Women in Sport - ICC 100% Future Leaders Programme

 

Women from all over the world are getting the opportunity to take up leadership roles in various sports including cricket. The ICC has announced it's mentorship program for women and we got the opportunity to talk to two of the women that have been selected from 300 applicants to take part in the program.

40 women from 29 ICC Member countries have been selected to be mentored as part of the ICC 100% Cricket Future Leaders Programme designed to support emerging female talent in cricket. The programme, which is part of the ICC’s long-term commitment to accelerate the growth of women’s cricket and women in cricket, received an overwhelming response of more than 300 applicants from 45 different countries.

The initial intake will be split into two batches and the programme, which designed to address the low percentage of women in leadership positions in global cricket and build a pipeline of new female leaders in cricket will get underway with batch one beginning this month.

About 100% Cricket Future Leaders Programme
The application is open for all female future leaders of Cricket to apply and will be matched with a mentor to support their development growth.
The role of a mentor is to unlock their mentee’s potential and help them to be at their best. This could include being a confidential sounding-board, providing advice, guidance, and connections to reach their potential.

The philosophy of the 100% Cricket - Future Leaders Programme is to be participant lead, with the ICC acting in support to match the mentees with suitable mentors and provide guidelines and evaluation frameworks for the participants and opportunities to network and interact.

The programme will last for a period of 6 months, and include a kick-off workshop with Belinda Clark, followed by monthly check-ins and a 3-month review with the mentees and mentors agreeing the frequency and method of communication.

SELECTION PROCESS
All mentee applications were reviewed by a selection panel consisting of the ICC General Manager – Marketing and Communications – Claire Furlong, Mentor Guide and former Australia Captain Belinda Clark AO, ICC General Manager Development, Will Glenwright, and Competition Manager – Cricket, Birmingham 2022 – Commonwealth Games Holly Colvin.

 

KFC Mini-Cricket Regional Festival: Limpopo - 18-19 May 2021

 

It has been over a year in the making but the wait is finally over for aspiring cricketers as the KFC Mini-Cricket programme resumed its on-field action this month and recently held KFC Mini-Cricket Regional Festivals in Limpopo earlier this week

 

Over the two days of socially distanced fun, excitement and promising displays at the crease, Cricket South Africa (CSA) in partnership with KFC visited Phalaborwa on Tuesday, 18 May, where they hosted Rethusitswe Primary and Phondo Primary, along with 68 kids and 22 volunteer coaches.

 

The next day, the festivities moved to Bochum in Polokwane, where a similar number of boys and girls, and their coaches from Rapoho Primary, Mangwoto Primary and Maswene Primary, got to interact with CSA mascot, ZAC as well as Proteas Team Manager, Kgomotso ‘Volvo’ Masubulele – who is originally from Limpopo.

 

These KFC Mini-Cricket Regional Festivals form part of a 2020/21 KFC Mini-Cricket season relaunch undertaken by CSA to help provide an enjoyable but more importantly, safe environment for the kids to get active after a prolonged absence due to the restrictions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

 

Ahead of the resumption, to ensure the players, coaches and teachers’ safety, KFC Mini-Cricket identified non-hotspot regions across the country where non-contact school sport can take place.

 

They have also procured Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitisers for all participating schools, provided extra playing equipment to limit sharing between players, as well as arrange additional personnel to help facilitate the COVID-19 protocols for each school.

 

CSA’s Mass Participation Coordinator, Buhle Motshegoa is pleased with how the Limpopo-leg of the KFC Mini-Cricket Regional Festivals went, highlighting the immense passion for the game that exists, as well as the bright talent on show in the province. A province that produced the likes of former Proteas Women’s star, Mercia Letsoalo, Titans coach, Mandla Mashimbyi and legendary South African fast bowler, Dale Steyn.

 

“We are extremely happy that the 2020/21 KFC Mini-Cricket season was able to get underway in the form of the Regional Festivals and that we once again get to see our mini cricketers and coaches play with smiles on their faces,” Motshegoa commented.

 

“As soon as we arrived in Phalaborwa, you could sense the positive energy, and passion for the sport in all those involved in making the two-day cricketing spectacle a resounding success, while we adhered to the strict COVID-19 health regulations.

 

“Although getting kids active in a fun and enjoyable way is the main goal, we also got to witness some sensational talent on the field, between both the boys and girls. This bodes well, not only for the growth of the KFC Mini-Cricket programme but also for the South African cricket pipeline,” she added.

