Ken Borland

Cricket may be the archetypal English sport, but there is a long history of it being played in Pretoria and one of the earliest mentions of the game in the city was in August 1874 when a Volksraad meeting was interrupted by Jim Nobel, President Burgers’ secretary, slogging a ball through the window of the chamber and narrowly missing the Speaker.

Those early Landvaders almost decided to ban cricket from the city square, but President Burgers and the attorney-general were both lovers of the game and the sport was given a reprieve.

Those pioneering Pretoria cricketers moved to a cattle compound on Widow Hoffman’s farm, in what is now Fountains Valley, in 1882 and their ground became known as Berea Park, where several Pretoria v Potchefstroom matches were held.

There was already a black cricket club playing in Elandsfontein, the Diggers, in 1898 and by 1937 there were more than 50 black clubs spread between Randfontein and Nigel.

Those were the days of the Transvaal Republic and the best cricketers from the Pretoria region would play for Transvaal, until 1937 when North-Eastern Transvaal was included in South African domestic cricket in its own right.

North-Eastern Transvaal’s first first-class match was played in December 1937, in the 25^th edition of the Currie Cup, as they took on Western Province at Berea Park. Lennox Brown, who played in two Tests for South Africa in 1931/32, took five for 54 and William Lance, the father of Tiger, claimed three for 19 as the inexperienced home side limited the powerful Capetonians to just a 10-run first-innings lead.

Brown then top-scored with 42 in the North-Eastern Transvaal second innings, but the debutants ultimately went down by just three wickets.

North-Eastern Transvaal also often played in Benoni, at the same Willowmoore Park ground that has become a Titans stronghold in the present day, but they were considered a second division team and only played in the A Section of the Currie Cup again in 1960/61 and 1967/68.

In 1971, the North-Eastern Transvaal Cricket Union became the Northern Transvaal Cricket Union, and in 1979/80 they returned to the A Division.

But with all the socio-economic problems in South Africa and Berea Park now being nearly a hundred years old, Northerns cricket remained a hospital case and they needed a doctor to steer them into the bright future they now enjoy.

That doctor was chemical engineer Willie Basson and as chairman of the NTCU he began chasing what he would later describe as “a ridiculous dream” in 1981/82 when the search for a new home for the union began.

It was a momentous year on the field as well as the Northerns B side was entered into first-class competition for the first time, playing in the Bowl, and the senior team won for the first time in the A Section as they beat Eastern Province in Port Elizabeth under captain Norman Featherstone. English swing bowler Chris Old took eight wickets in the match and there were important 70s from Rodney Ontong and Vernon du Preez.

And in 1982, former Transvaal stars such as Lee Barnard and Noel Day arrived in Pretoria and would play vital roles in the rise of Northerns cricket. The other major acquisition was that of former New Zealand captain John Reid who was put in charge of the team and proved an inspirational figure working in tandem with captain Barnard.

The move to Centurion Park – the name was chosen after a Name The Ground Competition – happened from 1984/85 and it is the only cricket ground in the world to have given its name to the suburb that sprung up around it. The first match was played on November 15, 1986.

The 1980s was the decade when the rise of Northerns cricket really began and in 1984/85 they played in two of the three domestic finals. They beat Western Province for the first time in the Currie Cup semi-final, thanks to Mandy Yachad’s century and Eric Simons taking seven wickets and scoring a crucial 58.

The elusive first A Section trophy would only come in 1996/97 however, the same year the NTCU became the Northerns Cricket Union, when 59 years of waiting ended with Keith Medlycott and Mark Davis steering them to the Standard Bank League title, Mike Rindel breaking the record for the most number of runs in a season in the day/night competition and Rudi Bryson spearheading the attack.

Limited-overs cricket continued to be the main source of success for Northerns and the Titans franchise as they became known in 2004, with the team winning the 1998/99 Standard Bank League, the Pro20/T20 competition in 2004/05, 2007/08 and 2011/12, and the one-day competition in 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2013/14.

The Titans have won the four-day competition four times – in 2005/06, 2006/07, 2008/09 and 2011/12 .

The Northerns Cricket Union has become a place where the different language groups and races of South Africa pull together for the success of the team, and no franchise won more trophies than the Titans between 2004 and 2014.

