15TH ANNUAL INTER MEDIA CRICKET CHALLENGE

Sports Bloggers the Front Row Grunters take the title at the 15th annual Sporting Chance Inter Media Cricket Challenge proudly sponsored by Foodzone 

They may not exude peak athletic ability, but the sports bloggers from the Front Row Grunters certainly had the power in their shots at this year Sporting Chance Inter Media Cricket Challenge.

Hosted once again at the magnificent Bellville Cricket Club on Sunday 4th March 2012, with Super market retailer Foodzone, as the new title sponsor the day was set up to be another fantastic success.

This specially adapted six-a-side tournament sees the various media take their professional rivalry onto the cricket field with a balance of competitiveness and camaraderie and 2012 was no different..

This year proved to be bigger and better as teams representing most of the Western Cape media groups gathered to take a swing at each other. With the established round robin and 4 over format the day was fast paced with the various teams showing their intentions from ball one.

For the first time it was the television stations that were in the majority as opposed to the traditional radio stations. With that said however, Good Hope fm and Radio Helderberg were out in full force, all well tuned and kept the audio medium punting.

The respective eTV and the SABC teams dominated on the field and although defending champions the Expresso Rebels unfortunately couldn’t emulate their previous year’s success on the field, they were phenomenal off it and contributed hugely to the vibe of the day!

As did debutants, the new set from Hectic 9 Nine Hammers who made a first time splash and had their on air presenters playing and supporting.

The Independent Deadly Deadlines kept the print media flag waving although sadly they couldn’t play as well as they write, and ended up with the wooden spoon at the end of the day.

Besides the action on the fields, the various value adds to ‘GET IN THE ZONE’ were well received throughout and it’s thanks to sponsors Foodzone’s suppliers that these were made possible…

The Refresh ‘ZONE’ provided the players with a welcome early morning wake up JACOBS coffee, that was then followed by various thirst quenchers to keep hydrated throughout the day including Powerade and Coke from PENINSULA BEVERAGES and water and Tropika from CLOVER. Later in the day – KWV’s soon to be launched wine spritzer, JIMMIJAGGA was unveiled and sampled to the eager crowds and those that ‘met Jimmi’ certainly enjoyed him. The RED BULL ladies also popped in for a visit to give everyone ‘wings’ for the afternoon.

The Relax ‘ZONE’ was a popular place with the team of ladies from RUB mobile therapists pampering players and spectators alike with head, neck, shoulder and feet massages.

The KIDZ ‘ZONE’ kept the little ones entertained with the adventure island jumping castle and a lunch time ‘hit the wicket’ cricket competition while The POT ‘ZONE’ played host to the infamous Bellville CC potjie kos competition.

Foodzone’s ‘RUNS/WICKETS for RANDS’ initiative also added extra incentives to the play as all the wickets taken and boundaries hit, raised over R15 000 for the Sporting Chance Development Foundation.

Back to cricket matters, as has become customary both pools were tightly contested and at the end of the round robin stage Good Hope fm G6 and the Front Row Grunters finished tied on points in Pool A, and the Top Billing Tough Team & eTV News in Pool B. The head-to-head results rule had to be implemented, which meant the classy Top Billing Tough Team and the relentless Front Row Grunters had earned their place in the penultimate show down.

The final played out as epic as always and right down to the last over as the Front Row Grunters managed to defended their formidable score of 60, and take the coveted 2012 title. They attributed their success to their WAG’s and a combination of amber liquid, so there’s the recipe for future champions…

The day concluded with a fantastic prize giving where the top performers and a few memorable moments were honoured with fantastic prizes from Foodzone and their suppliers.

Overall another remarkable day and thanks to sponsors Foodzone and all the participating teams for making it all possible and for their ongoing support of Sporting Chance!

Till next year…