History of SA cricket

[fishyguy]

I haven't found any real info about the history of cricket in SA. I mean I guess the British introduced it into the region but a lot of SA have European ancestry like the Dutch, German , French which is why they have the best names in the game. But how and why did it flourish and how did the non cricket playing European settlers get into the sport.

 

[TT Boy]

My knowledge on South African cricketing history is rather tit ass and vague on certain era’s but the formal origins of the South African game are usually found in the wake Xhosa cattle’s killing’s of 1856, where Cape Colony governor Sir George Grey sent the sons of his officers/high chiefs to Zonnebloem College and cricket was introduced onto the schools curriculum. The weather in the Cape made cricket an extremely easy commodity to export and due to this it was a sport which unlike in England could be played all year round in schools. From then cricket spread to Grey College’s and with the help of Christian mission schools throughout the Eastern Cape- where the African was introduced to the game. Their history in the game is fairly rich and cricket was played and supported extremely well by the African populace. This obliviously changed when apartheid was introduced and then the ANC’s Fanonian like mantra on separating itself away from its white supremacist rulers saw cricket lose much of its African basis. However, the creation of Transkei, KwaZulu, Lebowa and the other entire falsely configured African national states really meant cricket no longer had a basis for the African.

Cricket from an Afrikaner perspective wasn’t openly supported until the end of WW2, it was a game which many Afrikaners were not only prevented from participating in due to its English heritage but its apparent following from the Bantu African educated elite soured the game for many. Even when South Africa hosted Wally Hammond’s England in 1938/9, the Afrikaner media hardly reported on the series. The only time infact the series got much coverage was when a paper devoted its front page in celebration that England had finally left South Africa. This was in spite of South Africa’s team actually featuring Afrikaner players but the tour occurred within the height of the voortrekkers movement and Broederbond society, so any apparent support of a sport created by the English wasn’t going to go down with the Great Trek crew - who at the time were forming the Ossewabrandwag, a ‘group’ based upon Adolf Hitler’s NDSAP model of swearing loyalty to the volk and the volksleier. Supporting cricket would have undermined the Afrikaner fight to challenge English dominance over South Africa.

I’ve currently got two books on order (Black in Whites: A Century of Cricket Struggles in KwaZulu-Natal, Caught Behind: Race and Politics in Springbok Cricket) which should elucidate further on the Africans/Asian/Cape Malay/Coloured participation in the game but that’s about me done.

If you want to learn more about South African cricket through a more ‘conventional’ approach, Luke Alfred’s, The Story of the Men Who Made SA Cricket is an excellent read. Alfred’s book focuses on how South Africa was able to forge a cricketing self identity (away from its English roots) and go from the laughing stocks of world cricket to world beaters.

 

[Langeveldt]

Wow, good post sir.. When you say Grey College, do you mean Port Elizabeth or Bloemfontein? Do you know?

 

[Langeveldt]

As far as I'm aware, I'm sat about 20km from the oldest cricket ground in Africa.. It's at a placed called Salem, and that is all the info I have..

 

[TT Boy]

Wow, good post sir.. When you say Grey College, do you mean Port Elizabeth or Bloemfontein? Do you know?

Cricket was on the curriculum at both Sir George Grey's founded schools but P.E (Grey's High School) is where it took off for Bloemfontein was Orange Free State, Afrikaner country.

Although the Africans use to play a lot of cricket on rush matting in the Free State for the Boers didn't care much for manufacturing cricket strips let alone playing it and the of course the English wouldn't provide wicket assistance.

 

[Langeveldt]

Cricket was on the curriculum at both Sir George Grey's founded schools but P.E (Grey's High School) is where it took off for Bloemfontein was Orange Free State, Afrikaner country.

Although the Africans use to play a lot of cricket on rush matting in the Free State for the Boers didn't care much for manufacturing cricket strips let alone playing it and the of course the English wouldn't provide wicket assistance.

