Cricket is starting to take off amongst the San community following a collaboration between the N/a’an ku sê Foundation and Windhoek Old Boys Cricket Club.
Since 2003, the N/a’an ku sê Foundation has been uplifting and supporting the indigenous San communities of Namibia, establishing amongst others a healthcare facility in the Omaheke Region and four schools located across Namibia.
About 50 San children now play the game from u9 to u19 level, while about 20 of them now regularly turn out for WHS Old Boys’ second and third teams in the Namibian cricket league.
The first cricket seeds were planted about 10 years ago when the founders of the N/a’an ku sê Foundation, Dr Rudi van Vuuren and his wife Marlice, indirectly became involved, as Marlice explained.
“Our sons Zacheo and Nicklai started playing cricket with their mates on a soccer field on the farm at Naankuse about ten years ago. The bug soon bit and a lot of the kids on the farm started playing the game. Now we have entered four teams into the school leagues in various age group categories, while we also have an all-girls team,” Marlice said yesterday.
Her own sons have developed into top talents with Zacheo representing Namibia at last year’s u19 World Cup, and making his senior debut in a T20 match against Uganda this year, while Nicklai has represented Namiba at u13 level.
Father Rudi is today the president of Cricket Namibia, while he holds a unique world record as the only person to have represented his country at both a cricket world cup and a rugby world cup in the same year, in 2003.
The foundation has now started collaborating with Afri-Track Group, the official sponsor of WHS Old Boys, to help spread the game amongst the San community.
WHSOB’s third team, also known as their development team, is now using players from the schools of the N/a’an ku sê Foundation. Predominantly San learners of all ages are invited to play for the development team, their skills being honed and talents identified. Cricket leadership skills are also determined, those children displaying innate skills and leadership qualities encouraged to play for the second team and ultimately fill cricket captaincy roles.
According to Marlice, cricket has provided them with a dream to pursue.
“They love cricket – they love playing competitively, but they can also see that Cricket Namibia is providing them with an opportunity to play the game professionally. Many of them come from broken homes without a mother or a father or both parents, so cricket gives them a dream where they can see themselves playing professionally one day,” she said.
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