Khaya Majola’s spirit lives on and his impact on the game will always be prominent at every U19 Cricket Week that takes place, writes Theo Garrun.

I’ve been at just about every Khaya Majola cricket week (under its present and former names) since 1989, as I have to all the rugby Craven Weeks in that time.

One of the things about the Craven Week, initially anyway, was that the spirit of Danie Craven loomed around the place and his influence was seen in the way things were done, particularly when it came to the really important things – behaviour, sportsmanship and valuing how you play the game above the winning of it.

In 2001 the Coca-Cola Week was renamed the Khaya Majola Week, following Khaya Majola’s death the year before. Khaya’s history as a cricketer in the pre-unity days is well documented in the tournament brochure that is produced each year.

He went on to play an important role in cricket’s unification process that began in 1991 and eventually he and Ali Bacher were the architects of a national development programme for the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB), the new national federation.

He later became the Director of Development and then the Director of Amateur Cricket at the UCB.

During that time he became involved in the, then, Coca-Cola cricket week as a selector and generally a champion and advocate for the players in the development programme who were beginning to appear in the various teams.

Morgan Pillay, the long-serving tournament director of the week, was very close to Khaya in those days and he gives a lot of credit for the way it has evolved into what it is now. “He played a vital role in bringing everyone together, and he did it through the example he set and the force of his personality,” he said.

“His vision for cricket was clear and he had the ability to get people to buy into it. His dream, he told us, was to see the day when a black South Africa bowler took five wickets in a Test match. Sadly, he died just three months before Makhaya Ntini’s 6/66 against New Zealand in Bloemfontein but I like to think he was smiling down on it.”

Most importantly, Khaya was as adamant that the right things happen on and around the field and, by all accounts, he deserves as much credit for the way things are run as Danie Craven get for the Craven Week.

“You should remember,” Pillay said, “that he was channelling talented black players into the week and many of them had no exposure at this level of cricket before. They never grew up with the etiquette and the traditions of the game and they had to be initiated into them. Khaya oversaw that process and he insisted on their compliance.

“That’s evident now. We rarely have incidents at the week and very few fingers are pointed, Khaya would approve.”

So, if anyone asks you Khaya Majola was, tell them he was to school cricket what Danie Craven was to school rugby.

He has left deep footprints around here.

KwaZulu-Natal Inland first innings 204 (Jason Login 42, Asanda Langa 29, Michael Booth 27; Tumelo Yeki 5/46, Shaveer Khan 2/27); Gauteng first innings 220/7 (Jack Lees 63, Levert Manje 49, Emmanuel Motswiri 40, Michael Copeland 33; Michael Booth 2/31, Sanele Mbatha 2/31); KwaZulu-Natal Inland second innings 22/0 (Andile Simelane 12*). Gauteng won on first innings.

Western Province first innings 272 (Lehan Botha 70, Jonathan Bird 66, Thembani Ngcizela 48, Guy Sheena 32; Christiaan Oberholer 2/30, Prince Trotter 2/36); Northerns first innings 164/5 (Jordan Hermann 72*, Zeeshan Ismail 38*, Hanu Viljoen 30; Imraan Philander 2/19). Match Drawn.

Eastern Province first innings 249/4 (Luke Beaufort 133*, Nicholas Keevy 33, Jade Smith 31, Sonwabiso Tshona 29*; Gordon Taje 2/28); Free State first innings 189/3 (Marco de Kock 56, Pheko Moletsane 37*, Lerato Nqoyi 36, Ruan Cronjé 28; Sonwabiso Tshona 2/23). Match Drawn.

KwaZulu-Natal first innings 282/8 (Francis Moran 95, Jared Oosthuizen 77, Cade Carmichael 27; Jaun Wilson 3/53); Boland first innings 161/9 (Andrew Whaits 42, Jaydin Booysen 28*; Gareth Beavan 3/31, Jordan Hendrikse 2/26). Match Drawn.

North West first innings 296/7 (Van Zyl Smit 95, Jannie Claassens 65, Phemelo Sepati 46, Saad Shabbir 32; Nqaba Peter 3/53, Matthew Fourie 3/65); Border first innings 190 (Stuart Els 73, Emihle Mgoqi 57; Odirile Modikoane 6/60, Karabelo Matlawe 4/66). North West won on first innings.

Northern Cape first innings 114 (Foster Lubbe 23, Casper du Plessis 22; Badaal Parag 4/13, Adriaan de Vries 2/27); Easterns first innings 216/7 (Bonginkosi Skosana 61*, Neil Bothma 37, Saahil Khan 32, WP Myburgh 30; Resegofaditswe Mothibi 4/54); Northern Cape second innings 49/5 (Joshua Barends 20; Nsizwa Motsogi 2/1). Easterns won outright.

Limpopo first innings 142 (Gerhardus Fourie 49; Tyrese Karelse 3/20, Johann Muller 2/19); South Western Districts first innings 125 (Johann Muller 61; Gerhardus Fourie 3/22, Lilama Shilubane 2/14); Limpopo second innings 71/5 (Nhlamulo Mboweni 31; Tyrese Karelse 2/0, Heath Richards 2/14); South Western Districts second innings 60/5 (Johann Muller 20; Thomas Mayes 4/33). Limpopo won outright.

Namibia first innings 82 (Nicol Loftie-Eaton 38; Akhulile Makatu 3/12, Jacques Vosloo 3/19, Kyle Christie 2/5); Mpumalanga first innings 94 (Neil Henning 25; Ramon Wilmot 4/12, Stefan Bezuidenhout 3/17, Nicol Loftie-Eaton 2/5); Namibia second innings 107/2 (Nicol Loftie-Eaton 51*, Ramon Wilmot 25*); Mpumalanga second innings 23/0 (Kyle Klesse 11*, Zuan Swart 11*). Mpumalanga won on first innings.