Anne Vilas, a pioneer of a ‘gentleman’s’ game

New Central Gauteng Lions president Anne Vilas does not see herself as a new broom looking to sweep clean, but what she will bring to her role is business acumen and a great passion for the game of cricket.

Vilas is certainly not a new face around the Wanderers. She has been on the Lions board for nine years, was the vice-president to predecessor Jack Madiseng and is highly regarded as an administrator.

And she says she is happy to build on the legacy Madiseng created during his tenure from September 2016.

“In revealing my goals I’m really cognisant of my board and these are goals that we share together. A lot of them are what Jack did in his term, sticking to the pillars he created for the Central Gauteng Lions,” Vilas says.

“Transformation is always the number one priority for all of us at the Lions, particularly right now with what’s happening in the world.

“We need to revive and grow the game in the townships. That’s very important. We also want to grow women’s cricket, which is going to be tough because there are not enough facilities even for men’s clubs. But we want to ensure that the women at least get equal opportunity.

“The financial stability of the union and the clubs, who I would like to see not being so reliant on the CGL, is also very important, and we need to increase the amount of cricket being played at schools and at age-group level. It’s vitally important to play as much cricket as we can.

“The upkeep of the Wanderers is another pillar, getting the most out of it as a multi-purpose stadium.”

Growing up in a household with a sports-mad father and two brothers, and then having three sons of her own, there was not much chance Vilas was going to be found cooking in the kitchen while surrounded by so much sporting action.

Her whole life has been spent in male-dominated pursuits, which is why she is comfortable being just the second female president of a domestic cricket union, after Zola Thamae in the Free State.

“I played garden cricket with my brothers, and my dad Herby Prout was a keen sportsman at club level, as well as working in the sports industry. I had two brothers and then three sons, so there’s been a massive amount of cricket watched at the Wanderers over the years,” Vilas says.

“I had seen great times watching my dad and brothers – the youngest, Robert, was the wicketkeeper for Mark Rushmere’s 1983 SA Schools side (which also included Dave Rundle, Daryll Cullinan, Dave Callaghan and Meyrick Pringle) – and I wanted my boys to play club sport as well and make those friendships.

“And I’ve worked in a male dominated sports industry all my life, so it is not new to me. I don’t want to be in the position I am because of what I am, but because of who I am.

“But if being president is important to women in general, if I can make a difference to future women wanting to get involved in cricket, then that’s good.”

For Vilas, her journey in cricket started at club level and she believes it is time the game went back to its roots to ensure they are strong.

“Every male member of my family went to King Edward VII School and my boys played at Old Eds. I played hockey there and was a sponsor through our sports goods business, but then one of my friends at the club suggested I make myself available for the Lions board – they would put my name forward – and that’s how I got into cricket administration,” she recalls.

“Those friendships I spoke about from the old days of club sport, we’ve lost those. Cricket used to be about family and kids coming to watch, but the sport is not really growing now. It’s static.

“It comes back to the lack of facilities. Nobody is building any more cricket fields, so we have a limited amount of people playing and these days kids want instant success, so if they don’t make the A or B team then they go and play something else. People are no longer playing just for the love of the game.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has, of course, been an arrant disaster for cricket, but Vilas is well placed both as a businesswoman and as the mother of Dane Vilas – the internationally acclaimed former Proteas wicketkeeper/batsman who now plays for Lancashire – to come up with solutions.

“I’ve seen through Dane’s experiences in England how the counties make money, and through my cricket contacts in England, Australia and New Zealand, I have my finger on what happens around the world,” says Vilas, whose company imports and distributes sporting goods.

“From a purely business point of view, Covid will have a massive effect. In our own industry, schools and clubs weren’t able to finish the last season so we’re going to be selling them less equipment for next season.

“The whole lockdown will have a knock-on effect and sponsors will be badly affected as well.”

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