Cape Town Cricket Sixes raring to go

The second annual Cape Town Sixes Festival will once again showcase the Mother City’s famous flair for fun, entertainment and community spirit when it kicks off this weekend, Saturday February 18 and Sunday February 19, at the Green point Precinct.

An amazing line-up of music acts, including Shortstraw, Trenton and Free Radical, Nomadic Orchestra and Manny Walters, will keep festival visitors entertained on the Saturday evening.

Some of South Africa’s most heralded cricketing legends, including Meyrick Pringle, Allan Donald, Hershel Gibbs, Robin Peterson, Rory Kleinveldt, Aubrey Martin and Justin Kemp, are dusting off their bats and slinging on the pads to compete in this year’s tournament.

The Legends team, managed by Brett Schultz, will be joining 59 other teams competing across two days in seven leagues.

During the day, if you can tear yourself away from the cricket action, there will be a food village, a dedicated kids area with story telling, face painting, jumping castles, arts and crafts, games and music; Wine on the Wicket, a mini wine festival with ten farms and complimentary wine tasting; and an exhibition match between SA Rugby and the Val de Vie Protea Legends happening on Sunday afternoon just before the final.

The focus of the event is on uplifting cricket, as part of the “Hit Poverty for a Six” initiative, which will see a development cricket league and coaching clinics hosted by Cricket School of Excellence happening throughout the weekend. Cricket legends, Pringle and Schultz, as well as comedian and radio presenter, Dalin Oliver are once again on board as ambassadors for the festival.

Oliver, who will also be the Master of Ceremonies says: “The buzz around the Cape Town Sixes event is going to be fantastic. It’s a sporting and cultural event in one and goes hand in hand with the city’s vibrant cricket culture.”

Pringle, who played for South Africa in the early 1990s, is back in the fray for this year’s event.

“I’m excited to be back as the ambassador for the Cape Town Sixes. We had so much fun last year both competing and being part of the coaching clinics and development of cricket.”

Schultz agrees: “What a great way to spend a weekend in Cape Town, bonding with old friends, enjoying some exciting amateur cricket and being involved in an event that enhances awareness and accessibility to the sport we all love.”

Tickets are available at www.capetownsixesfestival.com ranging from R75 to R150 for a full weekend pass. There are also individual day passes available.