Great excitement surrounds the over-40 interprovincial cricket tournament taking place in Nelson Mandela Bay from May 18-24.
The annual tournament will be hosted by NMU, Gelvandale Cricket Club and Despatch Cricket Club.
EP veterans chairp Nevin Nel says they are ready to showcase the premier competition.
“Veterans cricket is the fastest-growing entity in SA. However, we lack sponsors, and that leads to many promising players withdrawing from the sport,” Nel said.
“Veterans cricket started in 2019 in SA and we started in 2021 in the Eastern Cape. Every year, there is a club championship and interprovincial tournament like the one we are having here and a World Cup.
“There are also over-50 and over-60 sides and we are aspiring for over-70s as well,” Nel said.
The pink ball games promise to bring much enjoyment, and Nel urges young and old to come with their families and enjoy the games
Roger Moult, veteran cricket SA chair, also hopes the people of the Bay come out in their numbers.
“We have many stars taking part in the tournament like former Springbok rugby player Louis Koen, Lundi Mbane of Border, Dewald van Rooyen of Port Elizabeth Cricket Club [PECC], Ryan Nomdoe of Despatch, and Kelvin Hooke of Heatherbank,” Moult said.
SA are the defending World over-40 champions after defeating New Zealand in the final in Cape Town last year.
“After this tournament in the metro, a team will be selected to represent the country in Karachi in December,” Moult said.
The Over-50 World Cup was held in Sri Lanka in February, with the SA team finishing ninth.
Being the defending champions in the over-40 division, Moult says they are looking forward to giving a good performance overseas.
Eastern Province captain Nathan Jones was part of the SA team that lifted the World Cup in Cape Town last year.
Dean Kendall, manager of the EP team, says the player to look out for is Nathaniel Howard of Union Uitenhage.
Eight teams will compete in the tournament in two groups. There will be 45-over matches as well as T20s.
The provinces taking part are EP, Boland, Border, Dolphins, Easterns, Lions, Titans and Western Province.
Arshad Khan, EP veterans vice-chair and tournament director, says it's all systems go, and they are looking forward to a successful event.
Moult added that the love of the game drives the players.
There is no funding available, and each player must provide their own finances.
There are now more or less 2,000 players in the system.
The Herald
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