Photo Credit: Dolphins Cricket
Amidst turbulent times in South Africa and the Covid-19 pandemic, the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union (KZNCU) hosted a successful Annual General Meeting where the Union reflected on the past twelve months.
The reflection commenced with a moment of silence in respect of those members that the cricket family sadly lost during the past year.
This year’s meeting was the thirtieth edition of the yearly review and provided an opportunity for the union to reflect on another strong season on and off the field as well as usher in a new era under a new president Yunus Bobat.
Bobat takes over the reigns from Daniel Govender who will resume his term as one of two KZNCU Vice-presidents, along with Victor Xulu. Govender filled the vacancy that was left by the sad passing of former KZNCU President, Mr Ben Dladla. Govender has also recently been elected to serve as a Non-Independent Director of the Cricket South Africa Board of Directors. In another change to the make-up of the hierarchy, Dilip Hariram takes over the role of treasurer for the union in place of the outgoing Michael Govender.
It was another successful year for cricket in KwaZulu-Natal with its flagship team the Hollywoodbets Dolphins winning two trophies and reaching the final of the CSA T20 Challenge.
Not only were they the stand-out franchise this season but they won the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series for the second time in the franchise era and will go down in the record books as the last franchise to win the coveted red-ball title.
For CEO Heinrich Strydom, the past season, despite its challenges, was hugely rewarding for the union which is hoping to back up it’s number one affiliate status this season after winning it at the end of last season.
“KZN Cricket experienced another great season on and off the field, and with pride and humility we reflect on those special accolades achieved under abnormal circumstances,” Strydom said.
“We celebrated phenomenal achievements, trophies, Protea call-ups and the successful hosting of 24 televised matches at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in a bio-secure environment.
“Off the field we managed to achieve positive financial results, an unqualified audit report and increased our investment portfolio whilst most importantly we managed to retain all our staff.”
“Our partners were simply incredible with their support and assistance in every possible way. Their support made it possible for us to not only survive but thrive during a year when most sporting bodies and businesses struggled.”
There were a handful of office bearers and Manco members at KZN Cricket whose tenures came to an end. Rajesh Sookay, Prof Logan Naidoo, Mike Govender and Ruben Reddy have served the union professionally throughout their time.
“They brought a wealth of experience and institutional knowledge that made their contributions priceless,” KZNCU Vice-President Daniel Govender said.
“I wish them well in their future endeavours and would like to reiterate the fact that they will always have a special place in the KZN Cricket family,” Govender concluded.
Read the full Annual Report here
Name of Author: Dolphins Cricket
The Hollywoodbets Dolphins represent KwaZulu-Natal (Coastal) in South Africa. They compete in the CSA 4-Day Series, Momentum One-Day Cup, and Mzansi Super League T20. Their home venues are Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban and Pietermaritzburg Oval in Pietermaritzburg.
