Over 100 years of LVCC vs Potts one of South Africa’s great cricket traditions
The match was played at LVCC@Penryn and ended in a rain-enforced draw.
The weekend of December 8, 9 and 10 saw the 112th annual LVCC vs Potts cricket match take place at the LVCC@Penryn.
The weekend festivities started on the Friday morning already with the players matching up on the golf course, which the CC boys narrowly won 3/2.
Thereafter, it was the famous LVCC rat races that took place on Friday night that provided huge excitement and fun.
However, the real purpose of the weekend was the cricket, and although there was a delayed start due to the heavy rain the Friday night, Potts captain Sean Creswell won the toss and elected to bat first in tough conditions.
The Potts XI posted a very competitive 197 before being bowled out in the 45th over, with the top scorer being number 10 batsman Spacey Knowlden with 38 runs.
Other useful contributions came from the no 4 batsman, Shane Murphy, and the no 5 batsman, Creswell, who made 37 and 29 respectively.
LVCC’s top bowlers were Jared Bone, who took 3 for 35 in 12 overs, Victor Wilkens, who took 3 for 40 in 15 overs, and Rudi Jacobs, who took 2 for 29 in 8 overs.
It was then the turn of the LVCC openers, Jared Bone and Joshua Greeff, to see off the new ball with an opening stand of 60 runs before Bone was out for 13 runs of 38 balls.
A rain-interrupted Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning always meant that a draw was going to be the most likely result in this two-day game, and the match was eventually called off by the umpires late Sunday morning due to it.
LVCC had at that stage reached 170 for 4 after 42 overs, with captain Dwayne Obermeyer at the crease on 7 not out and opening bat Greeff playing in his first LVCC-Potts fixture, not out on a brilliant 115 runs of 136 balls, which included 16 fours and two sixes.
The top bowlers for the Potts XI were opener Kade Ball and leg spinner Dylan Menezes, who took 1 for 37 in 12 overs, and 2 for 10 in 9 overs respectively.
The draw meant LVCC retained the precious trophy, with the man of the match award going to Greeff for his superb century.
This annual fixture is one of the oldest annual cricket matches still being played in South Africa and is steeped in history and tradition, with up to four generations (Creswells and Cruses) and three generations (Greeffs) of Lowvelders having played their part in this fixture’s extraordinary history.
