Local cricket clubs in Thohoyandou have said goodbye to travelling long distances in seeking playing grounds for matches.

The cricket-mad Indian community will now have the opportunity to watch games right on their doorstep, thanks to the Thulamela municipality, which made theThohoyandou Stadium available for local cricket teams. The stadium was officially opened for cricket last week.

The good gesture by the municipality coincided with the formation of a new cricket league in the area, the Thohoyandou United Cricket Club, whereby teams will play on a weekly basis. As a way to celebrate their newly found venue, the stadium was a hive of activity this weekend, with teams from as far as Louis Trichardt battling it out for places in the new league. The teams fought it out via T20 Knockout games.

One of the coordinators and a sponsor, businessman Ayub Madina, said they had suffered for a long time without any place to play their games. “We are very excited. For 20 years that we have been here, we did not have any sporting facility around here and when we played, we had to travel many kilometers to Louis Trichardt. This venue is like a dream come true for us as we have many plans for the local youth,” he said.

Madina said there was a stigma attached to cricket that it was for non-blacks only, but this would soon change when they started training more and more blacks. “The stadium will not only benefit us, but the local community stands to reap as we will soon be starting an under 16 league that will serve as the development phase to prepare for the bigger teams."

Mr Hungall Majit of Mr Build, who is also one of the sponsors of the league, said there would be no more boredom amongst the young and the old. “This is a move in the right direction by the municipality. We have been praying for such a facility for a long time and from now on we will have a place for practice and games,” he said. He said they were now sure to produce a tough squad that would go out and represent the province.

Mr Elvis Booi, sports development officer at the Thulamela Municipality, said the move was a temporary measure. He said they were allowed to use the stadium as it was not being renovated at present. He said they had acquired a 16-hectare space adjacent to the stadium, where they were going to build a sports complex which would house all sports, including cricket. “We have seen the determination from the local cricket clubs which were playing at parking lots. When a request was made for the use of the stadium, we could not stand on their way. This shows how determined we are to develop the game of cricket in this municipality. We hope in the next five years we will have a star from this area, “ he said.

Four teams took part in the opening games. In the game between Madina 11 and Hungall 11, Madina won the toss and decided to bat first. They scored 183 runs in 20 overs and, in reply, Hungall 11 managed to make 174. In the second match, Sasrod 11 beat Louis Trichardt 11 by two wickets.

The next round of games will be continuing on Friday (today).