 

About KFC Mini-Cricket:

 

KFC Mini-Cricket provides a platform for kids in South Africa to have fun and get active. KFC Mini-Cricket is the largest grassroots development sports programme in South Africa and is also an essential building block for learning cricketing basics and entrenching a love for the game.

 

As of the 2019/2020 season, there are 126 642 kids from 6617 schools active in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme who are coached by 13 673 volunteer coaches. KFC has sponsored KFC Mini-Cricket since 2010 and in the 2012/13 cricket season KFC became the title sponsor of the KFC T20 Internationals.

 

For more information, please visit https://order.kfc.co.za/minicricket/minicrickethome.

 

Image List (With Captions):

 

• Paballo Mogofe (Ruthusitwe Primary School) showing great bowling technique as the action heats up during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Regional Festival at Ruthusitwe Primary School in Phalaborwa on the 18 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

 

• Dumisani Manyama (Thusetso Primary School) getting ready to execute a beautiful pull shot during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Regional Festival at Ruthusitwe Primary School in Phalaborwa on the 18 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

 

• CSA Mascot ZAC posing with KFC Mini-Cricket team from Rethusitswe Primary after getting active during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Regional Festival at Ruthusitwe Primary School in Phalaborwa on the 18 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

 

• Volvo Masubelele (CSA Protea Team Manager) coaches Moloko Mapasha (Magwato Primary School) during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Activation at Rapoho Primary School in Bochum on the 19 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

 

• Issac Senatla (Framework U16 Boys) helping Dimakatso Diala (Rapoho Primary School) with her bowling action during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Activation at Rapoho Primary School in Bochum on the 19 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

KFC Mini-Cricket returns to North West in style

 

After more than a year of being restricted from playing their favourite sport, youngsters in parts of North West finally got a chance to lace up their boots, don their red and white colours and grab a bat and ball for the KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme in Kanana, Klerksdorp, and Jouberton this week.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) in partnership with KFC hosted four thrilling mini-festivals at various schools featuring CSA mascot, ZAC and provincial ambassadors between 25-26 May, beginning with Inyathelo Primary in Kanana on Tuesday, before moving to Akofang Primary in Jouberton later on the day.

On Wednesday, the fun returned to Jouberton, with Itirele Primary School taking centre stage during the morning session before the final stop in Klerksdorp, where the KFC Mini-Cricket team at Educator’s Primary School rounded off the two-day spectacle.

These KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme form part of a 2020/21 KFC Mini-Cricket season relaunch undertaken by CSA to help provide an enjoyable but more importantly, safe environment for the kids to get active after a prolonged absence caused by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Ahead of the resumption, to ensure the players, coaches and teachers’ safety, KFC Mini-Cricket identified non-hotspot regions across the country where non-contact school sport can take place.

They have also procured Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitisers for all participating schools, provided extra playing equipment to limit sharing between players, as well as arrange a Safety Officer to help facilitate the COVID-19 protocols for each school.

CSA’s Mass Participation Coordinator, Buhle Motshegoa is pleased with how the North West-leg of the KFC Mini-Cricket Regional Festivals went, highlighting the visible passion for the game as well as the bright talent on show in the province. A province that produced the likes of Momentum Proteas star, Lizelle Lee, Proteas all-rounder, Dwaine Pretorius and Central Gauteng Lions player, Jonty Rapulana.

“We are happy that the 2020/21 KFC Mini-Cricket season was able to get underway in the form of the Activation Programmes and that once again we get to see our mini cricketers and coaches play with smiles on their faces,” Motshegoa commented.

“As soon as we set foot in Kanana, you could sense the excitement in the air, and passion for the game of cricket from all those involved in making the two-day cricketing spectacle a resounding success, while we strictly adhered to the COVID-19 health regulations.

“Although getting kids active in a fun and enjoyable way is the main goal, we also got to witness some sensational talent on the field, between both the boys and girls. This bodes well, not only for the growth of the KFC Mini-Cricket programme but also for the South African cricket pipeline,” she added.

About KFC Mini-Cricket:

KFC Mini-Cricket provides a platform for kids in South Africa to have fun and get active. KFC Mini-Cricket is the largest grassroots development sports programme in South Africa and is also an essential building block for learning cricketing basics and entrenching a love for the game.  

As of the 2019/2020 season, there are 126 642 kids from 6617 schools active in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme who are coached by 13 673 volunteer coaches. KFC has sponsored KFC Mini-Cricket since 2010 and in the 2012/13 cricket season KFC became the title sponsor of the KFC T20 Internationals.

