South African cricket team gets AFL lessonPosted 11 hours 43 minutes ago
Updated 11 hours 40 minutes ago
In the past two years AFL teams have been visiting South Africa to introduce the game to young people. Now as many as 17,000 converts regularly play the sport there. This week, the South African cricket team visited the Collingwood Football Club's gym in Melbourne to learn more about the game.
The ball is red, but besides that, it looks nothing like a bowler's tool of trade. South African pace bowler Makhaya Ntini kicked a footy around during his team's visit to the Collingwood gym.
"We come to Australia, it's only one thing that people are actually talking about. It's Aussie-rules, it's the kind of thing that we are so happy as well that they are doing it in South Africa," Ntini said.
It may seem incongruous. Why would South African cricketers visit an AFL football team on their last visit to Melbourne before the one day series begins? But it's all part of the AFL's push into South Africa.
AFL ambassador Kevin Sheedy explains:
"If I was a kid in South Africa and I saw an advertisement for 300,000 rand to make an AFL club's list, I'd be looking to find out how I could help my parents get a lifestyle that they may not have. That's 50,000 Australian dollars approximately, and I reckon there's great opportunity there," he said.
Bearded batsman Hashim Amla stood back and watched his team-mates have a kick. He says given time, Australian Rules Football could take off in South Africa.
"Soccer's the number one sport, then you have cricket and rugby, if any new sport came into the country it's going to take a while for it to break into the market. But I think at some stage because of the similarity it has with rugby, people will probably take naturally to the ball," Amla said.
For the past two years Collingwood has been working with the AFL establishing the 'Footy Wild' program in Cape Town.
It's seeking partners to develop a range of community development programs and activities, including education, health, sports participation and employment programs in South Africa.
It's also wanting to develop international scholarships and annual exhibition AFL matches in the Western Cape zone of South Africa.
"I think that probably in the end the cricket grounds help. Because the ground size is beneficial for AFL and of course that's how football started - on a cricket ground - and I think South Africa's a good choice because it's a lot closer than Ireland, which is 34 hours away, instead of 10 hours away," Kevin Sheedy said.
"I think that step by step, sport can help kids get a life, get off the streets, put your energy into areas that are good more than evil."
Makhaya Ntini was the first black South African cricketer and is now one of the most popular players in his country. He says AFL would be good for South Africa.
"We cannot all be cricketers, we cannot all be footballers. We cannot all be rugby players, so we've got different talents," Ntini said.
Based on a report by Alison Caldwell for PM on January 16, 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/16/2468167.htm
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Adelaide lost in Adelaide!! Sydney won in Sydney!! ....I'm crossing everything for Freo this arvo 
