Africa must stop some children on the continent from wielding AK-47 rifles and “let them hold a cricket bat” instead, says the chief executive of the Africa Cricket Association (ACA).
Cassim Suliman hopes that the launch of the continent’s Hundred competition next year can help achieve this goal.
The ACA has previously used cricket as a social tool, particularly in Uganda where it has helped set up an initiative ten years ago to help children recover from the brutal 20-year insurgency led by the Lord’s Resistance Army in the north of the country.
“ACA is not just about developing cricket, it’s also about holistic life skills,” Suliman told BBC Sport Africa.
“Basically, we teach a child about responsibility, accountability, dedication, determination, and most importantly, leadership.
“We also promote the prevention of HIV and AIDS, hunger and starvation – and – weed out children who fight with AK-47s in wars and let them hold a cricket bat. Bring them back to the normality in sport.”
An Africa-wide proposed hundred will be the second time the format has been used after it was invented and patented by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which has held the competition twice. since 2021.
It also follows the inaugural T20 Africa Cup in September for Associate Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Africa.
Suliman also revealed that a bigger budget T20 Africa Premier League will be launched in 2024 to be held every two years, while the Hundred will be played every year with a more country-focused schedule in hopes that the formats shorter ones will unlock engagement across the continent.
Meanwhile, the ACA is also set to relaunch the Afro Asia Cup, which was held over two rounds in 2005 and 2007.
The continent ready to invest
Suliman says the ACA will now talk to the ECB about the rights to stage the Hundred, which is a further expansion they hadn’t considered.
“We have been approached by potential sponsors to go this route,” Suliman continued.
“I watch (the Hundred) always. It’s exciting, it’s a lot of fun and to have this introduced in Africa will be good for the viewers. We have a sponsor who is very interested. They were also very interested in the FIFA Cup. Africa T20 – it opened up a lot of avenues for us.
“We are considering its registration (the Cent) by the ECB. We will definitely write to them, engage with them and tell them to watch [at it] as part of the development of cricket in what they call a third world country and see how it goes from there.
“I’m sure they’ll be very accommodating. If not, we’ll just change the format.
“Further, we want to launch the Africa Premier League, like the IPL. You can get a sponsor, an investor, very quickly – no problem. We are busy working with investors.”
In addition to national plans for an Afro Asia Cup, the ACA launched the inaugural T20 Africa Cup in September in South Africa.
Uganda beat Senegal in the final, with Suliman reporting viewership figures for the tournament, which have yet to be finalized with the final stages, of 52 million after it was broadcast to 168 countries.
Qualifying was open to all African countries up to ICC associate member level, although Namibia missed out as the Eagles had already accepted other commitments.
“The potential is there and we don’t want to waste the moment,” Suliman continued. “The African Cup will continue, it will not end all at once.
“We found it very productive, providing many opportunities for African countries. I think by the end of December we will have 33 African countries affiliated.”
Associate members ready to rise
Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton is keen for his team and South Africa to be included in an expanded T20 Africa Cup, and former Namibian South African all-rounder David Wiese echoes the sentiment that more options are needed on the continent.
“There is still a long way to go with cricket in Africa,” Wiese told BBC Sport Africa.
“(ACA) invests a lot of funds and effort in developing the game and it was good for us to play against teams like Uganda, Nigeria and Zimbabwe who have been playing at the highest level for some time now. .
“But it would also be great to have something like the European League. If there could be an African league or cup it would be great to see because I feel like there’s a lot of talent the low.
“Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, there’s a lot of development going on in those countries, but I still think a lot more can happen. I didn’t know what to expect with the associated cricket, but I I quickly realized that there were a lot of talented players. It’s just the missed opportunity.”
Wiese believes the Afro Asia Cup, which saw selected XIs from both continents playing One Day Opens and T20s, could benefit the Eagles.
“If a few Namibian guys can be included, we could close the gap [to cricket’s top international sides] pretty quickly,” the 37-year-old said.
“Namibia will only improve if they play against better opposition, which means we have to play against test nations. [option] just isn’t there.
“I would also like to see those T20 (domestic) tournaments mandate that they have to have an associate player in the team, just to develop the game.
Need for broader thinking
Wiese, who made his debut for South Africa in 2015 but moved to Namibia in time for the 2021 World Cup, believes that with the rise of the game’s shorter forms and unified future tour planning, the time has come to raise the level of African Cricket.
“Look at Afghanistan, which focused only on T20 cricket,” Wiese said.
“They’ve had quality T20 players, developed their skills and got into different formats – that’s the way to go.
“The only challenge is, and it gets a little deeper, but you need funding for these things. That funding comes from ODI status and not necessarily T20 World Cups. So it’s a bit of a catch-all situation. 22.
“But if the ICC can look at a different model and get a few more associate teams involved in triangular series – for example, letting Namibia piggyback on a South African series playing at home – that could be huge.
“Again, it’s all up to the ICC and where they see the game going in the next two years, but once we start playing better teams, we can inspire younger generations of Africans to get out of it and then it can have a snowball effect.”
If so, the ACA might be happy that young people on the continent have different targets with very different views.
