The Hanover Park Cricket Club traded the occasional red ball for something much smaller when they held their annual Golf Day fundraiser on Thursday.
The four-ball golf day aimed at securing sustainable growth for the young cricketers took place at the Rondebosch Golf Club on Thursday.
Club exco member, Gino Bloys, says the funds raised will give the club a massive boost.
He says: “This helps big time with transport, paying coaches helping the day-to-day operations of the club.”
The local cricket season is set to kick off with a pre-season match in September and will officially start in October 2024 and will run until March 2025.
Blys explains: “This is a community club. We need a title sponsor after losing it last year. As you can see it's sold out so this will go a long way to the community.”
Over thirty golfers, both amateurs and pros, took the course intending to give back to a community that has been plagued with social ills.
To help the club and also produce the next Proteas star, former SA batsmen Herschelle Gibbs and Ashwell Prince took part in the sold-out event.
Given the numerous obstacles the club and its players face, Gibbs says that supporting the golf day was a worthwhile initiative.
The Cape legend says: “Raising the money for Hanover Park Cricket Club, I understand the challenges they face and any amount of money will benefit them. Happy to be supporting them.
“It all started in very similar conditions in a place all those years ago I understood what they were going through.”
Prince adds: “It is a real privilege to be here and support. I know what it means to come from a similar type of community and you are relying on the support of your club members.”
Over the past ten years, the team has played three times at the iconic Newlands Cricket Ground and been promoted multiple times in its league.
They now boast five mini-cricket teams in addition to four senior teams, a women's team, a veterans squad, and junior teams.
Bloys adds that this is only the beginning of a new era for the club which is on the right path of developing the sport.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za