For more information, please visit https://order.kfc.co.za/minicricket/minicrickethome.

 

Image list with captions.

CSA National Academy player, Evodia Yekile working closely with Aviwe Mpavu from Inyathelo Primary School during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Activation at Inyathelo Primary School in Klerksdorp on the 25 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Iva Manxiwa from Inyathelo Primary School preparing for a big swing as the kids get active during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Activation at Inyathelo Primary School in Klerksdorp on the 25 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

ZAC helping Tswarelo Marekwa from Akofang Primary School with his bowling grip during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Activation at Akofang Primary School in Klerksdorp on the 25 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Newly appointed Central Gauteng Lions Assistant coach, Jimmy Kgamadi engaging with the kids of Itirele Primary School during the 2021 KFC Mini Cricket Activation at Itirele Primary School in Klerksdorp on the 26 May 2021 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

ICC announces expansion of global events

 The ICC Board today confirmed the schedule of ICC events from 2024- 2031 with both the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be expanded and a Men’s Champions Trophy to be re-introduced.

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will become a 14 team, 54 match event in 2027 and 2031, whilst the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be expanded to a 20 team, 55 match event in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030. An eight team Champions Trophy will be hosted in 2025 and 2029. ICC World Test Championship Finals will be hosted in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031. The ICC Women’s event schedule has already been confirmed with the expansion of both the Cricket World Cup and T20 World Cup forming part of the ICC’s long-term commitment to growing the women’s game. 

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup format will have two groups of seven, with the top three in each group progressing to a Super Six stage, followed by semi-finals and final. This is the same format that was used in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2003. The format of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will consist of four groups of five, with the top two from each group going through to a Super Eights stage, followed by the knockout stages of semi-finals and a final. The Champions Trophy will follow previous editions with two groups of four, semi-finals and final. 

The ICC Board also approved the process for determining the hosts for all Men’s, Women’s and U19 events in the next cycle. The hosts for the Men’s events will be decided in September following a selection process that will get underway this month. The hosting process for Women’s and U19 events will commence in November and will be an opportunity to engage with a wider range of Members including first-time hosts. 

The ICC Board has requested management focus its planning efforts for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on the event being staged in the UAE with the possibility of including another venue in the Middle East. A final decision on the host country will be taken later this month. The Board also confirmed that the BCCI will remain the hosts of the event regardless of where the event is played.  

ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said: “Having the ICC event schedule confirmed through to 2031 is a significant step forward for cricket and will form the basis of our growth strategy for the next decade. 

“The revised approach to selecting hosts for our events will give us much more flexibility to grow the game and engage new fans. There is a smaller pool of countries with the infrastructure needed to host our senior Men’s events which narrows the selection process. Additionally, many of our Members expressed interest in hosting Women’s and U19 events which gives us a great opportunity to stage events in established and emerging cricket nations.”

KFC Mini-Cricket brings the fun to kids in Eastern Cape - Kei Cricket

 

The time has finally arrived for the youngsters in parts of the Eastern Cape to get active again and play with joy in their hearts and smiles on their faces as the KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme visits schools in Ngqeleni, Centane, Lusikisiki and Bizana this week between 27-28 May 2021.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) in partnership with KFC hosted four thrilling cricket spectacles featuring the official CSA mascot, ZAC, and provincial ambassadors including Border Cricket stalwart and ex-Protea, Mfuneko Ngam and Momentum Proteas’ Zintle Mali, who engaged with the learners.

The first stop was at the Old Bunting Junior Secondary School in Ngqeleni before they proceeded to Tiyo Soga Primary School in Centane later in the day. The week was rounded off by activations at Masobhuza Primary School in Lusikisiki and finally, Esitofini Primary School.

These KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme form part of a 2020/21 KFC Mini-Cricket season relaunch undertaken by CSA to help provide an enjoyable but more importantly, safe environment for the kids to get active after a prolonged absence caused by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Ahead of the resumption, to ensure the players, coaches and teachers’ safety, KFC Mini-Cricket identified non-hotspot regions across the country where non-contact school sport can take place.

They have also procured Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitisers for all participating schools, provided extra playing equipment to limit sharing between players, as well as arrange a Safety Officer to help facilitate the COVID-19 protocols for each school.

