VEREENIGING. – 41 years ago, on 1 August, Vereeniging Cricket Club held its first ever practice. Since then, many big names have passed through the ground’s gates. One of the significant names from yesteryear who has earned his place in local cricketing history is Edwin Polden (67). During his playing days in the Western Province Premier League, he played with and against the likes of Peter Kirsten, Allan Lamb, Garth Le Roux, Eddie Barlow, Adrian Kuiper, Denys Hobson and Hylton Ackerman to name a few of the greats. In 1981 he moved to the Vaal Triangle and after a short stint at Meyerton Cricket Club he moved to the Vereeniging Cricket Club where he played until his retirement in 1997.

“I opened bowling most of the time and batted at 5 or 6. Some of the notable players I played with were Albert Morkel, Pieter Retief, Chris Perry, Joe Viljoen, Tersius Bosch, Johan Geldenhuys, Louis Van Wyk and many others. During my time at Vereeniging, we won the Vaal first league on numerous occasions,” he recalls. During his 15-year stint at the Vereeniging Cricket Club, he showed his mettle for many seasons in the Transvaal First Reserve League and represented the Vaal Triangle at several Country Districts Tournaments. He was also chosen to represent Transvaal Country Districts at the SA Country Districts Tournament.

In addition to this, he represented Southern Transvaal in the SFW League on several occasions. Throughout his career he took many five wicket hauls. His personal best bowling performance for Vereeniging was 7/19 against Verref, but his match-winning innings of 68 not out against Vanderbijlpark is something he will always remember. “We were 125/8 chasing 210 to win. I made 68* to win the game,” he fondly remembers. After retiring as a financial manager in 2012 Polden, who currently stays in Three Rivers Vereeniging, obtained his CSA Level 2 Coaching Certificate and joined Albert Morkel at the NWU Vaal Cricket Academy until 2017. *Vaalweekblad is currently taking a trip down memory lane to relive the careers and highlights of yesteryear’s local sporting greats. Edwin Polden was recently nominated by the Meyerton Cricket Club. Nominations for any sport is welcome, just send an email to ettienne.vanrensburg@mooivaalmedia.co.za