Aside from occasionally playing backyard and Action Cricket with my brother, I haven’t played a competitive match of outdoor cricket since my first year out of school in 2019. I wasn’t sure what I should expect when my brother convinced me to play club cricket. Our first match of the Hoedspruit 100 was only a week away. By the end of the week, I re-discovered my love for grass-roots cricket.
The tournament started on the 20th of June, and the final weekend will take place on the 18th-19th of July 2026.
Participating teams include: Hoedspruit Academy Octopi Cubs Side, Hoedspruit Academy Promotional Side, Hoedspruit Academy 1st team, Conservation Cricketers, Black Mambas, Team 11, Phalaborwa XI and the Serubele Development team. Matches are currently taking place on Saturdays and Sundays at the Hoedspruit Air Force base.
Each team has 100 regular balls to score as many runs as possible – the first 25 of which are the PowerPlay (where only two fielders are allowed outside the circle). After the PowerPlay, 5 fielders are allowed outside the circle.
Bowlers bowl a minimum of 5 ball overs; however, if they are bowling well, they can bowl a maximum of 10 balls in a row. Individual bowlers can only bowl a maximum of 20 balls per match.
On Saturday, I played for the Hoedspruit Sports Academy Promotional Side against the Hoedspruit Sports Academy Octopi Cubs (a team that largely consisted of youngsters aged between 13 and 17 years old).
Growing up, most of my childhood memories involved having healthy competition with my older brother. This would typically involve playing pool cricket where we would bounce the living day lights out of each other with a waboba ball, having fits of rage when we lost a Rugby 08 match against each other, or cheating in Monopoly to win. We even used to compete about who had the better teeth when we used to go to our dentist! Although playing on the same side felt strange at first, it is a memory I will cherish for years to come.
Whilst I enjoy watching matches at the Wanderers and Centurion, there is definitely something special about the banter and camaraderie you share when playing club cricket.
Whether it was chirping the batters between the overs, celebrating wickets together, or discussing tactics with the captain, the day was full of fun and laughter throughout.
The scorers and supporters also became as much a part of the occasion as the players on the field. Between overs, conversations about the match and the rugby could regularly be heard alongside encouragement from the boundary. At one point, supporters came round with a tray of sandwiches for the players. These gestures and memories remind us how club sport helps create a family environment.
One of the most encouraging aspects of this tournament is how it is allowing young cricketers from the Cubs Side to interact with more experienced senior players.
During our batting innings, several of our senior batters would pause between deliveries and offer advice to the young bowlers. Rather than simply focusing on scoring runs, they would discuss line and lengths, praise good deliveries and offer suggestions on how to approach the next delivery. It was clear that player development was equally as important as the result of this fixture.
The Hoedspruit 100 is more than just a tournament. It is a community initiative that brings players of different ages and backgrounds together, develops young talent and reminds us why grassroots cricket remains the heartbeat of the game. After seven years away from playing, the tournament has certainly reignited my passion for playing the game. I have no doubt that the tournament will continue to go from strength to strength.
I would like to conclude by congratulating Mickey Buyst and his family, along with every other stakeholder, for organising such an amazing tournament. Hopefully, we will see you come join us at the Hoedspruit Air Force Base over the course of the next few weeks.