Vryheid XI – A blast from the past

THE late 1980s were a tumultuous and turbulent time for cricket in South Africa.

The cricketing landscape of that era lay littered with the hopes and dreams of many talented cricketers of all races who never got the chance to play at an international level due to South Africa’s 21-year isolation from the sport from 1970 to 1991 because of the apartheid policies of the former government.

Avid followers of the sport may recall names such as right-hand batsman, Peter Kirsten, fast bowler, Garth Le Roux and the late, all-rounder and cricketing legend, Clive Rice, from this phase in first-class cricket, but who remembers what was happening on a more local level at Vryheid Cricket Club at the time?

The Vryheid XI of the late eighties included Louwtjie Joubert, John Knott, Voeltjie du Plessis, Chris Perry, James Miller, Etienne Cloete, Brent Bevan, Keith Foster, Eugene Adlam, Sheldon Bryant and Jimmy Anderson.

As the club prepares for their 50th Anniversary Reunion on October 1, nostalgia has set in, with old photos from Vryheid’s cricketing history resurfacing after decades as the older members dust off their memories of bygone times, sharing them with each other as well as the current and future players at the club, who will continue to hold the Vryheid Cricket Club flag high for generations to come.

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