Match keeps the legacy alive

Lowveld Country Club was founded in 1910 at Elandshoek. Four years later it moved to Nelspruit and this is where the annual match between Potts XI and LVCC started.

Together with John Bromley, Hammerton formed a cricket club, but it was with great difficulty that they managed to assemble a team. Jimmy Potts brought the very first team to play at Elandshoek in 1910 and Potts has visited the Lowveld each year since. The first article the club could find,
was published on Wednesday December 21, 1949. It was a five-wicket win for LVCC. The visitors had been dismissed for 240 runs while the home side concluded the innings of 331 runs.

Potts is also known as the Rabbits. Rabbits ties are presented to the new players who played at least two matches, or if an LVCC player has captured five wickets or scored 100 runs. This is a yellow tie with a green rabbit, the reverse of a normal tie.

A bit of history
1960: The 50th anniversary of the LVCC/Potts clash. Potts brought down a cricket team, each year since then with the exception of the war years.

1961: LVCC won the toss and elected to bat first. They were all out for 267 runs. Potts XI were determined to make the runs, but they were all out for 156.

1967: The initiator, Jimmy Potts passed away and this annual visit was a memorial game.

1969: The last batsman succeeded in making the required runs. With insufficient time to play out a second innings, a contest of 20 overs a side was played in which Lvcc proved themselves to be vastly superior agriculturally to Johannesburg. The scores were LVCC 157 and Potts with 124.

1970’s: The Potts XI batted first and managed to get 315 runs. LVCC then started to chase, but found themselves back in the stands for a skimpy 110.

1986: Potts won this game with 14 runs. LVCC could only manage to score 150 runs with the loss of six wickets.

1991: The weekend, LVCC’s cricket team beat a strong Potts XI. Vernon Cresswell managed 16 sixes and 19 fours. A total of 810 runs were scored in 165 overs on the 81st anniversary.

1994: The Potts XI scored 147 for seven in 24,5 overs, They needed five runs off the final ball of the match to win. Richard Banyard hit the ball for a six to give the visitors a win.

2001: “Cruse cruises to 77 and Lvcc win Pott’s trophy”. After six years, the Pott’s trophy is back in the Lowveld thanks to a one-wicket victory by LVCC. Greg Cruse scored a speedy 77 not out off only 74 balls.

This tournament takes place closer to the end of the year and this year will be the 105th match between the two teams.