The scheme is in collaboration between the schools that offer the education and Willowton Group through the Sunfoil Cooking Oil Brand.

Smangaliso Nhlebela from Lindelani Township had been enrolled to Glenwood High School and will doing his matric this year, while Mluleki Vilakazi from Lindelani Township, will be attending Durban High School (DHS) and Manqoba Gwala will be at Northwood High School.

Two much younger boys – 10-year-old Nqobile Msomi and 11-year-old Sanele Mnqanyi – will soon be at their desks at Glenwood Preparatory School in 2013. Msomi and Mnqanyi’s cricket talents had been discovered when they played KZN Under-11 last season.

The bursary scheme began in 2009. This year, a total of 13 young boys will be attending schools in Durban.

Willowton Group, a family owned business which manufactures Sunfoil Triple Refined Pure Sunflower cooking oil as well as other high-quality brands such as Sunshine D, D’lite and Nuvolite has been a passionate supporter of cricket, beginning at grassroots level and extending to the sponsorship of the Sunfoil Dolphins franchise as well as the national team with Proteas Test cricket.

“Our association with cricket started at grassroots level. If it hadn’t been for that, we wouldn’t have got to the point where we were sponsoring the Sunfoil Dolphins or the Proteas. Willowton Group hopes to unite children through the game of cricket and show them that they can rise above any circumstance with the right attitude. Perseverance and hard work makes any dream is achievable. Empowering children through sport is just one of the ways that we hope to help uplift communities throughout South Africa,” said Abdul Razak Moosa, Willowton Group’s CEO.

One of the success stories from the Willowton bursary programme is Cyril Mthimkhulu who passed his matric at Glenwood High School at the end of 2011. While at school, he played for the Glenwood 1st team and represented the KZN Schools under-19 team. Now studying at the Management College of Southern Africa (Mancosa), he plays for the KZN Cubs which is a Franchise U19 team. He is also enjoying coaching, having been selected for this year’s Sunfoil Dolphins Academy.

The Sunfoil sponsorship programme forms part of the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union’s township initiative. This was created to build a “township culture” for cricket that will not only grow a love for the sport but also inspire young people to play.

Sunfoil Dolphins’ Township/Rural manager, Linda Zondi, said the purpose of the Township Cricket initiative was to identify boys with talent and give them an opportunity for coaching and good education so that, when they finished school, they could be in a better position to win a place to play for the Sunfoil Dolphins and Proteas.

“We believe it all begins in the townships. If we can identify boys with talent and give them the coaching/training and assistance they need, they will have the opportunity to achieve. When they finish school, these are the boys that we want to see at the Dolphins Academy. This is how we can slowly change cricket in South Africa,” he said.

In this programme, 23 cricket coaches are working in townships across the province and are playing an important role in nurturing the still fledgling cricket culture in townships and rural areas.

Children are grouped into clubs depending on where they live. “There are currently 47 township teams and we are definitely seeing progress. The results for the last season bear this out. The Under 15 INK (a team made up of children from four different townships, Inanda, Lindelani, Kwa Mashu including Ntuzuma (INK) was placed second and beat a lot of good schools/teams. In the Under 13 category, we were placed first and second. In the Under 11, the INK team was joint winner with Crusaders,” Zondi said.

Talent is identified mid-year and, during the July school holidays, 400 children meet for a week long Sunfoil Development Tournament in Umlazi. The best players are selected for the six schools teams – Under-19 A and B, Under-15 A and B, Under-14 A and B and Under-11. These six teams are than included in the KZNCU Tradition Schools cricket leagues.

“By strengthening club cricket, we strengthen school teams. Our players will go through playing on merit. By the time these primary school boys reach the Under-19 team, we will be a force to be reckoned with,” he adds.

Louis Ardé, principal at Glenwood Preparatory School, said that the school was excited to be taking on its first two learners from the cricket programme. He said the school approached its role as one, which facilitated both accommodating and mentoring the newcomers so that they reached their full potential both academically and in sport. The financial support provided via various private individuals and companies, not only includes school fees but also school uniforms, a meal at the school at lunchtime and funds for transport to and from school.

“With a chance to further their education at a school such as this at such an early age, these young boys have a bright future ahead of them,” he said.

Zondi added that both boys were already a credit to their coaches and were hard workers who were committed both to cricket and to their studies.