Cricket at Outjo growing tremendously

OUTJO, 16 JUN  – Cricket at Outjo in the Kunene Region is growing tremendously among school learners and young people at the town.
Cricket Namibia on Friday held its 8th quarterly Kwata Cricket Festival at the town where 180 players from the Jack Francis Primary School (PS), Outjo PS, Maarssen PS and Etoshapoort Junior Secondary School participated.
Cricket Namibia’s Development Officer, Wilhelm Tuhafeni in an interview with Nampa at the event expressed satisfaction with the number of participants to the festival.
He said the sport has grown from 50 players in 2014 when it was introduced to the town by Cricket Namibia, to a total number of 180 committed members this year.
“Cricket is growing tremendously here, and as a coach I am really impressed to see this commitment and enthusiasm of young people towards the sport,” he said.
School learners aged between 7 and 15 years are the regular members at the Etoshapoort Sports Stadium where they are trained from Monday to Friday after school by Cricket Namibia coaches.
Tuhafeni said the cricketers are taught how to catch the ball, throw and hit it and also how to run around with it on the field.
Antinus Mungunda, 12, from Maarssen PS has been playing cricket here for the past three years.
He said cricket for him is fun and becoming an important sports code to many children at Outjo.
Christine Kudumo of Etoshapoort Junior said she enjoys playing the sport as it makes her fit by running around with the ball on the field.
Maarssen’s Tjinonongo Kamburona said: “I have been playing cricket for three years, and I want to become a professional cricketer who will represent this country at an international level in the future.”

NAMPA