Thriving club to celebrate 40th birthday
WHILE the NMB Premier League speeds along to the halfway closure for the season, Gelvandale Cricket Club has been given the weekend off to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
The club’s members have been instrumental in developing talent in the northern areas, and their success can be measured by the fact that their Premier League side came painfully close to winning the league.
It also has an abundance of junior teams, which will help to ensure further the success of the club for seasons to come.
Started by teachers who organised children to participate in sport during the township riots in 1976 and 1977, the club has grown over the years and continues to be a shining example to the cricket fraternity in Port Elizabeth.
It is in partnership with four primary schools and three high schools from the community, assisting the pupils to develop their cricket.
This weekend, arguably its most famous graduate, Ashwell Prince, will play in the club’s golf day at PE Golf Club today.
The day will tee off from 11.15am and there will also be a whisky-tasting session from 4pm before the prizegiving at 6pm.
Former Proteas batsman and now Cobras coach Prince will also be the club’s guest speaker at a gala dinner at the Fairview Sports Complex, starting at 6.30pm tomorrow.
While Gelvandale celebrates its success over the years, its rivals will be battling it out on the field. With only two 50-overs matches scheduled, the focus will fall on the Mayoral T20 Cup.
Fixtures for the weekend are: 50 overs: Tomorrow: Despatch v SA Home Loans Union Sunday: Seaman’s Renault Old Grey v Motherwell T20 Mayoral Cup: Tomorrow, At Freeplay Park, 10am: Jendamark United v Old Grey; At NU1, 10am: Motherwell v Schauderville, 2pm: United Brothers v Schauderville Sunday, At Despatch, 10am: Despatch v United, 2pm: Despatch v PECC; At Old Muir 1, 2pm: Mechatronic Uitenhage v United Brothers. ý THE latest T20 standings, according to the log-keeper, are (matches played in brackets): Pool A: 1 Gelvandale 10 (4), 2 PECC 4 (3), 3 United 2 (2), 4 Old Grey 2 (3), 5 Despatch 1 (2) Pool B: 1 Union 7 (4), 2 Uitenhage 5 (3), 3 Motherwell 2 (3), 4 United Brothers 2 (2), 5 Schauderville 1 (2).