Vintcent van der Bijl
Encyclopedia
Vintcent Adriaan Pieter van der Bijl (known as Vince or Pieter) was a South Africa
n cricketer
. He was born in Rondebosch
, Cape Town
on 19 March 1948, where his father, Pieter van der Bijl
, was headmaster of the Diocesan College Preparatory School
after retiring from playing first-class cricket
for Western Province
and South Africa
. His grandfather, V.A.W. van der Bijl (also Vintcent), and great-uncle, Voltelin van der Bijl, also played first-class cricket for Western Province.
He was educated at the Diocesan College Rondebosch, where he not only excelled at cricket, but, owing to his size and strength, was a useful rugby union
player and outstanding shot-putter and at the University of Natal
. After graduating, he became a teacher at Maritzburg College
in Pietermaritzburg
and played first-class cricket as an amateur for Natal
from 1968/69 to 1979/80. He was South African Cricket Annual Cricketer of the Year in 1971. He was appointed captain of Natal in 1976/7 in which year the team won the Currie Cup
and Datsun Shield
.
He gave up teaching in 1979 and went to work for Wiggins Teape, but he was given leave to play for Middlesex
in 1980. He took 85 first-class wicket
s for Middlesex at a bowling average
of 14.72, the third-best first-class bowling average for that season among bowlers with more than 20 wickets, behind Joel Garner
and Richard Hadlee
. Middlesex team won the County Championship
and the Gillette Cup, and he was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1981. He played a final season for Transvaal in 1982/3. In all, he played in 156 first-class matches, taking 767 wickets at an average of 16.55.
He was tall, 202 cm (6ft 7½in), and bowled his fast-medium
deliveries
with accuracy, pace and bounce. The peak of his playing career was during the years of South African sporting isolation, as a result of the South African government's apartheid policies. He was picked for the 1971/72 South African tour to Australia which was cancelled in the wake of the d'Oliveira affair
. Cricinfo
describes him as "one of the best bowlers not to play Test cricket
".
In 2008 he was named ICC
umpires' and referees' manager.
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...
n cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
. He was born in Rondebosch
Rondebosch
Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with a medium-size shopping area, a small business district as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town.-History:...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
on 19 March 1948, where his father, Pieter van der Bijl
Pieter van der Bijl
Pieter Gerhard Vintcent van der Bijl was a South African cricketer who played in 5 Tests from 1938 to 1939. His son, Vintcent, had a successful first-class career....
, was headmaster of the Diocesan College Preparatory School
Diocesan College
The Diocesan College, or Bishops as it is more commonly known, is an independent, all-boys school situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town, South Africa...
after retiring from playing 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...
for Western Province
Western Province Cricket Association
The Western Province Cricket Association is the governing body for cricket in the Cape Town region. Its representative team, Western Province, competes in South Africa's domestic competition the Supersport Series, formerly known as the Castle Cup or the Currie Cup....
and South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
. His grandfather, V.A.W. van der Bijl (also Vintcent), and great-uncle, Voltelin van der Bijl, also played first-class cricket for Western Province.
He was educated at the Diocesan College Rondebosch, where he not only excelled at cricket, but, owing to his size and strength, was a useful rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player and outstanding shot-putter and at the University of Natal
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...
. After graduating, he became a teacher at Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College, known locally as College, is a public school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
in Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
and played first-class cricket as an amateur for Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
from 1968/69 to 1979/80. He was South African Cricket Annual Cricketer of the Year in 1971. He was appointed captain of Natal in 1976/7 in which year the team won the Currie Cup
SuperSport Series
The SuperSport Series is the main domestic first class cricket competition in South Africa, first contested in 1889-90. From 1990-91 it became known as the Castle Cup, and from 1996-97 by its current title...
and Datsun Shield
Nissan Shield (Cricket)
The Nissan Shield was a one day cricket tournament in South Africa. This was a knockout competition based on the English Gillette Cup.The first one was played in the 1969-70 season and was won by a Eddie Barlow XI representing Western Province...
.
He gave up teaching in 1979 and went to work for Wiggins Teape, but he was given leave to play for Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
in 1980. He took 85 first-class wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
s for Middlesex at a bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 14.72, the third-best first-class bowling average for that season among bowlers with more than 20 wickets, behind Joel Garner
Joel Garner
Joel Garner , also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early '80s West Indies cricket teams....
and Richard Hadlee
Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
. Middlesex team won the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
and the Gillette Cup, and he was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1981. He played a final season for Transvaal in 1982/3. In all, he played in 156 first-class matches, taking 767 wickets at an average of 16.55.
He was tall, 202 cm (6ft 7½in), and bowled his fast-medium
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
deliveries
Delivery (cricket)
A delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a cricket ball towards the batsman.During play of the game, a member of the fielding team is designated as the bowler, and bowls deliveries towards the batsman...
with accuracy, pace and bounce. The peak of his playing career was during the years of South African sporting isolation, as a result of the South African government's apartheid policies. He was picked for the 1971/72 South African tour to Australia which was cancelled in the wake of the d'Oliveira affair
Basil D'Oliveira
Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE , known affectionately around the world as "Dolly", was a South African-born English cricketer. D'Oliveira was classified as 'coloured' under the apartheid regime, and hence barred from first-class cricket, resulting in his emigration to England...
. Cricinfo
Cricinfo
ESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
describes him as "one of the best bowlers not to play 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...
".
In 2008 he was named ICC
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
umpires' and referees' manager.