On Wednesday, Western Province Cricket paid a touching tribute to Moegamat ‘Boeta’ Cassiem, who has been working at Newlands for the past 55 years.

Cassiem over time became a famous figure at the cricket ground for his hilarious lines, while selling ice cream to passionate Cape Town cricket fans.

But, unfortunately, bad health has forced Cassiem to step away from his beloved role. In a special ceremony, held at Newlands, the union presented Cassiem with a golden plague, which will go up at the lively Oaks embankment as an honour to the legendary figure.

‘Unfortunately he is not well at the moment. He has renal failure, and his family got in touch with us to say that he’d like to come and walk on to Newlands one final time,’ said WP Cricket Cricket Association brand and sponsorship manager David Brooke.

‘But, we decided to do something a little more fitting for him and a bit more personal, so we invited his family over to Newlands. We had a function to pay tribute to him.

‘We presented a plaque from Western Province Cricket, which is going to go up on the Oaks grass embankment to commemorate the occasion and to commemorate him for generations to come.’

Cassiem attended the get-together with his whole family on Wednesday, admitting to the enormity of his presence at the ground over the years.

‘I can go anywhere in Cape Town and people recognise me. Sometimes, I was the top salesman because it’s how you handle the customer. I can fight with my wife at home, but when I come to Newlands, I’m totally a different person,’ he added.