Report on the 2007 SA Sports Tours Veterans cricket festival

Click here to see the Weekend Programme (.pdf - Requires Adobe Acrobat - 433KB)

After many years of successfully running the Wilderness veterans soccer tournament, SA Sports Tours launched the 2007 Veterans Cricket Festival. Although the initial response from teams to our early marketing effort was very encouraging, unfortunately many with good intentions fell by the way side the closer we got to the festival date. This effectively left us with four sides entered into the 2007 festival. The reason for this I suspect is that being brand new this tournament had no track record of success which could be sold to prospective teams.

It being our experience that big things come from small beginnings we decided to push ahead and launch the festival regardless. And boy are we glad we did as all four sides that made the effort thoroughly enjoyed a fantastic weekend of socializing and cricket. The accommodation at the King George Protea is absolutely fantastic, the weather was superb and the food excellent. Most of all I think those that attended now have a good understanding that when SA Sports Tours put a tournament together we go the extra mile to make it something special.

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Teams arrived on Friday 13 April, unlucky for some but not for those of us lucky enough to be involved with this festival. The Joburg guys arrived early in the morning on the 1Time flight while the Bloem boys only arrived at 17H00 by coach after an eventful trip in which they experienced a flat tyre and the loss of one of there windows. Fortunately Tommy the Tourist Rogers was on hand to make the necessary repairs. Owen “free fall” Horwitz kept the boys entertained by throwing himself down the busses stairs at every pit stop.

Clive Payne and the Peninsula side traveled by car from Cape Town in what appeared to be a less incident filled trip then the lads from Bloem.

Friday night saw all sides enjoying a meal at the Kingfisher restaurant in George. Although the Kingfisher specializes in seafood, most of us opted for the rump steak. After a good meal it was off to bed for some, while others decided to explore the nightlife on offer in George.

Sat 14 April

Breakfast is served at 07H00. Apart from Thomo not many are up that early though. Most drift in at 08H00 with some looking far fresher then others.

Puddings 11 take on the Bloem vets at York High while Peninula make the trip to beautiful Saasveld Campus to play the laid back boys from Knysna.

At York, the Puddings 11 bat first with Tony Pudding Middleton top scoring with 57, Jaco van Heerden weighing in with 37 and Brian Martin 30, to finish on a total of 169. The Bloem boys pass this score with 9 overs to spare and 6 wickets down. Top scorers for Bloem are Nico Pretorius 41, J Backer 22, Kenny Williams 21 and Fish not out 22. I stayed after the match to witness the Bloem boys very long fines meeting and suggested they video these in future and sell them at stores all over the country (they would easily cover the cost of next seasons tour).

At Saasveld unfortunately Knysna are rolled over by Peninsula. Knysna only managing 51 against some accurate spin bowling from the spin twins Palanyandi and Gabriels who end up taking 4 wickets a piece. Top scorer for Knysna is Gary Fraser with 14. Peninsula take 12 overs and lose 2 wickets while chasing down this total. Farook  martin is top scorer with 24 not out.

After the mandatory fines sessions, for some it’s off to bed early while others choose to sample the town’s night life.

Sunday 15 April

Peninsula take on Puddings 11 at York. Peninsula bat first and score 150. Top scorer is A Nordien with 36 and usefull knocks from F Martin 21, S Gabriels 19 and Palanyandi 18. Puddings use 10 bowlers with the Martin brothers taking 2 a piece.

The Puddings boys decide to reverse the batting order to allow the lower order lads more time at the crease. They manage the 151 in 38 overs. Jack Russel top scores with 36, Heinrich Robbie Wessels 24 and Thomo 19. Again it’s the bowling of Palayandi and Gabriels that picks up all the wickets

At Saasveld the strong Bloem side decide to reverse their batting order and leave out 3 of the stronger players. Bloem score 266 with Wayne Williams top scoring on 64. Nico Pretorius making 55 and Chemaly and Fish 37 each. Knysna can only manage 120 with Guy Jenkins scoring 23 and Markus Nathenson 22.

Its Sunday night and all sides enjoy a quiet Spit braai back at the king George Protea. Again the food is fantastic and plentiful. The boys from Bloen know how to eat meat. Well done to Jannie from Pro Braai, still rated as the top spit braaier in the area. I notice most of the lads are off to bed reasonably early although the Puddings boys drive off to find a place called Stones on the advice of Leigh Ann at reception but are disappointed to find its closed.

Monday 16 April

After another top breakfast its all set for a day of cricket. At York Bloem bat first against Peninsula scoring 221. Top scorer is Tubby Jordaan with 75 and Nico Pretorius 58. Again Palanyandi takes 2 wickets and Muller a further 2. Peninsula start strongly with their openers putting on 50 before a middle order collapse sees them all out for 182. Top scorers for Peninsula are Pilanyandi 28, Hawa 23, Martin 26 and Payne 22. Best bowling for Bloem is Deon Jordaan picking up 4 for 32.

