CSA celebrates 25 years
Cricket South Africa celebrated 25 years of history with an Anniversary Gala Dinner on Monday night with cricketers past and present celebrating the milestone at the Sandton Convention Centre.
A theatrical production told the story of CSA since its re-admission into international cricket.
#CSA25years Celebrating the high's and the low's of an incredible journey of unity and re-awakening. @OfficialCSA pic.twitter.com/0o4LpZGVgD
— Jacaranda FM Sport (@Jacasport) July 25, 2016
There were keynote address from CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat, CSA president Chris Nenzani, Vincent Barnes, the manager at the CSA High Performance Centre, and Standard Bank Proteas Test and ODI captain AB de Villiers.
#CSA25years Celebration - The captain has spoken @ABdeVilliers17 @OfficialCSA pic.twitter.com/VWR1bsOw26
— Jacaranda FM Sport (@Jacasport) July 25, 2016
It was an evening of nostalgia and re-living memories as past and present players, coaches, managers, administrators, commercial partners and the media were invited to what was a massive reunion.
The celebration highlighted the contribution of the pioneers of non-racial cricket in a country previously fractured by Apartheid, where players of colour were denied the right to compete on an even footing with their white countrymen.
De Villiers paid tribute to the founding fathers of the united, non-racial cricketing body, Geoff Dakin, the late Krish Mackerdhuj, Dr Ali Bacher and the democratic South Africa’s first sports Minister Steve Tshwete, who served under late President Nelson Mandela.
Another current Proteas star, Hashim Amla, added: “I think the function was a great reminder for everybody, the way it was presented was really inspiring and I think everyone in the audience really appreciated and enjoyed how the timeline of South African cricket was depicted. It was a great reminder and humbling to be reminded about the great cricketers who have played for this country.”
Former fast bowler and current national bowling coach Charl Langeveldt was happy to learn more about how South Africa was re-introduced into the international fold post-apartheid.
“It’s also nice to learn about what happened behind the scenes and to see who were the pioneers when it all started. They need to get the recognition as well because it was a job well done. If you look at where we are now, just the other day we beat Australia with eight players of colour, so we’ve come a long way when you talk about diversity. At the end, I think we’re achieving what we want to.”
The Silver Jubilee celebration dinner was one of the key events planned as part of the 25-year Anniversary Year.