CSA’s Mass Participation Coordinator, Buhle Motshegoa is pleased with how the inland Eastern Cape-leg of the KFC Mini-Cricket Regional Festivals went, highlighting the huge excitement for the programme as well as the bright talent on show in the province. A province that produced the likes of Proteas legends; Makhaya Ntini and Mark Boucher, along with former mini-cricketer and current Proteas Women star, Ayabonga Khaka.

“We are happy that the 2020/21 KFC Mini-Cricket season was able to get underway in the form of the Activation Programmes and that once again we get to see our mini cricketers and coaches play with smiles on their faces,” Motshegoa commented.

“As soon as we set foot in Ngqeleni, you could sense the excitement in the air, and passion for the game of cricket from all those involved in making the two-day cricketing spectacle a resounding success, while we strictly adhered to the COVID-19 health regulations.

“Although getting kids active in a fun and enjoyable way is the main goal, we also got to witness some sensational talent on the field, between both the boys and girls. This bodes well, not only for the growth of the KFC Mini-Cricket programme but also for the South African cricket pipeline,” she added.

 

About KFC Mini-Cricket:

KFC Mini-Cricket provides a platform for kids in South Africa to have fun and get active. KFC Mini-Cricket is the largest grassroots development sports programme in South Africa and is also an essential building block for learning cricketing basics and entrenching a love for the game. 

As of the 2019/2020 season, there are 126 642 kids from 6617 schools active in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme who are coached by 13 673 volunteer coaches. KFC has sponsored KFC Mini-Cricket since 2010 and in the 2012/13 cricket season KFC became the title sponsor of the KFC T20 Internationals.

For more information, please visit https://order.kfc.co.za/minicricket/minicrickethome.

CSA Mascot ZAC in action with pupil from Tiyo Soga Primary School at KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme at Tiyo Soga Primary School in Centane on 27 May 2021 © Bheki Radebe/Backpages.

Aspiring cricketer, Aphumelele Qebeyi from Tiyo Soga Primary School in the zone at the crease during the KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme at Tiyo Soga Primary School in Centane on 27 May 2021 © Bheki Radebe/Backpages

Endinakho Marhubeni from Old Bunting JSS playing a lofted hook shot during the KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme hosted at Old Bunting Junior Secondary School in Ngqeleni on 27 May 2021 © Bheki Radebe/Backpages

Old Bunting Junior Secondary School’s Liyema Dlanjwa in full flight as the kids get active during the KFC Mini-Cricket Activation Programme at Old Bunting Junior Secondary School in Ngqeleni on 27 May 2021 © Bheki Radebe/Backpages

Cricket South Africa, SA Schools Rugby and Sporting talk about how schools can return to sport

 

Schools have been told that they can return to sport but what does that mean?

Can you return to sport? 

What does it mean that schools sport has returned?

Are there limits in the way that you can return to sport?

What happens if you break the rules in returning to sport?

We have asked Cricket South Africa, SA Schools Rugby Association and Sporting Lisbon in South Africa to answer these questions for us. There are some clearly defined rules of what schools and clubs can do and come that are not that clear. These rules are common amongst all sports. It will be interesting to see what the take is of governing bodies that deal with both contact and non contact sport.

CGL captain, Protera Women's player and teacher Yolani Fourie KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Seminar

 

Central Gauteng Lions women’s captain, Proteas player and teacher Yolani Fourie talks to Dalin Oliver about her cricket career at the Gauteng KFC Mini-Cricket provincial seminar. Central Gauteng Lions women’s captain, Proteas player and teacher Yolani Fourie talks to Dalin Oliver about her cricket career and women's cricket

Yolani Fourie talks at the KFC Mini-Cricket Seminar about how she has dealt with the lockdown, how she has started playing cricket again as a Protea player, a Gauteng Lions player and as a school coach.

She started playing cricket with her brothers and she played Mini-Cricket but cricket was not that big for girls when she was young and she is happy to see that, through KFC Mini-Cricket, there are a lot more girls playing cricket.

Yolani talks about playing cricket in the subcontinent and playing in front of large crowds. She also talks about being a spinner and bowling in the subcontinent.

Since she started playing cricket, women’s cricket has grown hugely and now she is beginning to see more interest from sponsors. Unfortunately she is getting closer to retiring so she will not be there when women’s cricket get real benefits from the sponsorship.

Following a long hiatus brought about by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, KFC and Cricket South Africa (CSA) are getting ready to launch the new cricket season by hosting virtual KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Seminars throughout the month of October, across the 16 Provincial Unions.

