FORMER Proteas captain Shaun Pollock is one of 15 cricketers who boast a Commonwealth Games cricket gold medal.
He is one of the few captains to best Steve Waugh in a major final‚ which he did in the first and only cricket tournament in the 1998 edition.
That gold medal win remains one of South African cricket’s greatest achievements on the global stage next to the ICC Champions Trophy they won a few months down the line that year.
Even though cricket may have an abbreviated format that is very popular‚ it is highly unlikely that cricket will make a return.
Pollock‚ though‚ is happy that the Commonwealth Games will be coming to his hometown in 2022‚ which gives the city ample time to prepare for the multi-discipline event.
The rather lukewarm response of the crowd that gathered at the George Campbell School of Technology mirrored the one- sidedness of the bid which was endorsed unopposed by all 71 Commonwealth federations in Auckland on Wednesday morning.
“I’ve lived here for almost 40 years and we’re passionate about our sport. We would love to be considered as the Mecca of South African sport. This is an opportunity for us to showcase what we can produce‚ especially our wonderful weather and the facilities that we have. It’s exciting times to know that we have an event of this magnitude coming our way‚” Pollock said.
“There’s an opportunity to put money into the pipeline and get our athletes prepared but it’s just so exciting. Your smaller sports like swimming don’t have the kind of backing and they have not been as well supported as compared to the bigger sports because there haven’t been massive events.
“In seven years’ time‚ those athletes could be at the peak of their powers and you’ll be having people shouting for you when you’ve never had them before.”
It is just as well that Pollock raised the swimming issue for they have delivered consistent performances in World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Seven years is a long time and the likes of Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos could be well past their prime‚ but new breed of heroes will be needed to soften the hearts of the nation.
Swimming South Africa’s (SSA) development programmes will come under serious scrutiny‚ especially from the women’s swimming perspective.
They have not quite matched up to the feats of their male counterparts but SSA president Jace Naidoo is aware of this.
“Seven years is not a very long time for an athlete because that’s the amount of time it takes to develop a world-class athlete. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to prepare those athletes and also to identify them so that we make sure we win medals in 2022‚” Naidoo said.
“There will be pressure on us to perform as swimming has risen to the occasion most of the time and with the right support‚ we’ll do better than we did in the previous Commonwealth Games. We’ve had some talented athletes who stopped swimming when they got out of high school and they require more support. I am certain that there will be support for our athletes going forward.”
Naidoo added that the 2022 games will be a dry run to test whether Durban will be able to host the Olympics. The city is targeting the 2028 edition. – The Times
Source: RDM News Wire.
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