The Benoni Northerns Junior Cricket Academy was established in 1987. The academy was sponsored by Ted Jarvis, the Managing Director of Valmetex Expanded Metal. Among the staff were members of Benoni Northerns, namely: Stuart Scott, Shelley Lindsay (now Shelley Vercueil), Tracy Harris, Bruce Miller, Jannie Roos, Pat Conway.

The remarkable photo of the launch shows attendance by some famous names in Cricket (left to right): Jim Pressdee; Dennis Compton; Dennis Lindsay (receiving the cheque); Ted Jarvis; and Mr Johnny Lindsay.

Jim Pressdee played many years as a Cricket Professional for Glamorgan and was associated with Benoni Northerns.

Dennis Compton had a long and illustrious cricket career playing for England and scored 330 not out at Willowmore Park against North Eastern Transvaal in a day! He also played Professional Football for Arsenal.

Of course we have our own Dennis Lindsay and on the extreme right his father Johnny Lindsay who also kept wicket for South Africa. Remarkably, they were the first father-and-son combination to have represented South Africa in Cricket at the time.

The Academy played in the first (Mini) Junior Cricket Game at night in South Africa at Willowmore Park and it catered for the same age groups as seen today.

The Academy was so successful that it was taken over from Northerns and relocated to a parent’s home in Lakefield as a “professional academy”, devastating the founders. Benoni Northerns Cricket Club re-established the Benoni Northerns Junior Cricket Academy in April 2017.