Kenton cricket club has big plans
The Kenton Cricket Club has reached a decade of existence, and with very little financial assistance.
As such, the aim this year is to promote the club more.
“So we’ve organised a special fundraising day with former SA rugby international Danie Gerber on July 16.
“The day will include a six-aside touch rugby round robin competition and a marqee where you can watch the third rugby Test, Wales vs Springboks, with Danie.
“Plus there is an auction of some sought-after memorabilia,” the club announced.
But first a little bit about the club: Kenton Cricket Club was the idea of a group of local players, with Tobie de Clercq at the helm. There was no local cricket club. The Grahamstown Cricket Board accepted their application in 2010 and they played their first game as KCC on the Seven Fountains cricket fields that same year. They initially had to use the Seven Fountains cricket fields as their home base.
Then as luck had it, there were huge floods in Port Alfred in 2012, with rock and mud slides on to the hospital cricket field.
The Pineapple Tournament was in desperate need of grounds.
This initiated the build of the present cricket field in Bushmans River Mouth, which became the Kenton Cricket Club home base.
The field is built on private ground owned by the Pedro Vertue farming trust. The same trust had
started the Diaz One pigeon racing loft. From there it incorporated the Kenton Cricket Club, the Golf driving range and the local Bushmans Kenton Pigeon Club.
A real countryside sports club slowly but surely was initiated and grew without much effort.
The cricket pitch was excavated, levelled and concreted within three weeks, and carpeted, all with assistance from the Albany Cricket Board, Pineapple Tournament and the ground owners.
After ten years, and with little financial assistance, the club would
like to get locals more involved. The Danie Gerber fundraiser is almost the first real project attempted by Kenton cricket.
Kenton cricket has always been dependent on local business sponsors, for which it is immensely grateful.
The fundraiser will assist with building practise nets, improving the pitch, plans for a development academy and other costs.