Rondebosch Cricket Club appoint new coach; welcome back players, lose others

Sean HendrieckFile image: Sean Hendrieck.

Rondebosch Cricket Club have named the talented Sean Hendrieck head coach, for the 2018-19 Western Province Cricket Association season.

Hendrieck opened the batting alongside fellow left-hander Michael Pote during the 2016-17 premier league, when Rondebosch Cricket Club finished in second position in the 10-team standings.

He did not feature in 2017-18, when Rondebosch Cricket Club occupied eighth position on a 12-team log prematurely closed by water shortages in Cape Town and surrounds.

Rondebosch Cricket Club have lost Pote and the experienced Martin Walters, but retained batsman Brad Barnes and fast bowler Myolisi Fumba. Spinner Robert Newby has returned.

Rondebosch Cricket Club were unable to play any premier league cricket on their central oval during the 2017-18 season, due to a Rawson Property Group housing development on the premises.

“The completion of the clubhouse is scheduled for 31 July 2018. The main field should be ready for play by January 2019,” club chairman Simon Foxcroft told Club Cricket SA in May.

Premier league – and first division A – clubs will play 50-over innings during the 2018-19 WPCA season.

The WPCA cricket committee were going to engage premier league and first division A clubs about the format played within one-day cricket, which was changed from two days earlier last month, at a meeting at Newlands on Tuesday, 7 August.

Monday, 6 August’s meeting between Cricket South Africa representatives and club cricket coordinators countrywide, however, effectively ended the WPCA cricket committee’s bid to dialogue with premier league first division A captains and coaches about formatting.

“All unions who opt to play one-day cricket must adhere to the CSA 50-over Club Championship playing conditions,” read an email excerpt from WPCA club cricket and facilities co-ordinator Lindsay O’Malley.

“This will be standardised across all unions and all premier and promotional (first division A) leagues must adhere to these playing conditions.

“CSA will now formulate the playing conditions and they will be sent to all unions to be adopted within the two top leagues of each province.”

Some clubs had informally proposed 60-over innings, while others suggested 55 or 45.

Contact jw@clubcricket.co.za