Bakers Mini-Cricket - History
The idea of Mini Cricket was conceived in 1980 by Dr Ali Bacher who was Managing Director of the Transvaal Cricket Council at that time. This followed a discussion with West Indian International cricketer, Alvin Kallicharan about the popularity of soft ball or beach cricket as it was known in the West Indies.
Beach cricket was and still is played by people of all ages, from four years and up. All that is needed is an open space, a tennis ball or bundle of knotted rags and anything that could be used as a bat; a piece of plank, a branch or even a piece of sugar cane.
Bacher realised that a formalised version of beach cricket was an ideal way of bringing the game of cricket to children at a very early age and the idea of Mini Cricket was born to cater for children from six to nine years.
Scaled down equipment was designed i.e. bats and wickets and a special soft ball that would perform on grass in the same manner as a hard leather cased ball does on turf.
Bacher then introduced Mini Cricket to the Junior Primary Schools in the Johannesburg area. As the popularity of the game grew, Bacher was advised to approach Bakers biscuits as possible sponsors, on the grounds of grass roots development for the future of cricket in South Africa.
Les Allen, Managing Director of Bakers at the time, met with Bacher in 1982. Seeing an opportunity to provide a service to the youth of South Africa a sponsorship agreement was reached, based on the condition that Bakers Mini Cricket had to be fully non-racial and national.
The sponsorship was for R 50 thousand to cover a three year period. On completing the agreement Allan commented, "If Bakers could save just two or three youngsters from becoming drug addicts or dropouts from life, then the money would have been well spent."
Bakers Mini Cricket was confined to the Transvaal for the first two years as rules were devised and formalised and coaching courses were established through the Cricket Coaching Academy.
In 1984 Bacher proposed that Bakers Mini Cricket go national. Bakers agreed to increase their sponsorship and Bakers Mini Cricket expanded to Natal, Western Province and Eastern Province during the 1984/5 cricket season.
In 1986 Bacher took Bakers Mini Cricket into the Transvaal townships, starting in Soweto then into Alexandra. Bakers Mini Cricket became firmly established despite the unrest that plagued Alexandra at the time, and the programme quickly spread to other townships.
At first Bakers Mini Cricket was sponsored through the South African Cricket Union (SACU), but in 1988 the Western Province Cricket Board, regional members of the South African Cricket Board (SACB), came on board and using sponsored Bakers equipment began introducing Bakers Mini Cricket into their region. Later that year several other South African Cricket Board regions took up Bakers Mini Cricket.
The first non-racial Bakers Mini Cricket festival was held in February 1991 in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, and included players from both the SABC and SACU.
To date, there are over 5 000 schools and 100 000 children, from all communities, both rural and urban, participating in the programme.
