His name may not ring a bell in cricketing circles but the brand new CEO of North West Cricket, Vincent Prior (30) has never been afraid of a challenge and an opportunity to showcase his appetite for success.
Simply put, Prior wants to compete with the big boys in South African cricket and believes that he has the background in marketing and business and a burning desire to take North West Cricket to new heights.
‘The main aim will be to look at how we at North West Cricket can compete with the top franchises. I view North West Cricket as a small entity with massive potential. Having come from a company that is family oriented, I sense that the community and family atmosphere at North West Cricket is no different. Everyone here has each other’s back,’ adds Prior, who will officially take over the reins on 2 January 2018.

Prior comes from a sporting background, having represented the SA national hockey team as a player before cutting his teeth in the business world as the group operations manager at StitchWise. He brings a combination of sporting know-how and sound operations management and marketing acumen to the table.
This Potchefstroomer jokes that he completed all three stages of education in one single street as he is a former pupil of Potchefstroom Central School and Potchefstroom Boys High and an NWU alumnus to boot. It is safe to say that he understands the community that he is involved in and would like to get local communities participating in cricket from both a marketing and developmental perspective.
‘I want Senwes Park to become the central focus of Potchefstroom. Locals should be able to enjoy the cricket and a variety of other events and attractions that are non-cricket related too. It should be a multi-purpose venue. Another major aim would be to attract international cricket teams to Senwes Park for matches and tours as one of their preferred destinations,’ he emphasised.
According to Prior, the main targets would be to, firstly, rejuvenate the feeding system in club cricket in order to create a strong club cricket system. Secondly, an emphasis on women’s cricket development from school level onwards and increased effort in transformation and improved resource allocation towards transformation.

‘In the long term, I would like the North West Dragons to be the first choice when the decision is made to add another franchise team. In the medium term, I want us to reduce the financial dependency we have on CSA at the moment,’ he added.
A major positive for Prior is the solid foundation that North West Cricket has built under the former CEO, Heinrich Strydom. This gives him the freedom to explore new initiatives, knowing that the groundwork has been laid for further success in the future.
‘I relish the opportunity to take North West Cricket to the next level and this excites me.’
Quick singles with Prior:
Favourite music: ‘80s music all day long. Some proper old school hits without manipulation will have me hooked.’
Favourite food and drink: ‘In Florence, I had the best gelato and hot chocolate ever.’
Favourite movies: ‘A Few Good Men and Happy Gilmore’
Favourite quote: ‘Effort and discipline equals enjoyment.’