More than a year after Buffalo City metro (BCM) mayor Princess Faku promised to take control of the city’s sports facilities and secure a larger budget to manage them, these venues remain in a state of neglect and amid this inaction, community groups like Border Icons in Sport (BIS) are stepping in to restore facilities like the United Cricket Club in Buffalo Flats at the Alfred Schoeman ground.
Once a hub for cricket and social upliftment, the clubhouse has been reduced to a shell of its former self, with no turf, wires, or pitch, thanks to years of vandalism and theft.
Established in 1992, as a symbol of unity and resistance through sport, the United Cricket Club played a critical role in Border Cricket, producing talented players who represented the province on national stages.
Its clubhouse was funded by the National Lotteries in 2000, served as a money spinner for the city through hosting local and interprovincial matches however, the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with rolling blackouts, left the clubhouse vulnerable to systematic theft of copper cables, metal palisades that will cost close to R1m to fix.
According to the Buffalo Flats community patrol group, syndicates have also played a role in orchestrating the theft of pieces of the clubhouse.
One member said: “It started with cables and then moved to palisades and change rooms and the scrap yards within a 4km radius provide easy outlets for these stolen goods, incentivising further destruction.”
Buffalo Flats ward councillor Shandre Hoffman said that the neglect of both United Cricket Club and Buffalo Flats Astroturf has spurred a surge in crime in Buffalo Flats targeting pupils walking to school who have been mugged and attacked. The abandoned facilities also became spaces for drug dealing, and the storage of stolen goods.
Hoffman said: “The United Cricket Clubhouse became an overnight crime-home to any brazen thug that has no respect for private properties and a healthy appetite for crime and vandalism.
“It is next to the main road in Buffalo Flats and has been used to prey on any pedestrians. Criminals get away by running into the bush across the road from the sports facilities as well as the short-cut across the fields into Zipunzana.
“The municipality is still to find a way to establish a network for public safety and emergency services to safeguard its assets and citizens of Buffalo City or else we are doomed unless we create a network outside of the SAPS and municipal law enforcement.”
In recent weeks, BIS has made significant progress in restoring the facility. However, an estimated R800,000 is still needed, and appeals have been made for cash donations, building materials and services.
The goal is to repair critical facilities, including change rooms, toilets and the hall.
A new facility committee has been formed to oversee the clubhouse and ensure sustainable management. Their vision is to revive the club not just for cricket but as a safe space for community events, youth programmes and interprovincial matches.
This has been welcomed by Border Cricket CEO Sean Beyer, who hopes the facility can be restored to its former glory to strengthen the calibre of talent ascending to the provincial and regional cricket structures.
Beyer said: “For many years United Cricket Club has been one of the strongest clubs in the Border area and they always strived to nurture young players and have produced many provincial players over the years.
”The impaired functionality of the Alfred Schoeman ground in Buffalo Flats has put a strain on fixtures in the Border Leagues.
“The ground was previously used as a backup venue to Buffalo Park for provincial games.
“Unfortunately, this is not possible in its current condition.”
Beyer said that to mitigate the impediment to cricket development that the destruction of the clubhouse caused, the establishment of a coaching hub at Buffalo Flats facilitated by Border Cricket with the support of Cricket SA, had continued to nurture young talent in Buffalo Flats.
Former Border United Cricket Club players have come out in support for efforts taken to revive the facility such as Laden Gamiet jnr, current fitness coach for Titans Cricket and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who said the club served as a home for cricketers, creating a sense of belonging, while its strong performance contributed significantly to the success of Border cricket and opened doors for players from Buffalo Flats to access education and career opportunities.
To support the work BIS and United Cricket Club are doing to restore the facility, please visit their Facebook page: United Cricket Club East London.
