Florida Cricket Club gifted rare chance of gracing the Bullring
“We are extremely grateful for the opportunity awarded to us by the CGL CEO, Mr Jono Leaf-Wright, the CGL Board and Administrators.”
From the first balls bowled in the backyard, every cricketers dreams of gracing any of the great cricketing cathedrals.
Heavy rains, fixture shuffles and venue clashes presented Florida Cricket Club with the rarest of opportunities. The club’s First XI, playing in the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) Premier B League, were offered the chance to be the home team at Imperial Wanderers Stadium for their 14 February opening fixture against Crescents Cricket Club.
“When I saw ‘Wanderers’ listed on the fixtures, I couldn’t believe it and had to double-check that it wasn’t the Wanderers Club across the road,” laughed Florida Cricket Club Chairman, Zaid Kimmie. “It was a day to remember for our young club and its members being afforded the privileged opportunity to play at the iconic Imperial Wanderers Stadium,” he continued.
Florida would not let the opportunity go to waste, ensuring the memory would be a positive one. Zaid recounted, “The team approached the game full of excitement and with somewhat nervous energy. Captain Deen Kimmie led from the front with a sensational knock of 122 not out to create a solid platform. Katlego Sempe and Kushdeep Nanra also made valuable contributions, scoring 64 and 66 runs respectively.”
Crescents would begin their chase of the 303 runs set by Florida well, but would lose momentum throughout the innings. “Significant bowling contributions from Xavier Khun, Mthabisi Dube and Damian Plotini secured a memorable victory, beating Crescents Cricket Club by 113 runs,” recalled Zaid.
The club is no longer based at Trezona Park but lives a nomadic life bouncing between school pitches, playing fixtures at Florida Park High, Curro Aurora and Hoërskool Linden.
Hope is that a permanent home can be agreed upon but for now, the Bullring lives fresh in the memory. Appreciatively, Zaid said, “We are extremely grateful for the opportunity awarded to us by the CGL CEO, Mr Jono Leaf-Wright, the CGL Board and Administrators.”
