Nic Pothas
Encyclopedia
Nic Pothas is a South African cricket
er who plays as a right-handed batsman and who fields as a wicket-keeper
. In a total of over 200 first-class matches, he has taken over 500 catches. Pothas is an accomplished batsman, with an average
of over 40 in first-class cricket
.
in Barbados
when he was drafted into the South Africa squad for the 2000 Singapore Challenge
as cover for Mark Boucher
who had sliced his fingers open cutting biltong
following South Africa's tie against Australia at the Colonial Stadium in Melbourne
. With Boucher not fit for their next One Day International against Pakistan at the Kallang Ground
in Singapore
, Pothas made his international debut. He marked his debut by taking two catches and making a single stumping, while scoring 24 runs with the bat.
Pothas played in South Africa's next two fixtures in the Singapore tournament against New Zealand, in which he took two further catches, and in the final of the competition against Pakistan, which marked his final international appearance for South Africa. It was the presence of Boucher in the South Africa team that acted as a barrier to Pothas representing South Africa more often and indeed progressing to playing Test cricket
.
, Transvaal Province
, Pothas was educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. The school has a reputation for producing sportsmen of high quality. From there Pothas proceeded to Rand Afrikaans University
. While undertaking his education he played cricket for Transvaal University, South African Universities and even played a single first-class match in 1995 for a combined South African Students cricket team.
He started his career at Transvaal
in 1993, making his first-class debut against Northern Transvaal. In October 1993, Pothas made his debut in List A cricket against Barbados
during Barbados' tour of South Africa
. From his debut season to his international debut, Pothas represented Transvaal B
and later as Transvaal were known, Gauteng. A regular in the first-class and List A arenas while in South Africa, he was a consistent wicket-keeper batsman, averaging on average in the mid thirites with the bat and keeping tidily behind the stumps.
Following his representation of South Africa at international level in 2000, Pothas acquired a Greek
passport owing to his Greek heritage. This meant Pothas played for Gauteng as their overseas player. Seeking to play county cricket
, Pothas was sought after by at least four English counties, but eventually signed for Hampshire
in 2002 under recommendation from then Hampshire coach and fellow South African Jimmy Cook
.
against Kent
, Pothas followed his up by making his List A debut in the same season against Kent in the 2002 Benson and Hedges Cup and the following season he played in Hampshire's first ever Twenty20 match against Sussex
. A regular in all formats for Hampshire, he has played to date 124 first-class matches for the county, scoring over 7,000 runs and taking 355 catches behind the stumps, making him one of Hampshire's most successful wicket-keeper batsman. Up to the 2010 County Championship
, Pothas had scored over 800 first-class runs in every season with Hampshire, besides the 2002 and 2007 seasons. Injury put paid to him recording over 800 first-class runs in the 2010 County Championship. Since making his debut for Pothas, he has been at the forefront of one of the county's most successful periods, winning the 2005 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy
and 2009 Friends Provident Trophy
, in the final at Lords
he made 35 runs from only 31 balls, including a huge six in to the Tavern Stand, in a winning partnership worth 67 runs with Chris Benham
, who hit the winning runs. In the field Pothas caught his opposing wicket-keeper Matt Prior for a duck
, and caught Pakistani international Yasir Arafat
behind for 9. He was also a runner-up for the Hampshire in the 2005 County Championship
and the 2007 Friends Provident Trophy
. It was in 2007 that Pothas became eligible to be selected for England, four years after receiving his Hampshire cap.
In the English off-season, Pothas signed on with the Indian Cricket League
and featured in the Delhi Giants
team in 2008.
During his near decade with Hampshire, Pothas has stood in as county captain when captains such as Shane Warne
, Shaun Udal
and Dimitri Mascarenhas
were unavailable. However, with then incumbent captain Dimitri Mascarenhas injured for the 2010 season following an injury picked up in the Indian Premier League
, Pothas was selected to captain the team on a more long term season basis. Mid-season, he developed a cartilage defect in his right knee which ruled him out of the remainder of the season. He was replaced as captain by Dominic Cork
and as wicket-keeper by Michael Bates
. He added more honours during this season by being a member of Hampshire's 2010 Friends Provident t20
winning squad, having captained and played in the group stages of the competition.