The annual KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Seminars are an important part of planning for the season ahead and the virtual environment will lay the foundation for the return of play once government gives the go ahead, hopefully early in the new year.

CSA’s Mass Participation Coordinator, Buhle Motshegoa, speaks about what Cricket South Africa's plans are for the new season. She sets the standard that is expected from all of the regions and from the nation as a whole.

Cricket South Africa would like the country to play 80 000 matches from when school starts in January until the easter Holidays in April. On the 20th February KFC and Cricket South Africa would like over 5000 matches to be played over the country.

It is time for the kids to get active again.

KFC CSI Manager, Andra Ferreira Nel, congratulated the unsung heroes of the program, that is the coaches, for the amazing work that they have done in the past seasons and asks them to send through their human interest stories so that the nation can see what they do to help kids all over the country.

The KFC Mini-Cricket programme introduces children to the game and is one of South Africa’s biggest grassroot sports development programmes. It is critical foundation stage in the development of South Africa’s future cricketing heroes and is the first phase in CSA’s ‘pipeline to the Proteas’.

 

Interview with Proteas Legend Temba Bavuma about his Foundation and the kids that he mentors

Temba Bavuma is better known for his cricketing ability but he is also very active in mentoring kids from underprivileged backgrounds in South Africa. He is giving them the opportunity to have a chance in life and take the world on as equals with the more affluent kids. His foundation is not only working on helping kids, it is also involved in building sporting facilities. Here is an interview that I did with Temba. For more information about his foundation go to https://www.facebook.com/TBF011/

2019/2020 Khaya Majola Cricket Week Fixtures

The fixtures and format for the 2019/20 Khaya Majola Cricket Week

Day 1 & Day 2: Time Cricket

Day 3: 2 rounds of 20/20 over games

Day 4 & Day 5: 50 Overs will only be decided after the end of the previous days play. The teams will be matched up like for like

Day 1 – 16 December Time Cricket

TEAM 1		TEAM 2	VENUE
Gauteng	vs	Free State	Hart-Davis Oval (Hilton)
KwaZulu-Natal	vs	Western Province	St Charles College Oval
Northerns	vs	KZN Inland	Pietermaritzburg Oval
Eastern Province	vs	Boland	Gaythorne Oval (MHS)
Easterns	vs	Mpumalanga	Patterson Oval (Weston)
SWD	vs	Northern Cape	Weightman Smith (Hilton)
Border	vs	Limpopo	Hannahs (MHS)
Namibia	vs	North West	Meadows (MHS)

Day 2 – 17 December Time Cricket

TEAM 1		TEAM 2	VENUE
Gauteng	vs	KZN Inland	Gaythorne Oval (MHS)
KwaZulu-Natal	vs	Boland	Pietermaritzburg Oval
Northerns	vs	Western Province	St Charles College Oval
Free State	vs	Eastern Province	Hart-Davis Oval (Hilton)
Easterns	vs	Northern Cape	Meadows (MHS)
SDW	vs	Limpopo	Patterson Oval (Weston)
Border	vs	North West	Hannahs (MHS)
Namibia	vs	Mpumalanga	Weightman Smith (Hilton)

Day 3 – 18 December T20 Round 1

TEAM 1		TEAM 2	VENUE
Gauteng	vs	Easterns	Meadows (MHS)
KwaZulu-Natal	vs	SWD	Gaythorne Oval (MHS)
Free State	vs	Mpumalanga	Patterson Oval (Weston)
KZN Inland	vs	Northern Cape	Hannahs (MHS)
Northerns	vs	Border	Pietermaritzburg Oval
Eastern Province	vs	Namibia	Hart-Davis Oval (Hilton)
Western Province	vs	Limpopo	St Charles College Oval
Boland	vs	North West	Weightman Smith (Hilton)

Day 3 – 18 December T20 Round 2

TEAM 1		TEAM 2	VENUE
Gauteng	vs	Mpumalanga	Patterson Oval (Weston)
KwaZulu-Natal	vs	Northern Cape	Hannahs (MHS)
Free State	vs	Easterns	Meadows Oval (MHS)
KZN Inland	vs	SWD	Gaythorne Oval (MHS)
Northerns	vs	Limpopo	St Charles College Oval
Eastern Province	vs	North West	Hart-Davis Oval (Hilton)
Western Province	vs	Border	Pietermaritzburg Oval
Boland	vs	Namibia	Weightman Smith (Hilton)