Gallery

KNYSNA CRICKET NEWS - This past Sunday 20 January, with the weather delivering magnificent conditions for play, the opening of a fourth cricket field at Abbotsfield in Rheenendal and the launch of village cricket in the Garden Route were heralded in with fun, the meeting of friends old and new, and great sportsmanship.

Keith Cretchley of local sports organisation Sport at Backward Point spent more than six months developing property donated to his cause by PG Bison, and on Sunday with the opening of the PG Bison Oval at Abbottsfield, the proof, as they say, was in the pudding when some very memorable cricket memories were made on the new pitch.

Click here for a photo gallery.

Eight teams – hailing from Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and George – took part with all four fields at Abbottsfield, including the new PG Bison Oval, in use. Families gathered around the fields egging on dad or brother, and some playful banter was the order of the day as the outcome of games were not the most important part, but the coming together of communities and developing the sport itself.

Facilities 'for the people'
Cretchley, who also took part in the match held on the new pitch he worked so hard on, said the day brought him and his organisation close to the fruition of his long-standing wish to provide cricket to anyone who wanted to play. "So many people want to play the game, but they need facilities. Our fourth field will hopefully assist in providing this," he said.

The decades-long cricket enthusiast said he hopes the day would bring awareness, not only to participants on the day but to cricket fans in general by word of mouth – that there are fields one can use. "I hope it will spark interest in the rest of the community to get involved in our village cricket initiative as well," he added.

According to both the operational manager and HR manager for PG Bison, Heine Müller and Davy Carelse, the company's reason for allowing Cretchley to build his new pitch is for the benefit of the sport's development and for community upliftment.

A gain for Greater Knysna
Müller said the company's involvement would not stop at making the space available for Cretchley's initiative, but that he hopes it would be a way for communities to come together, and also be utilised for the development of youngsters.

Carlese added that he hopes the initiative would mean development for the broader Rheenendal community. 

"We hope that this new pitch on our property will assist Keith to not only develop the sport at schools in our immediate area but the broader Knysna area as well. This is all about the sport and a good cause," he said, adding that a day such as this, bringing village cricketers together, is a great family outing.

So, between players complimenting Cretchley on the "excellent" pitch he had created and conversations about that 1986 movie Highlander (yes, Knysna-Plett Herald actually heard an in-depth conversation about this old classic starring Sean Connery), not one specific team, but cricket seemed the winner at the end of the day.

'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'