At Saasveld  Puddings 11 underestimate a reinforced Knysna side who bat first and surpringly score 290. Charles Bester top scores for Knysna with 86, Morne Hoole 82 and Gary Fraser 47. Robbie Wessels picks up 4 wickets for 25 to finish as the best bowler for Puddings 11. The game looks on when at the tea break Puddings 11 are half way to the target after only having lost 3 wickets and with Jack and Thomo looking in control. However the wheels fall off when Thomo is caught on the boundary by Murphy for a well played 86 of the bowling of Wrede. The top bowler for Knysna is Morne Hoole finishing on 2 for 25 in 7.

The prize giving that night is back at the King George Protea. The meal is a superb 3 course affair and again the food absolutely fantastic. The Bloem boys take home the trophy as the only undefeated side over the 3 days. The team organisors receive a special edition SA Sports Tours sweat top for their efforts in getting their team to the festival.

As is SA Sports Tours tradition a Crunchie side is selected. To qualify one has to have done something incredibly stupid during the festival. There were many nominees but those that made it into the final squad were as follows:

1. Owen Free fall Horwitz (Bloem) – managing to throw himself down the busses steps at every stop.
2. Timmy the Tourist Roggers (Bloem) – his determination to sample every bit of Georges nightlife in three days and the stories he told the following day concerning these escapades.
3. Nico Shrek Pretorius (Bloem)– Stupidly standing too close to the bat without a Helmut when one of the not so accurate bowlers was bowling and getting conked on the snout.
4. Faried (Peninusla) – Running out their top batter at a crucial stage of the game.
5. Markus Heavy roller Nathenson (Knysna) – throwing himself at the ball on the boundary when clearly he had no chance of reaching it.
6. Guy surfer Jenkins (Knysna) – looking more like a surfer then a cricketer and then going for 48 in 5 overs against Peninsula.
7. Colin The Don Murphy (Knysna) – Opened the batting for Knysna in all 3 innings and only managed a total of 2 runs.
8. Heinrich Robbie Wessels (Puddings) – for his poor command of the English language while explaining to his soutie team mates that he wished to buy them a drink but his wallet was empty. Also for his impersonation of the real Robbie Wessels.
9. Garth smoothie Webster (puddings) – his big swing and miss when being bowled by a harmless full pee from Charles Bester of Knysna.
10. Kenny Ali Williams – for taking exception to the fact that his team mates would not allow him to make a thank you speech at a crucial stage of the fines meeting.

The Bloem boys took home the trophy for playing the best cricket over the 3 days finishing unbeaten. Well done guys. From SA Sports Tours a big thank you to all the players for the positive feedback and the promise to return. We already have commitments from many sides wanting to attend this festival next year and are pretty certain this event is going to grow from strength to strength.

Dale.

Feedback from Team Captains

On behalf of Bloemfontein veterans we would like to thank you for an excellent and well organized event. The players all agreed that the tournament was great value for money. The team enjoyed it so much that it was agreed that the original team will always have preference when a team is selected for the next tournament. Only one problem , it seems we might have to take 2 teams next year, after the feedback the locals all want to go with and are sorry they missed out. The accommodation and fellowship was excellent. We would like to invite someone to try and win the trophy from us next year .We hope the tournament will grow and become very exclusive in the future and we will recommend everyone to join.

Kenny Williams   (Bloemfontein) 
0825531415

I wish to take this opportunity of thanking and congratulating you guys on  a tournament very well organised. I have been on many tournaments in my time but not one rates remotely close to this past veterans tour. This is the most well spent money I have spent in a very long time and cannot wait for the next tour. To Dale , you have outdone yourself to the hotel , to me you are 5 star, to the rest of the teams one would swear you were hand picked by SA Sports Tours. All the venues were in great shape and the umpires were of a high standard. To all you guys well done and looking forward to next year.  

Many thanks
Clive Peninsula CC

Howzit Dale
I think that the festival was a great success and I am sure that all my guys will be back next year all the games were played with a great spirit.   I think that you did a fantastic job organising the event and I wish you great success with further tournaments.
Kind regards
Marcus Nathanson
Knysna Cavaliers  

A Big Thank you to Dale and all those involved in the organizing of the first 2007 Vets Cricket Festival. From the outset to the final gala evening, this tournament was run like clockwork with enthusiasm, involvement, and professionalism being order of the day. 
I would also like to mention to anyone considering playing in next year’s tournament - Book early to avoid disappointment! 
Thanks once again Dale for all the effort you have put in for a well organized tournament. 

Regards,
Tony  (Puddings 11)