In 2011, Pothas was awarded a benefit year by Hampshire, which will involve a number of events and is being organised by former Hampshire teammate Shaun Udal. Pothas endured an injury hit 2011 season
, with Hampshire taking the decision to release him at the end of that season.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who plays as a right-handed batsman and who fields as a wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
. In a total of over 200 first-class matches, he has taken over 500 catches. Pothas is an accomplished batsman, with an average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of over 40 in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
.
International career
Pothas was representing South Africa ASouth Africa A cricket team
The South Africa A cricket team is a national cricket team representing South Africa. It is the 'second-tier' of international South African cricket, below the full South Africa national cricket team. Matches played by South Africa A are not considered to be Test matches or One Day...
in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
when he was drafted into the South Africa squad for the 2000 Singapore Challenge
2000 Singapore Challenge
The 2000 Singapore Challenge, also known as the 2000 Godrej Singapore Challenge for sponsorship reasons was a One Day International cricket tournament which took place between 20-27 August 2000. The tournament was held in Singapore...
as cover for Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
who had sliced his fingers open cutting biltong
Biltong
Biltong is a kind of cured meat that originated in South Africa. Many different types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef through game meats to fillets of ostrich from commercial farms. It is typically made from raw fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or...
following South Africa's tie against Australia at the Colonial Stadium in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. With Boucher not fit for their next One Day International against Pakistan at the Kallang Ground
Kallang Ground
The Kallang Ground is a cricket ground in Singapore. The ground played host to nine One-Day Internationals in 1999 and 2000, and is a regular home ground for the Singapore national cricket team. It also hosted matches in the 1999 Youth Asia Cup, the Tuanku Ja'afar Cup in 2000 and 2004, and the 2002...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Pothas made his international debut. He marked his debut by taking two catches and making a single stumping, while scoring 24 runs with the bat.
Pothas played in South Africa's next two fixtures in the Singapore tournament against New Zealand, in which he took two further catches, and in the final of the competition against Pakistan, which marked his final international appearance for South Africa. It was the presence of Boucher in the South Africa team that acted as a barrier to Pothas representing South Africa more often and indeed progressing to playing Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
.
Early life and career
Born in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, Pothas was educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. The school has a reputation for producing sportsmen of high quality. From there Pothas proceeded to Rand Afrikaans University
Rand Afrikaans University
The Rand Afrikaans University ' was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surrounds in from 1967 to 2004...
. While undertaking his education he played cricket for Transvaal University, South African Universities and even played a single first-class match in 1995 for a combined South African Students cricket team.
He started his career at Transvaal
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
in 1993, making his first-class debut against Northern Transvaal. In October 1993, Pothas made his debut in List A cricket against Barbados
Barbados national cricket team
The Barbadian cricket team is the representative first class cricket team of Barbados.It does not take part in any international competitions , but rather in inter-regional competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, and the best players may be...
during Barbados' tour of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. From his debut season to his international debut, Pothas represented Transvaal B
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
and later as Transvaal were known, Gauteng. A regular in the first-class and List A arenas while in South Africa, he was a consistent wicket-keeper batsman, averaging on average in the mid thirites with the bat and keeping tidily behind the stumps.
Following his representation of South Africa at international level in 2000, Pothas acquired a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
passport owing to his Greek heritage. This meant Pothas played for Gauteng as their overseas player. Seeking to play county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
, Pothas was sought after by at least four English counties, but eventually signed for Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
in 2002 under recommendation from then Hampshire coach and fellow South African Jimmy Cook
Jimmy Cook
Stephen James Cook is a former South African cricketer who played in three Tests and four ODIs from 1991 to 1993. His son Stephen Cook currently plays for Gauteng....
.
County cricket
Making his first-class debut for the county in the 2002 County ChampionshipCounty Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
, Pothas followed his up by making his List A debut in the same season against Kent in the 2002 Benson and Hedges Cup and the following season he played in Hampshire's first ever Twenty20 match against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
. A regular in all formats for Hampshire, he has played to date 124 first-class matches for the county, scoring over 7,000 runs and taking 355 catches behind the stumps, making him one of Hampshire's most successful wicket-keeper batsman. Up to the 2010 County Championship
2010 County Championship
The 2010 County Championship season, known as the LV County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 111th County Championship season. It was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team played all the others in their division both home and away...