This has obviously led to many players from the Pretoria region being selected for the national team and the likes of Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Morne Morkel and Paul Harris have been integral to the rise of the Proteas to the number one Test side.

Off the field, the calm, visionary leadership of people like Basson, Alan Jordaan, Richard Harrison, Brandon Foot, Vincent Sinovich, Elise Lombard, Jesse Chellan, and now Jacques Faul, Patricia Kambarami and John Wright has been crucial to the success of the Northerns and Titans teams.

Compared to the efforts of his team-mates, Janneman Malan’s exploits on the South Africa U19 tour of England in August might have them considering erecting a statue in his honour at Waterkloof High School in Pretoria.

Malan was the only obvious success story to come out of a tour in which the SA U19s failed to win a game. The strong performance of the first four-day youth test, which was drawn, gradually gave way to a series of disappointing performances, especially by the batsmen.

Malan, however, batted superbly, passing 50 in six successive matches on tour, before being run out for 3 in the final ODI.

The optimism of the first two days of the series, when South Africa scored 433 in the first youth test at Fenners, Cambridge, thanks to Grant Roelofsen’s 149, and then reduced England to 199 for six, was in stark contrast to the end of the tour, with Lawrence Mahatlane’s new-look team suffering a 5-0 whitewash in the limited-overs games.

The determination of the English lower-order saw them save the first test and the frailties of the South African batting line-up then became apparent in the second test as they were bundled out for just 77 in their first innings in Northampton.

But with Hanco Olivier showing his mettle in batting for five hours in scoring 79 not out and Malan making 55 in three hours, South Africa were able to save the game and draw the test series as the fourth and final day was entirely washed out.

Malan, who scored 83 in the second innings of the first test, continued his brilliant run by making 56, 76, 52 and 51 in the first four ODIs, but his efforts were in vain as England took the spoils every time.

Keith Dudgeon sparked a late comeback by taking five wickets in the first ODI at Edgbaston, but South Africa had only posted an insufficient 227 and lost by two wickets with four balls to spare.

It was the closest match of the series as South Africa’s junior internationals were given the mother and father of hidings thereafter, twice in Nottingham and once each in Leicester and Derby.

The hosts won the toss in all five ODIs and certainly made it count, opening batsman Haseeb Hameed starting the series with two scores of 97 and then making 125 in the decisive third ODI; while number three Tom Alsop made a century in the second game and 57 in the third.

Pacemen Luke Wood, Josh Shaw and Will Rhodes were a handful for the SA U19 batsmen throughout the tour.

Top-class cricket will be coming to the far north on the first weekend of August as Unlimited Titans veteran Ethy Mbhalati hosts a benefit game at the Polokwane Cricket Club.

Although Mbhalati has been a Titans stalwart since 2002/03 and represented SA A, the pace bowler has not forgotten his roots and the player born in Tzaneen and educated at Majeje High School in Lulekani Township outside Phalaborwa, will be returning to Limpopo to thank everyone in those parts who has supported his successful career.

The Limpopo Cricket Academy product will host coaching clinics on Friday, August 1, before a sixes festival will be held on Saturday, to be followed by a cocktail party at the Peter Mokaba Stadium that evening.

The Titans will be one of four sides in action on Saturday, alongside an Ethy Mbhalati XI, the Limpopo Impalas and an Ethy Mbhalati Mixed Invitation XI.

Former Proteas Loots Bosman, Thandi Tshabalala and Makhaya Ntini are likely to be members of the Ethy Mbhalati XI, while the names of Mangaliso Mosehle, Aaron Phangiso and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, if he’s recovered from his ankle injury, have also been mentioned.

Celebrities, including the likes of Generations star and ardent cricket fan Xoliswa Xaluva, will also be obvious attractions.

The event will not only benefit one of the most deserving of cricketers, but also boost the profile of cricket in Limpopo.

The matches will take place between 9am and 5pm on Saturday, August 2, and the gates will open at 8am.

Ticket prices for the festival are R50 and R200 for the VIP package. The cocktail party will cost R350 and this includes meals, complimentary drinks and a chance to sit and mingle with Mbhalati, Titans players, former team-mates and his celebrity friends. Cash bars will be available throughout both events.

Tickets will be sold at TicketPros outlets nationwide and also at the Limpopo Impala Cricket office from Sunday.