Cricket Club very active in region

History

Even though cricket has been played in the Soutpansberg for many decades, a proper field for senior players was only developed in the mid-1990s. The Louis Trichardt Cricket Club was officially formed in 1993.
In the early part of the 1900s, local cricket players probably had to travel far and wide to pit their skills against other teams. Pietersburg Cricket Club was established in 1902 and this field would have served as a central venue for leagues.
That a field to play cricket on was in use in Louis Trichardt is very likely, but little mention is made of this in the municipal archives. It would probably have been at one of the schools. A rudimentary cricket field was also established at Cloud’s End hotel, but exactly when is uncertain.
In 1947, Lalapanzi Hotel was started by the Stubbs and Wilkinson families. The hotel was sold to Julian Rowney, a keen cricket player, and he developed a field at the hotel. This later became the base for the Bushveld Cricket Club.
In 1976, the Louis Trichardt town council announced that it would be developing sporting facilities for the Indian community in Eltivillas. This formed part of a relocation package aimed at softening the blow for the Indian families and businesses that had to be relocated. The sport facilities included a cricket pitch, but this was never properly developed and maintained.
In the early 1990s, a group of cricket players gathered in Louis Trichardt to start a local league. Initially they played on the rugby club’s B-field, with a mat rolled over a piece of levelled ground being used as a pitch. The municipality was approached and asked whether the newly formed club could use the arena at the show grounds for a field. Permission for this was granted and in 1993 a pitch was built.
The club utilized the field at the show grounds for a few years after that, but it gradually became clear that a shared field was not the ideal solution. The club needed a field of its own and in April 1997 a lease agreement was signed with the then Greater Louis Trichardt Transitional Local Council to utilize the field on the corner of the N1 and Rissik Street. Within 18 months after signing the agreement, the area was levelled, and a new pitch was built.
Today, the Louis Trichardt cricket ground is described as one of the most picturesque in the country, boasting lush trees along the boundaries and with the Hanglip mountain as a backdrop.

Achievements

Throughout the years, the club has produced a number of provincial players. These players represented the province at national tournaments and some of them even caught the attention of well-known franchises.
In the 2018 season, the Louis Trichardt XI side won the Limpopo Promotional League. Two of the club’s players, Dirk van den Berg and Leon Olwage, won trophies for the best bowler and batsman of the provincial T20 league. Dewald Joubert and Dirk van den Berg won the trophies as best batsmen and best bowler of the Promotional League.
The local team won the Vhembe District round-robin competition. A junior member, Gerhardus Fourie, won the award as the province’s U/17 Player of the Year.
Gerhardus is one of the club’s promising young players who has already caught the attention of the national coach, Otis Gibson. In 2017, as a 15-year-old, he was already bowling at more than 135 km/h. During last year’s Momentum U/17 cricket week, he ended as the top wicket taker of the tournament, boasting with 19 wickets in six matches.
The Louis Trichardt Cricket Club has a long history of sports development, which started in the early 1990s when teams from rural areas were encouraged to take part in local leagues and provided with coaching mentors. The local leagues specifically cater for junior teams and schools are encouraged to enter sides. The club’s field, being the best in the region, serves as a home base for Louis Trichardt High School.

Management

The club is run by a committee comprising seven members that are elected during an annual general meeting.

Joubert Fourie	Grant Phillipson	Dirk Pieter v d Berg	Naomi Phillipson

Paulo Piorek	Jandré Hancke	Pierre Jonker

The committee members are:
Chairperson:   Joubert Fourie
Vice-chairperson: Grant Phillipson
Secretary: Dirk Pieter v d Berg
Treasurer: Naomi Phillipson             
Additional Member: Paulo Piorek
Additional Member: Jandré Hancke
Additional Member:  Pierre Jonker

Membership requirements

The Louis Trichardt Cricket Club promotes the sport on all levels, including junior and women’s cricket. Throughout the year, various league competitions are held that teams enter. Players taking part in the club leagues must be members of the club. They are then also eligible for selection for the teams that play in the provincial leagues.
The membership fee is R600 per player per year. Prospective members need to obtain a membership form from any of the committee members and submit it, together with the membership fees. An applicant needs to be recommended by three or four of the current club members. The club committee considers each membership application separately.
Junior players (scholars aged 13 to 18) can become members after getting consent from their parents/guardians. The membership fee is R360 per year for juniors.

Sport Clubs - Date: 24 July 2019

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