Giyani cricket nurtures talent against all odds

LIMPOPO – Despite battling a lack of facilities and resources, Giyani Cricket Hub is making impressive strides in nurturing young talent, with two under-13 learners recently selected to represent Limpopo at the provincial level.

Founded by head coach Dingani Mathonsi, the organisation operates under Limpopo Cricket to bring together learners from schools across Giyani. Its programme, funded by Limpopo Impala Cricket, includes mini cricket for u/10s and competitive leagues for the ages 11 to 19.

“So far, we have two u/13 kids who have been selected to play at the provincial level in Polokwane next week. We had trials about two weeks ago, and they passed. If successful, there are chances that they will form part of the team that will represent the province in Cape Town in December,” Mathonsi said.

Giyani Cricket’s activities are extensive, ranging from school visits to talent scouting and training sessions held at the local tennis court and Giyani Comprehensive School. At these venues, teams are formed for the u/11, u/13, u/15 and u/19 categories.

Currently, the u/19 team is competing against schools in Phalaborwa, Duiwelskloof and Tzaneen, with matches running until Thursday. After the school league concludes, attention will shift to the SA20 Tournament, which kicks off next week at Stanford in Tzaneen.

While achievements on the field are encouraging, Mathonsi stressed that the programme faces significant hurdles. Leading among the challenges is the lack of cricket facilities in Giyani. “What we need most in Giyani is proper cricket facilities to help us develop kids in cricket.

At the moment, we train on tennis courts, and that is not enough, because it becomes a challenge when they have to play on proper cricket grounds with lawns.

In most cases, we see them struggling to adapt to new lawn grounds,” he explained.

Beyond the lack of sports facilities, food insecurity is another pressing issue. Many of the young cricketers come from deep rural areas and lack access to proper nutritional food. While Limpopo Cricket funds transport on match days, meals are often not provided, leaving the players to fend for themselves. “Cricket games are long, lasting up to seven hours. You can imagine a kid with nothing in their stomach trying to last that long,” Mathonsi said.

“We sometimes rely on school feeding schemes, but that is not reliable. What we need are sponsors who can help us with food parcels for the kids when we go out to play,” continued Mathonsi, adding that the lack of nutritious food also affects the physical development of players.

“If you look at our kids, they appear frail compared to those from private schools, who eat better and have stronger builds,” Mathonsi noted.

Despite these challenges, Giyani Cricket remains committed to its mission of promoting the sport in the area.

With more support, Mathonsi believes Giyani could produce top-level players who can compete nationally and internationally. “These children have talent and passion. All they need is proper support, facilities, food, and the right opportunities to thrive,” he said.