Northern Cape all-rounder Tian Koekemoer retired from professional cricket this week.
Koekemoer was offered a Northern Cape for the 2025-26 domestic season in South Africa, but declined.
“My first love – cricket. I wish I could remember the first time I picked up a bat and ball. Maybe it would help me understand how something so small became everything. How a simple game became my sanctuary, my teacher, my test,” Koekemoer wrote on social media.
“Back then, I had no idea how far you’d take me. No idea how many times you’d build me, break me, humble me, and raise me. No idea that you wouldn’t just shape my future – you’d shape my soul.
“From that first moment, you were more than just a game. You were my obsession, my therapy, my identity. You gave a boy from Tzaneen a reason to dream boldly. You gave me something to hold onto when everything else felt uncertain.
“When life was heavy and the noise too loud, you were my quiet. When I felt invisible, you gave me a place to be seen. You gave me discipline, purpose, and a fire I never knew I had. And I chased you with everything in me.”
Tian Koekemoer.
Koekemoer’s first-class career started with Eastern Province in 2015 and ended with Northern Cape in 2025. He scored four first-class centuries and 17 half-tons. His highest first-class score was 130 for Eastern Province. He also took two five-wicket innings hauls for EP.
“The sound of ball on willow, the sweat, the bruises, the glory, the heartbreak – it all lives in me now. Every injury, multiple surgeries, every quiet doubt, every whispered, ‘am I good enough?’ – you made me answer with fight. You made me show up again and again,” he added.
“And through it all, I thank God – for the gift, the passion, the strength, and the people. This talent was never mine alone. It was something entrusted to me. Carried by faith. Sustained by grace. And I don’t take a moment of it for granted.
“You gave me an education no classroom ever could. I learnt how to win. I learnt how to lose. I learnt how to lead, how to follow, and how to stand tall when everything in me wanted to collapse. You weren’t always kind. But you were always honest. And I’m better because of it.
“I didn’t come from privilege or promises. I came from grit. I had to earn every inch. And I did. You turned pinecones to platinum. Pressure into purpose. You turned a young boy’s wild hope into a life. And that life changed me forever.”
Tian Koekemoer (centre).
Koekemoer also played for the Warriors and Tuskers and, prior, worked with current Proteas Women coach Mandla Mashimbyi and current Proteas Test bowling coach Piet Botha.
“To the coaches who shaped this journey – Dave Hawken, the man who saw the flame in a kid at Unicorn Preparatory School and chose to shape it. Mandla Mashimbyi, who gave a teenage boy from Merensky High School a shot when he had no reason to. Michael Smith, who pulled more out of me than I knew was even there,” continued Koekemoer.
“Grant Morgan, who challenged and believed in me beyond the boundary. Runeshan Moodley, who helped put me back together time after time – otherwise I wouldn’t have made it with all my injuries and surgeries. Piet Botha, who gave me so much more than just cricket – he helped shape the man behind the player. You know who you are. And I carry your fingerprints in every chapter of my life.
“And then – there’s my mother. There will never be words big enough for what you’ve done. You were my first cheerleader, my calm in the chaos, my anchor, and my engine. You drove the distances. You packed the lunches. You paid the fees. You prayed the prayers.
“You carried my disappointment when I was too tired to. And you celebrated my victories like they were your own. This was never just my journey – it was ours. You turned nothing into something. You believed when I didn’t.
“And everything I am now is because of everything you poured in then – and now I have the amazing opportunity to work for and alongside you with that same fire and passion. Cricket – after 26 years of giving you my all as a player, it’s time to say goodbye. Not because I stopped loving you. But because life is calling me to love something else – my family, my future, my legacy.
“I leave you with a full heart. I leave with scars, with stories, and with deep gratitude. I leave proud. I leave changed. You were never just a sport. You were my teacher. You were my fight. You were my first love. Thank you for the life. Thank you for the lessons. Thank you for the purpose.”
Tian Koekemoer.
Koekemoer has joined several other retiring professional cricketers in South Africa recently, including:
- Western Province’s Yaseen Vallie;
- Northern Cape’s Jonathan Vandiar;
- Dolphins’ Sarel Erwee;
- South Western Districts’ Kelly Smuts and Keenan Vieira;
- North West’s Matthew Kleinveldt; and
- Easterns’ Divan Posthumus and Shaylen Pillay.