, Pothas had scored over 800 first-class runs in every season with Hampshire, besides the 2002 and 2007 seasons. Injury put paid to him recording over 800 first-class runs in the 2010 County Championship. Since making his debut for Pothas, he has been at the forefront of one of the county's most successful periods, winning the 2005 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy
2005 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy
The 2005 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy was the 4th Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, an English county cricket tournament, held between 3 May and 3 September 2005. The competition was contested by all 18 first-class counties, as well as 10 minor counties and the national teams of Scotland, Ireland,...
and 2009 Friends Provident Trophy
2009 Friends Provident Trophy
The 2009 Friends Provident Trophy was an English county cricket tournament, held between 19 April and 25 July 2009. The competition was won by Hampshire Hawks who beat the Sussex Sharks by 6 wickets at Lord's.- Format :...
, in the final at Lords
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
he made 35 runs from only 31 balls, including a huge six in to the Tavern Stand, in a winning partnership worth 67 runs with Chris Benham
Chris Benham
Christopher 'Chris' Charles Benham is an English cricketer. Benham is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm off break. He was born at Frimley, Surrey. He attended Yateley School across the county border at Yateley in Hampshire...
, who hit the winning runs. In the field Pothas caught his opposing wicket-keeper Matt Prior for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
, and caught Pakistani international Yasir Arafat
Yasir Arafat (cricketer)
Yasir Arafat Satti is a Pakistani cricketer. He bats right-handed and bowls right-arm fast medium.-International career:...
behind for 9. He was also a runner-up for the Hampshire in the 2005 County Championship
2005 County Championship
The 2005 County Championship season, known as the Frizzell County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team plays all the others in their division both home and away...
and the 2007 Friends Provident Trophy
2007 Friends Provident Trophy
The 2007 Friends Provident Trophy was an English county cricket tournament, held between 22 April and 19 August 2007. The tournament was won by Durham.- Changes from previous tournament :...
. It was in 2007 that Pothas became eligible to be selected for England, four years after receiving his Hampshire cap.
In the English off-season, Pothas signed on with the Indian Cricket League
Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India...
and featured in the Delhi Giants
Delhi Giants
Delhi Giants was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League . This team represents the Indian capital city, New Delhi, India and its captain is Marvan Atapattu, former skipper of Sri Lanka.-Players :The squad announced for the inaugural tournament comprises five...
team in 2008.
During his near decade with Hampshire, Pothas has stood in as county captain when captains such as Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
, Shaun Udal
Shaun Udal
Shaun David Udal is an English cricketer. An off spin bowler and lower-middle order batsman, he was a member of England's Test team for their tours to Pakistan and India in 2005/06.-International career:...
and Dimitri Mascarenhas
Dimitri Mascarenhas
Adrian Dimitri Mascarenhas is an English cricketer of Sri Lankan Tamil heritage. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. He currently plays county cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club, in the Indian Premier League for the Kings XI Punjab and for the Otago Volts in New...
were unavailable. However, with then incumbent captain Dimitri Mascarenhas injured for the 2010 season following an injury picked up in the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
, Pothas was selected to captain the team on a more long term season basis. Mid-season, he developed a cartilage defect in his right knee which ruled him out of the remainder of the season. He was replaced as captain by Dominic Cork
Dominic Cork
Dominic Gerald Cork is a former English cricketer. Cork is a right-handed lower-order batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium, and is renowned for his swing and seam control. Making his début in first-class cricket for Derbyshire in 1990, he was selected to play for England in 1992, aged 21. He...
and as wicket-keeper by Michael Bates
Michael Bates (cricketer, born 1990)
Alexander Michael Bates is an English cricketer who currently plays for Hampshire. Bates is a right-handed batsman who plays primarily as a wicketkeeper....
. He added more honours during this season by being a member of Hampshire's 2010 Friends Provident t20
2010 Friends Provident t20
The 2010 Friends Provident t20 tournament was the inaugural Friends Provident t20 Twenty20 cricket competition for the England and Wales first-class counties. The competition ran from 1 June 2010 until the finals day at The Rose Bowl on 14 August 2010...
winning squad, having captained and played in the group stages of the competition.
In 2011, Pothas was awarded a benefit year by Hampshire, which will involve a number of events and is being organised by former Hampshire teammate Shaun Udal. Pothas endured an injury hit 2011 season
2011 English cricket season
The 2011 English cricket season began on 2 April with a round of university matches, and will continue until the final of the Clydesdale Bank 40 on 17 September. Three major domestic competitions are contested: the 2011 County Championship, the 2011 Clydesdale Bank 40 and the 2011 Friends Life t20...
, with Hampshire taking the decision to release him at the end of that season.
External links
- Nic Pothas at ESPNcricinfo
- Nic Pothas at CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...