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It is just after three in the afternoon on a Friday and 22-year-old Sinelethu Yaso is in her favorite spot. Her pristine cricket gear pop against the synthetic green turf, while upbeat rhythms of South African music drift on the breeze as she walks in to deliver.

Past the field, in the township area of Khayelitsha, clothes flutters on a metal and the September sun shines off a tin lean-to.

The tall young woman received instructions to go easy on her opponents – an under-13 boys’ team – but Yaso’s flawless technique are enough to induce three successive failed attempts.

With her next pitch, the batsman finally makes contact. The result is to pop it up to Yaso, who nonchalantly catches the catch.

Viewing the game from his plastic chair on the boundary is a ex- test cricketer and coach. “There’s some amazing skill in the townships,” he comments. “The missing piece is opportunity.”

The players on the pitch are all part of a not-for-profit initiative started in 2014. Establishing a outreach program after retiring the sport is not rare – but the strategy certainly is.

Rather than trying to identify gifted players in the areas and then give them opportunities to wealthy schools or universities in privileged areas, the program is all about establishing world-class resources inside the communities.

Yaso was initially exposed to cricket in 2015. “Her instructor was also a cricket coach,” she recalls. “On one occasion I noticed the practice area, and he encouraged me if I was interested to pitch.”

Yaso – who has always been a head taller than her teammates – turned out to be a talented. Through the coaching of a committed girls’ program leader, Yaso has advanced swiftly through the teams, competing for a series of junior teams before being selected to join the senior side in 2021.

“Early on I felt pressure,” she admits. “With experience I got confident. I learned how the field behaves … it matches my style actually.”

Yaso frequents the facility regularly, whether or not she has a training: “I don’t want to think about my life missing cricket.”

“It hadn’t been a early aspiration,” she reflects, “however now with the community around me, it is greater than cricket – it feels like I’ve made a second home.”

I was lucky in that this game offered me so much. Now’s my chance to return the favor

The initiative started in 2014, when the organizer teamed up with a educator to assess eight schools in the township.

“I’d just finished a coaching role, so I had some time on my hands,” says the founder. “I thought there was an opportunity to explore how the game was performing in the communities near my home.”

He was surprised to find that not one of the schools he assessed played cricket – or any sport for that matter. After speaking to the schools’ administrators and using his network to secure resources, he got cricket nets established at multiple schools in the area and three coaches employed.

Over the years, the resources have been enhanced – with an artificial pitch added in 2020 and a multi-lane cricket facility a year later – and the programme expanded to include academic support who help the children with their homework and ongoing workshops on topics such as wellness, awareness, and money management. Today, multiple coaches and over 400 players aged six to 19 access the venue six or seven days a week throughout the year.

According to the women’s program leader: “Many of those kids aren’t going to make a career from cricket, but they are all gaining from cricket. The center is like a vision … it serves as a home for everyone.”

One of the advantages that cricket offered was the chance to travel overseas and explore different nations. While private schools in South Africa frequently take cricket teams on journeys abroad, local cricketers are blessed if they ever explore outside their own community.

Previously, during a men’s World Cup, the founder took a boys’ team to the UK. “That became one of the most memorable experiences of my sports career,” comments the former player.

In the coming year, to align with the international event, the organizer will be taking a women’s squad to the birthplace of cricket. “I long to go to England, to the famous ground,” says Yaso, who is hoping to be selected. “It’s a dream I have been anticipating … it means so much.”

The leader is equally excited. “It’s going to be a great opportunity to share,” she notes. “Everyone is excited – it will be the most amazing experience for the players.”

The coach feels grateful. “In my role, it’s a privilege to have a supporter like this to look up to,” she says. “Knowing that the venue were established locally signifies the world to us. It means that there is respect for a community member and the background they grow up in.”