“Not that easily possible to get it fixed” - Gqeberha venue official says glass panel smashed by Rinku Singh remains broken after more than a year

With Rinku Singh's thunderous six during a T20I against South Africa at Gqeberha in 2023 breaking the glass panel of the venue, the stadium's groundstaff has revealed that it's still not repaired. The venue's official named Terrence stated that budget constraints don't allow them to get such things fixed as per their convenience.

The incident had occurred in the second T20I at the St. George's Park between South Africa and India during the 19th over when Rinku had taken apart Aiden Markram. The damage had been done through one of the sixes in that over, with the southpaw hammering an unbeaten 68 off 39 deliveries.

Speaking to The Hindustan Times, Terrence reflected that they would require plenty of equipment to get the glass panel fixed and that high-profile matches don't allow the groundsmen to bring them at the venue.

"Firstly, look at the height. It's too much and not that easily possible to get fixed because it would require a crane and all sorts of heavy machinery. You can't bring all that stuff into the field when you have games like these. We've had windows broken here at the bottom from time to time. That we fix in a jiffy. So there is always a priority set. And with the budget shortage, we have to work with what we've got. We had the roof fixed. If you see that roof, we've got it covered. That is a new roof. I can show you projects that have been successfully completed," he said.

The Proteas managed to beat India by five wickets in that fixture as Markram (30) and Reeza Hendricks (49) played explosive knocks to script a convincing victory.

Gqeberha hosted the opening match of SA20 2025

MI Cape Town in Gqeberha (Credits: MI Cape Town X)

Meanwhile, Gqeberha also staged the SA20 2025 opener between defending champions SunRisers Eastern Cape and MI Cape Town on January 9, 2025.

MI Cape Town routed the opposition by 97 runs after Dewald Brevis' 29-ball 57 helped them post 174/7 in 20 overs. With the ball, Delano Potgieter picked up a fifer to propel their side to a massive victory.