Nearly four decades after Manchester Sporting was formed with a single cricket kit bag and a handful of players, former teammates, families and supporters reunited at Chatsworth Oval. The Chatsworth Sporting Veterans Family Day brought together cricketers from an era when community sport was built on sacrifice, loyalty and family spirit. The gathering was organised to recreate the togetherness that defined Manchester Sporting and later Chatsworth Sporting Club from 1989 onward.
Founded by current KZN Inland Cricket Union and Tuskers CEO Jason Sathiaseelan, Manchester Sporting later merged with Apollo Cricket Club in 2002 to form Chatsworth Sporting Club.
“I was from Crossmoor, Chatsworth, but we had no cricket facility there, so we used Marklands Secondary School in Shallcross for training,” Sathiaseelan recalled. “The school only had concrete nets and a concrete surface, so I purchased yellow hockey balls that we could use on concrete.”
Reflecting on the veterans reunion, Sathiaseelan said, “I was overwhelmed by the number of people that attended and by the camaraderie that still exists amongst our veterans. We shared memories of the hardships we faced in cricket back in the day.”
He paid tribute to former members Vinesh Singh, Vella Chetty, Strini Naidoo and Nelson Govindasamy, all of whom have since passed away. “These guys played huge roles at the club and are a big part of our history,” he said.
What started as a single team eventually grew into one of the area’s most recognised cricket structures, with junior, ladies and senior divisions that at one stage fielded 22 teams.
“The Manchester and Chatsworth Sporting culture was special because we built the club from family values,” Sathiaseelan said.
Every year, the club hosted awards banquets attended by nearly 1,000 people. “On Fridays before the banquet, all the club members together with their families would come to my house in Crossmoor. We would clean vegetables, prepare the meat and do all the prep work for the cook who would come the next morning. This is how we built the family atmosphere at the club.”
Annual Fun Days became major community events, with members and supporters working collectively to raise funds. “The togetherness and being there for each other is what kept us going. Members were loyal and not demanding. They appreciated everything that was done and always tried to make life easier for each other,” Sathiaseelan said.
After establishing the club, Sathiaseelan expanded its junior structures by introducing U11, U13 and U15 teams. In 1998, he launched a schools cricket league because many Chatsworth schools were not participating in organised cricket. What began with eight school teams rapidly expanded into a massive community programme involving 44 school teams across Chatsworth.
Every Saturday morning, cricket matches took place across local fields while volunteers sacrificed their weekends to coach, score and umpire matches under the Durban sun.
“We wanted to keep youngsters busy and give them opportunities,” said Sathiaseelan.
Chatsworth Sporting U15 cricket team Jason Sathiaseelan pictured with one of the highly successful Chatsworth Sporting U15 cricket teams he coached after guiding the players from U11 level. The club’s strong junior structures and close partnership between coaches, players and parents helped produce numerous KZN school representatives and future premier league cricketers from Chatsworth and Shallcross.
Image: Supplied
The initiative eventually produced more than 50 KZN school caps and helped secure full cricket scholarships for numerous young players at schools including DHS, Glenwood, Northwood and Kloof High School.
“Sending our boys to those schools made us realise how disadvantaged Chatsworth schools were,” he reflected. “I will forever be grateful to those schools for opening their doors to our youngsters.”
The club also became associated with some of South Africa’s top cricketing names over the years, including Proteas players David Miller, Imraan Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi and Loots Bosman, all of whom played premier league cricket for Chatsworth Sporting. Other players linked to the club included Jonathan Vandiar, Cody Chetty, Chad Bowes, Doug Watson, Ross Veenstra, Rivash Gobind, Vyash Gobind, Desigan Reddy and Andrew Tweedie.
Now one of the leading figures in South African cricket administration, Sathiaseelan said, “I may be the CEO of KZN Inland Cricket Union and the Tuskers, but I started my journey from very humble beginnings. I would love youngsters to take the time to learn the history of the club, the sacrifices that were made and the values upon which community clubs were built.”