Bowled over at mini fest

POLOKWANE – KFC Polokwane and Cricket South Africa officially launched the first KFC Mini-Cricket Pre-Schools Festival at the Polokwane Cricket Club on Saturday.

Over 320 players aged between four and nine from Jungle Tots, Angels Play Pre-School, Little Blessings, Bet-Shalom Christian School, Christian Achievers School, Kraaines Pre-School, Mickey and Minnie, Erika Pre-Primary School and Pemps took part in the festival.

Cheray van Blerk, Polokwane KFC marketing manager, said the festival was an opportunity for young boys and girls to get introduced to cricket. “This soft-ball level gives children the enjoyment that comes with participating in a team sport and gets them up to date with the basics of cricket, such as batting, bowling and fielding. The main aim of the festival is to provide the game of cricket in its simplest form to young children, while making it enjoyable,” she said.

Van Blerk said KFC Mini-Cricket was one of KFC’s projects that gave back to the community by promoting an active lifestyle among young boys and girls. She said the festival was a success and would be held annually. She thanked the schools that took part and the parents for their support. She said Limpopo Impala Cricket also assisted a lot by donating four bats, four stumps and two balls to each school that participated.

“We plan to host a coaching course for fathers somewhere in June, and dates and venues of this course are still to be confirmed. We are happy to give back to the community,” she said. Thabo Semenya of Limpopo Impala Cricket said the event was a major success and he looked forward to next year’s festival.