Last season's KZN KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Winners

The KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour takes place in all parts of the country and last year it was taken to Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal, where the kids from Mgada Primary School took on the Proteas at their school. The school’s coach, Melusi Shozi, has been coaching cricket since 2008. Shozi believes that playing against the Proteas inspired the kids to work hard and follow their dreams. Since the Tour match, some of the kids have progressed to play junior provincial for KwaZulu-Natal. 

Mgada Primary School teacher and coach, Melusi Shozi

•         Melusi Shozi has been coaching cricket in his community since 2008 and joined the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket union in 2012.
•         He obtained his Coaching Level 1 qualification and his currently working towards getting his level 2 qualification.
•         He is a coach at Mgada Primary School, the Umlazi Cricket Club and the Umlazi hub.
•         The Umlazi Cricket Club was formed in 1996 and mainly concentrated on the senior teams. In 2008 the club started a development programme, bringing in Shozi to help develop cricket in the township.
•         In the same year Shozi introduced KFC Mini-Cricket to Mgada Primary School, where he currently coaches.
•         Shozi’s KFC Mini-Cricket team took on the Proteas in 2016, receiving great exposure and a positive response from the clubs and the community.
•         Since the Tour match, two of the kids have progressed to play and represent KZN. Khuleka Mseleku made the KZN U11 team and Minenhle Ntobela, who won the KFC Man of the Match in the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour match, played for the KZN U13 team.
•         Shozi believes that the Tour is a great platform because it gives kids the opportunity to meet their cricket heroes and get a taste of what feels like to play with professional cricket players.
•         Shozi also believes that cricket development is important in his community because it’s a gentlemen’s sport, so it teaches kids how to respect their opposition, work with other players and also teaches them that with hard work you can achieve your goals.
•         The biggest benefit that the school got from the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour last year was that there is now a growing interest from kids that want to play cricket in the school, including girls.
•         A lot of the kids believed that cricket is exclusively a boy’s sport but after meeting the Proteas women a lot of girls have joined the programme.
•         Shozi hopes that one day he will see one of the kids that played in the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour on TV playing for the Proteas.