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The inner city will soon have its own cricket pitch, evoking the neighbourliness of the "village oval". Also on the cards is an inner city primary school league.
The plan for the oval
THE thwack of leather on willow, and the shouts of "howzat" by men dressed in white are finally coming to the Ellis Park precinct; in just over a month, residents of the inner city will get their own cricket oval.
Forming part of the massive upgrade of the Ellis Park precinct, which will be completed in May - just before the Confederations Cup kicks off - the new cricket oval is "a first for the inner city" confirms Joselyne Davids, the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) project manager overseeing the project.
The new pitch will replace what was once a barren field, used mostly for soccer by locals. And not any soccer either - this was the home ground of some serious and sometimes dangerous gambling soccer games.
Situated on Thames and Fuller streets in Bertrams, the oval is directly opposite Ellis Park and Johannesburg stadiums and will be used as additional parking space during the Confederations Cup, says Davids.
The grounds will be managed and maintained by the Joburg Cricket Club (JCC). "It will be for the community and another sporting code we bring into the precinct," she says.
And there is even more in store for the area around Ellis Park. "We are also looking at extreme sports such as BMX-ing and skateboarding." The extreme sports facility will be built on the corner of Miller and Dawe streets and be ready by early 2010. It is in the preliminary planning phases.
Home ground
The cricket oval will be the JCC's first "home ground", says an elated Indarin Govender, the chairperson of the club.
Upgrading the Ellis Park precinct
Created in 1993 as the Chatsworth Old Boys (COB) Cricket Club in Bertrams, it changed its name in recognition of this city being the place that re-connected the founders of the club, some 16 years ago.
Until now, it has been a club in search of a home ground, which survived thanks to the goodwill of the education campus of the University of the Witwatersrand.
"At beginning 2007, we were given our final notice to vacate these premises," says Govender. "At this point the persistent words of the late founding chairman rang loud for all of us to hear once again: ‘Without our own home ground our club is but a figment of our imagination destined to disappear like so many before it.'
"We approached Achmed Badat of the JDA, who was often seen talking up this regeneration effort in the Bertrams-Troyeville area. We told him we would like to work with him in rooting cricket in this part of town and thus began our talks with the JDA in early 2007."
This gave the club a new lease of life; it was the perfect tonic to do what its founders always dreamed of, namely to give back to others what the game had given to them.
"The passing on of life's lesson of lasting friendships and human solidarity can now happen and we were not going to let this opportunity pass us by."
The new development - including the club house building and landscaping - will create the visual and aesthetic ambience of a village oval, he says. Part of the upgrade will include a one-storey clubhouse with extensions, adding facilities such as toilets for the disabled, VIP seating, offices and a boardroom.
The inner city areas comprise a colourful mix of people from the African diaspora, and the JCC hopes to leave a lasting legacy of hope for the whole community, says Govender. The club has made a substantial financial contribution to the project, and among other things, has donated six state-of-the-art floodlights for the grounds.
"It is not just about bricks and mortar. This project has the opportunity to create a sense of place and hope for the community," he reiterates.
Included in the design is the use of 44 indigenous trees, including the striking fever tree, to designate the oval's boundary. They will be planted in memory of the founding member and first chairman of the JCC, Neville Govender, who was instrumental in fighting for such a facility for the inner city in the first place. He passed away in 2007 at the age of 44.
The club's history will be told by those closely associated with it through this tree project. These individuals will be given a tree to name and capture some memory of the club.
Primary school league
The JCC has many plans for the new facility, including starting a cricket academy focusing on under-nine and under-11 children from the neighbourhood.
"To give meaning to this facility we also need to engage schools in the area. We are starting at ground level and therefore primary schools are the natural place to start. "
The club has already approached schools in the area to facilitate the formation of a primary schools league for inner city communities. Schools near the oval and those most in need of cricket grounds will have priority use of the facility.
"Our cricket youth projects are central to the club's vision of introducing the skill and enjoyment of the game to children from the area."
"Let us not forget that the community now has one more sport to watch, one more team to support and one more home-grown star to conceive."
Before long, the next Makhaya Ntini or Hashim Amla may well be bowling or batting from either "the three oaks end" or the "true north end".
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