And you are from East London in England or South Africa? Because thats some mighty good knowledge.. Grey College in Bloemfontein remains the most prestigious sporting school in the country, producing Hansie Cronje, Allan Donald, Boeta Dippenaar, Nicky Boje and Naas Botha in recent years..

 

[fishyguy]

Thanks TT Boy especially for the book recommendations. The History SA cricket is highly fascinating indeed.

 

[TT Boy]

And you are from East London in England or South Africa? Because thats some mighty good knowledge.. Grey College in Bloemfontein remains the most prestigious sporting school in the country, producing Hansie Cronje, Allan Donald, Boeta Dippenaar, Nicky Boje and Naas Botha in recent years..

England.

Yeah, Grey College's has produced some fantastic sportsmen, Morne van Wyk was the most recent former Grey pupil to play for South Africa and current Springbok fav Francois Steyn was a former student. But Grey High School has produced some pretty good sportsmen as well, South Africa's greatest batsman went their (Graeme Pollock) whilst a few of South Africa's most talented younger cricketers, Wayne Parnell in particular is a former pupil.

 

[Langeveldt]

England.

Yeah, Grey College's has produced some fantastic sportsmen, Morne van Wyk was the most recent former Grey pupil to play for South Africa and current Springbok fav Francois Steyn was a former student. But Grey High School has produced some pretty good sportsmen as well, South Africa's greatest batsman went their (Graeme Pollock) whilst a few of South Africa's most talented younger cricketers, Wayne Parnell in particular is a former pupil.

hehe, so you know more about the school a few blocks away from me than I do.. Weird! Or are you just Wiki-ing?

 

[TT Boy]

hehe, so you know more about the school a few blocks away from me than I do.. Weird! Or are you just Wiki-ing?

Friends of mine are ex pupils of both schools and I have written a few essays and read countless books which mentions those schools, so I sort of know my **** so to speak. And I’ve been around Grey High School a couple of times as well whilst contemplating my dissertation.

 

[jot1]

TT Boy, you're fabulous! Tell us more, please.
I am shamed. You know much more than I do. Do you come here often or have you lived here? You seem very interested and knowledgeable about South African cricket.

 

[Richard]

IIRR TT is either SAfrican or has some sort of connections, and his "East London" location has fooled many a person down the years.

 

[Zimdan]

Its history was nearly tarnished today by a Zimbabwe team almost chasing 323 to beat them.

You can just hear the saffers saying "Damn schoolboys nearly rolled us"

 

[Pup Clarke]

Schoolboys?

 

[Perm]

TT Boy: Is that the same Sir George Grey who had a big hand in shaping early European New Zealand?

 

[nippy_seam_ups]

Grey Co77EGE 4 lyf ME Ho3S.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Just as a related aside, does anyone know why Rugby was initally more readily embraced by the Afrikaners than cricket, given its similarly English origins? If I were to guess I'd suggest because of the greater scope the sport has for demonstration of the masculine virtues (i.e. violence), but that's probably way off.

Just curious.

 

[neville cardus]

Thanks TT Boy especially for the book recommendations. The History SA cricket is highly fascinating indeed.

Andre Odendaal's exhaustive Story of An African Game, published about five years back, is also well worth purchasing.

 

[TT Boy]

Just as a related aside, does anyone know why Rugby was initally more readily embraced by the Afrikaners than cricket, given its similarly English origins? If I were to guess I'd suggest because of the greater scope the sport has for demonstration of the masculine virtues (i.e. violence), but that's probably way off.

Just curious.

Your not way off.

Rugby was embraced quickly by Afrikaners, for in spite of the growth of Afrikaner nationalism their sporting culture wasn't particularly impressive. Aside from jukskei, an old trek game they didn't have much means of self expression. Afrikaners soon adopted rugby as their game for as historian William Beinart professed, 'it was a sport for pioneers, that called for physicality, bravado and solidarity', the metaphor for the volk and their struggle against the English.

It also offered a more substantial chance of them beating the English, cricket was a past time which proved far more difficult to master (hence why its popularity did not grow until South Africa were at least a competitive side) but the Afrikaner liked the fight rugby offered.