Youngsters got to learn from some of the best in the game on Saturday, as Australia hosted a #cricketcares cricket clinic at the Wanderers.

Australia, in South Africa for their tour of five ODIs against South Africa and one against Ireland, took on a different kind of challenge Saturday in their #cricketcares cricket clinic with youth from Afrika Tikkun’s four centres in Johannesburg. Youth from Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Hillbrow/the inner city and Diepsloot came to Wanderers to learn cricket from some of the best in the game.

Although none of the young people had been exposed to the game before, their raw talents were shining through in the boys and girls there. One young man from Diepsloot in particular was singled out by George Bailey, ‘we just couldn’t knock him out’. Later the cricketers half joked, half boasted they may have found the next generation of Proteas in some of the players on the field that morning.

The Australian Cricket Team made a sizeable donation of cricket sets that can be shared across the Afrika Tikkun Centres. This will enable the spark that was lit on Saturday to grow and young people in those townships will be able to start playing cricket as a sport.

No stranger to sports development, Afrika Tikkun has been cultivating sports talent in soccer, netball and triathlon for some years now – with some exceptional talents passing through its fields. On the same day that the cricket team were mentoring a new generation of cricketers, triathletes from Afrika Tikkun were competing in the London Carglass Triathlon – setting some of the best times in their age categories.

Showing that #cricketcares is not just good deeds – it’s also good sense – exposing children from townships and under-privileged circumstances to a sport that has traditionally seemed to be too exclusive to the privileged of our society. But talent is everywhere – and some of the most exciting talent can be found in our townships, says Thomas Taole – Afrika Tikkun’s sports coach.