Village cricket club donates kit to South African school

Members and coaching staff of a South African schools cricket team will soon take to the field wearing kit from a Worcestershire village side, after Martley Cricket Club donated a full set of shirts and trousers to the Douglas Mbopha School in Nelson Mandela Bay on South Africa's east coast.

Martley CC president Dave Bradley said the club found itself with surplus kit after securing new sponsorship from Joliffe Heating and Plumbing.

"With Joliffe generously coming on board for three seasons, our white‑ball kit — mainly used for evening league games — needed updating with the new sponsor's logo," Bradley explained.

"Our committee weren't sure what to do with the old kit, and I knew about the work Mark Ashbourne and his team have done for many years sending kit to the school to help them play organised cricket."

Ashbourne, who has spent more 10 years raising money and organising donations of equipment for the project, said: "A huge thank you to everyone at Martley Cricket Club for their wonderful donation; the young people are so looking forward to being able to wear the kit for their matches.

"It will be the first time that the team will have had a uniformed kit and I know that they will be wearing it with pride.

"Former South African player Mfuneko Ngam and his four volunteers work with around 90 children and young people every week. They also run a T20 tournament for township schools, which grows every year as more schools want to take part."

The initiative has attracted wider backing, with Ashbourne noting that the Department of Sport, Eastern Province Cricket and The Lotto have all provided support for what he describes as a "much‑needed project".

Ngam highlighted one standout achievement: "The highlight for the project is having one of our girls selected to be part of the ICC Women's coaching sessions when the Women's World Cup was held in South Africa."

The donated Martley CC kit is expected to be used in both school coaching sessions and competitive fixtures, strengthening the link between the Worcestershire club and the South African development programme.