Data part of Easterns Cricket Union board of directors
Data started playing cricket at a very young age.
Abdul Raheman Data was recently elected to be on the Easterns Cricket Union (ECU) board of directors, at the Actonville Spurs Cricket Club (ASCC) SGM (special general meeting) that was held recently.
Data started playing cricket at a very young age. He played for the ASCC junior and senior cricket teams, captained the directors league team and the promotion side and they won the league under his captaincy.
It was during this period that he decided he would like to get involved in cricket administration and started learning the trade from the elders of the club as to how that part of the game functions.
As the years went by, he recognised what was required to achieve the goals for ASCC and ECU.
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He had served on a number of committees at ASCC before the opportunity and support from members of the ASCC came about to take the reins as the new chairperson of ASCC. This is where all the hard work began, and Data got straight into putting club cricket on the map.
His first goal was to get all the operational parts active with Ekurhuleni and ECU so the fields and club could sustain itself for a long period of time.
The challenges began regarding the maintenance of the club and how administration needed to be run at a club level.
With a functional executive, the club could start implementing certain rules and regulations with its members.
The club began to appoint auditors, using stricter finance policies. With all these implementations, the club’s donation and sponsorship figures began to rise.
The club was ultimately in a position to be marketed.
As chairperson, Data has overseen many teams that have played at their facility, including international teams, and he has been the chairperson for 10 years.
Data has many achievements and moments to be proud of at ASCC, like being a committee member for club cricket, DC committee member, signed various shirt and club sponsors, successful Lotto grant application, successful grant-in-aid from Ekurhuleni, successful fund-raisers for ASCC. He received a lifetime contribution award from the club in 2013, numerous administration awards from the club during his term as chairperson, managed the Rising Stars franchise and led them to victory in the Easterns T20 Battle of the Roses (Indian Premier League-styled competition) in 2017 and was a recipient of the Man of Valor award 2018 for service to the game of cricket.
ASCC premier league side beat Springs Old Boys by nine wickets recently.
“The win was the perfect send off for former chairperson Data,” said Zunaid Seedat, public relations officer for ASCC.
“We will miss him and know he will always be our biggest supporter.
“I have served with him on the executive committee for seven years and firmly believe we have the right structures in place now to ensure a smooth transition.
“We wish him all the best.”
