The township cricket team started by a Bathurst farmer’s son may not have won the coveted R500 000 Jack Cheetham Award but this has not stopped them from dreaming big, writes David Macgregor of The Daily Dispatch.
Still amazed that the Tiger Titans had placed second and won R50000, 14-year-old Ross McCreath on Wednesday joked he would now have to “downscale our dreams by 10.”
“We are a very young club and it is fantastic that we won something. The winners deserved it more …they have been around a long time and even produced Springbok wrestlers,” Ross said. The prestigious award was won by the Welkom Wrestling Club which has produced several black Springbok wrestlers since it was started in 1992 by Jan Bezuidenhout, a Welkom farmer and former Springbok wrestler and coach.
Describing yesterday how he was “overwhelmed” by support from the 500-strong crowd – which included “executives, politicians, English Lords and Ladies and Paralympians” – McCreath vowed the team would be back next year for another bite at the cherry.
“We were asked to try again … we will be back, bigger and better next time,” he vowed.
Unsure of how the money would be spent, McCreath said R15000 would be set aside to improve the coaching skills of volunteers – including 21-year-old Mduduzi Mkalipi and 69-year-old Gladman Xali. “I must think about it … we can either fix the field or put the money in a fund to build a clubhouse.”
The youngest ever nominee for the award, McCreath’s enthusiasm for the project struck a chord with everyone he met.
Murray and Roberts consultant Lesley Lambert – who assists with the Jack Cheetham Awards – said the selection panel was “very impressed with what a person so young had already achieved”. “Ross and the story of the Tiger Titans had enormous emotional appeal with our guests and many people would have liked him to win. It is inspiring … Ross is an incredibly sensible and pioneering young man.” Lambert said although only 14, Ross’s skills in developing relationships and “facilitating support from all quarters” – including local municipal officials, EP Cricket, township youth and even Xali – were impressive.
Although excited the young club had won R50000, McCreath on Wednesday said he was now focusing on helping his school, St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown, beat the Tiger Titans in a return match on Saturday. “They beat us last time … I am hoping we can win this time.”
MNet Carte Blanche Interview with Ross
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