It will be a celebration of epic proportions when the annual Ngumbela cricket tournament – which celebrates its 30th anniversary – is hosted at the Ngumbela Sports Grounds in Healdtown next Sunday.
The popular tournament has been an annual feature since the first ball was bowled in 1989. It always draws a full-house of supporters to watch its champ of champs final on the first Sunday of every year.
“I am very excited, this is the 30th year anniversary of this tournament, I started in 1989. I have watched it grow every year and seen players who have made their name in the tournament go onto bigger things, so I am very proud,” said founder Mthetheleli Ngumbela.
“I am so happy to see that all the money I have put into uplifting cricket in Healdtown has gone to good use. When I see these children and youngsters interested in cricket and coming out to watch the tournament and then eventually play in it, it makes me very happy.
“And I will not stop, there is still a lot to do and I want to keep it going for as long as I can,” he added.
Some cracking games of cricket are on the cards, especially as a number of exciting finals have been battled out at the venue over the last few years.
As always, the winner of the Healdtown stream will take on the winner of the Alice stream in the final, and, with the Healdtown stream having claimed the title over the past few years, the Alice stream will be desperate to unseat them.
“It is going to be a very exciting match because there are no teams that can say they are better than another. They have all got a chance so it will be a wonderful occasion and great way to finish the tournament,” said Ngumbela.
Last year three pavilion stands were launched and named after well-known cricket greats to emerge from Healdtown and the surrounding areas, namely, Lindi Churchill Mdlalo, Phila Sigila and Foster Ntshona.
That is where the fans will sit and enjoy the match from prime vantage points. They will also all be treated to lunch by Ngumbela, who provides everyone who comes to watch the final with something to eat.
“We opened up these stands for my friends and colleagues who have helped this tournament over the years,” said Ngumbela.
“One of them being my friend Lindi Churchil Mdlalo who helped Healdtown get their first Ngumbela Tournament win in 1994, and he died after the team won that match, so I was so happy to honour him in that way.”
In all it is set to be a very festive and enjoyable occasion for the local community, and the teams who make it to the final always relish the opportunity to play in front of a full-house of supporters, which will get the new year off to the perfect start.
“I am so excited with how the tournament has gone over the last 30 years. To keep it going over all that time and still make sure everything comes off all right is difficult, but we do it every year,” said Ngumbela.
“Even the government for the first time, have given me something…they have finally come to the party, so for the first time I will not be throwing stones at them, I will be thanking them, this year I am praising them for how they are helping me, which makes me very happy,” he said.
“What I have built there and what you can see there comes all out of my own pocket, so I am very proud of how it looks, the field and the scoreboard, the pavilion and the players areas, it is all done up nicely.”
..