The organisers of the 20/20 cricket tournament at the Thohoyandou Technical School’s grounds on Sunday said that even though they had extended an invitation to all who live in Thohoyandou to join them, only a few locals have heeded the call.

The final match was between Bad Boys and the defending champions, Choice XI, who successfully defended the title by beating their opponents by three runs in a fiercely contested game.

When addressing the guests, one of the coordinators of the tournament, Mr Ayub Madina, said the tournament was aimed at developing cricket in the whole of Thohoyandou. “We are part of this community and not isolated from the rest of it. We are worried that only a handful of local community members are taking an interest in the game. We are still extending our invitation to the whole community to join us,” said Madina.

He also appealed to the municipality to make provision for them to have playing grounds for the teams around Thohoyandou.

In handing over the prizes, Cllr Tshifhango expressed his dissatisfaction and said they were not happy with the composition of the teams, which were not representative of the rainbow nation. “Inasmuch as we support this sport in terms of infrastructure, we would love to see blacks also participating in such tournaments. Let these tournaments be a uniting factor between all who stay in Thohoyandou,” he said.

Haroon Kismat received the award for player of the tournament, while Mohsin Kaduji was the best bowler.