to take part in the sport.
The founder and owner of Dafita Rovers Cricket Club, Dafita Mainaakae said, the future of cricket in Taung is brighter. He said his newly-formed cricket club consists of two teams, which are affiliated to the provincial cricket body, North West Cricket.
“The club consists of the male and female squads. Our male squad will be participating in a second division league, while our female counterparts will be contesting in the Premier League. Even though we do not have resources such as a cricket field/oval, we are still disciplined, dedicated and determined to achieve our goal.
“We are happy to see our club making strides and finding its niche in the cricket landscape. We are fortunate to have dedicated players who are always willing to learn. At the club, we have been hard at work and played season preparatory matches with other cricket clubs such as Bloemhof Cricket Club, Taung Cricket Club and others,” he said.
Mainaakae also lauded his club management for showing unambiguous commitment in developing the club into a ‘force to be reckoned’ with. He further said through hard work, the club has roped in the unmatched experience of Tlokwe Cricket Academy coach as a mentor.
“The gentleman braced the cold winter weather in July to come and conduct clinics for our players. This was in a bid to familiarize them with the basics and adhesively inculcate psychological grounding of the club.
“This has yielded great results and we also want to applaud local businesses which came on board in the form of sponsorship. To the owners of Boema Purified Water and Druzaray Aluminium, we highly appreciate you,” said Maainakae.
He encouraged other local businesses to come on board. Maainakae said local businesses play a vital role in grooming future players.
“Our aim was to ignite the love of cricket in youngsters and encourage local schools to start having cricket as one of their sporting activities. We want to give as many children an opportunity to access cricket.
“We have realised that there is a potential to start a cricket club that can have an impact on youngsters within this area of Taung and I am happy to see our players’ thoroughly enjoying taking part in all our programmes and matches,” said Maainakae.
He added that there was great excitement around the batting and bowling too. Maainakae concluded by saying, “There is nothing stopping the young players from becoming the country’s next cricket legends. If we continue to join hands and bring the best programmes to them, that will add value to their lives and they will eventually conquer the world.”
The Guardian 