Vryheid cricket legend, At Odendaal, laid to rest – A heart of gold has stopped beating
The local cricketing legend, who passed away on November 25 due to heart failure, is described by those who knew him as a passionate cricketer, a dedicated Chairman, a shrewd businessman and, by heart, a real club man.
AT Odendaal is a name that will echo through the metaphorical halls of Vryheid Cricket Club for all eternity.
The local cricketing legend, who passed away on November 25 due to heart failure, is described by those who knew him as a passionate cricketer, a dedicated Chairman, a shrewd businessman and, by heart, a real club man. But the description that stands out most prominently, when At Odendaal is remembered by his peers, is generous.
“He was a generous man,” recalls close friend and fellow cricketer, Louwtjie Joubert. “Vryheid Cricket Club would not be what it is today without At Odendaal…”
At Odendaal took over as Chairman of Vryheid Cricket Club from Chris Cloete in the early to mid-80’s, and almost literally laid the foundations for the hallowed establishment that exists today.
“We never had a clubhouse back then,” explains Joubert. “But we always wanted one. At offered us the building materials and the expertise to make the clubhouse dream a reality, but we had to work for it. He gave us the tools and we did the work. The cricketers were the labourers. He was always like that,” he adds. “He’d say, ‘I’ll give you whatever you need, but you need to do the work,’ and that’s just how it was. You could ask him for anything…”
The Annatjie Odendaal Hall at the Lucas Meyer sports grounds stands as a result of At’s generosity and a tribute to his beloved wife and, back in the day, before anyone else in town even had one, Odendaal donated a bowling machine to Vryheid High School for cricket practice.
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Louwtjie adds, “In business, many described him as a difficult man, and perhaps he was, but he would drop everything for the club. He taught me how to be an administrator… ‘This is business,’ he would say, ‘and in business there are no friends’…”
At Odendaal survived a heart attack on November 23 and was being transported to Pretoria from Newcastle by airplane when he breathed his last. In transit, he suffered the fatal heart attack that claimed his life.
His final words to his family, in what they describe as true At fashion, were, “Ja, sien julle in Pretoria.”
At Odendaal was laid to rest in Vryheid Cemetery on December 3, following a memorial service at the NG Moedergemeente Klipkerk in Vryheid.
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His memory will live on as he takes his rightful place alongside other local cricketing legends, Chris Cloete, Dr Joe Harle and Jimmy Anderson on the wall of remembrance and in the hallowed halls of Vryheid Cricket Club.
Rest in peace, At Odendaal.
