Cape Town - The iconic Newlands Cricket Stadium played host to several exciting matches on Thursday – but with a twist.
This came as the Sporting Chance Development Foundation and Lord’s Taverners South Africa hosted its third Table Cricket Festival for children living with disabilities.
Table cricket is an adapted version of cricket played on a table tennis platform, providing those with disabilities an inclusive platform to participate and compete.
Using their fingers, the bowler rolls the ball to the batsman, who then attempts to score as many runs as possible by striking the ball with a miniature bat onto the points areas on the table’s side.
In 14 teams, 100 girls and boys with various degrees of disability, aged 9 to 15 years, participated in the Table Cricket Festival on Thursday.
The exciting game is centred around team building, said Natalie Pollock, general manager of Sporting Chance. She said the sport was being rolled out at special needs schools in and around the Western Cape.
Developed in the UK by Doug Williamson of Nottingham Trent University, the game was introduced to SA five years ago.
It is designed to enhance handeye co-ordination, numeracy skills and self-esteem among its players.
“A lot of the Paralympic sports are individual, so this is an opportunity for them to feel part of a team,” she said.
“Every child that is part of Table Cricket at their school was able to come and participate.”
Each team played three matches at the festival, during which the learners displayed cricketing skills despite their limitations.
The schools that participated were Astra, St Joseph’s Marist College, St Joseph’s Montana, Eros, Vista Nova Primary, Thembelethu Special Needs School, and Filia School.
Emilio Dambuzo, an 11-year-old from Vista Nova, was full of excitement as he was on a mission to score as many runs as possible.
“Yes, this is my first time playing and yes I was excited to bowl and bat,” he said.
Despite using a wheelchair, Dambuzo said he wants to pursue his dream of being a fireman.
“Well, they help people who are in danger. Either a fireman or a scientist,” he said.
Thembelethu’s 11-year-old team captain, Xola Jita, who scored an impressive 16 runs against St Joseph’s Marist, said the matches were fun but also competitive.
“We thought we were going to lose against the big guys but Thembelethu has got the power.”
With a long-term vision to extend table cricket to adults with disabilities, the initiative seeks to create a lasting impact on South Africa’s disability sports landscape.
Pollock added: “At the moment we just base it on special needs schools but we plan to take it to adults, community centres and to grow it.”