Cricket
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
CRICKET SEASON: September to April
The cricket section has been in existence since the Old Parktonian Association was formed in the 1930s.
Some well-known Old Parks cricketers who came out of the school were Dave Ironside, Don Stewart, Don Pistorius, Paul Kimber, Stan Berger, Sam Rubin, Dave Webster, Tony Upton, Jack Skewis, Harry Shapiro, John Horak, Bruce Muller, David Van der Knaap, Ronald Desilla, Doug Neilson, Noel Day, John Varty and many more.
The Club has been an affiliate member of the Central Gauteng Lions from inception of the Transvaal Cricket Union.
The Club’s First team has been represented in the Premier League also since inception of the Transvaal Cricket Union.
The current Chairperson of the Cricket Section is Ryan Wessels and Club Legend, Doug Neilson the former ‘Mean Machine” all-rounder who represented Transvaal, as it was then known, for over 12 years, is still involved as a cricket committee member and coordinator of our Junior cricket section.
Our Club has two fields: (i) Doug Neilson Oval (formerly known as Old Parks A and our Main Top Field); and (ii) Copper Orr Field (Middle/Bottom Field).
Cricket Information
COMMITTEE
Ryan Wessels, Chairperson – epilogue93@gmail.com
Alan Jose, Vice-Chairperson – alanj@alanjoseatt.co.za
Doug Neilson, Secretary – 071 102 5997 / dougrn17@gmail.com
Kumar Bhattacharjee, Treasurer – point72@gmail.com
Dave Nosworthy, Consultant – dave.nosworthy@gmail.com
Martin van Wyk, Member – mmvwyk1986@gmail.com
Brian Bain, Member – bcbain@gmail.com
Anand Reddy, Member – anand.reddy@anachem.co.za
Lizette Driescher, Club Manager – 011 789 3274 / oldparks@mweb.co.za
Mantombi Radebe-Mokone, Membership – 011 789 3274 / oldparks@mweb.co.za
Junior Cricket: Doug Neilson – 071 102 5997 / dougrn17@gmail.com
Junior Cricket: Karlene Lemon – karlenelemon88@gmail.com
Head Coach: Richard Wood – 060 819 3399 (Strictly Whatsapp only) / richard1982wood@gmail.com
Assistant Coach: Jethro Mawudzi – jmawudzi@gmail.com
Captain Premier: Charl Du Toit – 072 775 0849 (Strictly Whatsapp only) / charljnr58@gmail.com
Captain Presidents: Tim Van Zyl – 079 398 4561 (Strictly Whatsapp only) / timdvz@mweb.co.za
Captain Sunday 3: TBC
Captain Saturday 3: TBC
Captain Saturday 4: TBC
PRACTICE TIMES
Senior cricket training: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 4:30pm
Junior cricket training: Saturdays from 8:30am to 11:15am
OPENING PRACTICES
All Age Groups: U6 to U13, commencing 8:30am
Saturday 21st September
- All parents are parent to assemble in front of the club house on the top field on the 21st September for a very short Pre-Season briefing.
- Shirts and caps can also be obtained / bought on these three respective Saturdays and again also only at the start of practice.
SENIOR CRICKET
Number of teams entered in the League
- 3 Sunday Teams and 2 Saturday Teams
- Sunday cricket has three formats – 50 overs, T20 and Time cricket
- Saturday cricket is a limited 35 overs format
- ALL SENIOR PLAYERS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN THE CLUB
- Contact Doug Neilson – 071 102 5997
JUNIOR CRICKET
Practice Times
Punctuality is of the utmost importance and therefore as that you always aim to be at practice 10 minutes before it actually starts.
The various age groups practice times are as follows:
- U6’s, U8’s & U7’s – 8:15a.m. to 10:20/10:30a.m
- U9’s – 8:15a.m to 10:45/11:00a.m
- U11’s – 8:15a.m to 11:00/11:15a.m
- U13’s – 8:15a.m to 11:00/11:15a.m
(Please note due to the nature of the game it isn’t always possible to conclude practices exactly on time. Your support in this regard would be appreciated, and ask that at all possible you refrain from pulling your child away before practice has officially ended).
Please be advised the cricket nets are available to cricket members only.
Matches
- U6’s – Don’t play matches as these children are still too young to properly master the art of bowling etc. Internal fun games are played & become part of every practice.
- U7’S – Play 8-a-side Cricket.
- U9’s – U13’s – Play normal 11-a-side Cricket. (Matches fixtures are scheduled to commence on alternate Saturdays fro October. clarity on this as well as fixtures will be made available at lot closer to the time).
Kit and equipment
Players are asked to wear their Club cap, a white shirt, with white shorts / longs. Each player must bring his/her own juice to practices. Please do not give your child “drink money” as they will not be permitted to run-off to the bar during “drinks break”. Also please ensure that your child is adequately protected from the sun by sunblock / suntan cream.
Equipment
- U6 – U7: Need to bring only a bat. (Size 0,1 or 2 – Not bigger )
- U9 – U11: A bat, batting gloves, a helmet, a ball box, batting pads, a size 113g cricket ball and a tennis / soft ball.
- U13’s: Same as the U9 – U11’s (incl. the tennis / soft ball), except that they need a size 135g cricket ball.
Please ensure that all items are clearly labelled with the players name and age group. The Club will not be responsible for any lost or stolen items. Players must ensure that they look after their equipment, sealing away all items in their cricket bags when not in use.
Volunteers
The success of the club depends heavily on the support it gets from it’s members, and in this case it’s parents. We will also require a manager and scorer for each side. All our present coaches are volunteers and will require as much assistance as possible. Junior Cricket takes up only 2 -3 hours of your time each Saturday morning. We need support in the areas of coaching and administration within each age group. Anyone willing to get involved is to please contact William, Karlene or Doug (dougrn17@gmail.com).
Sponsorship
Subscriptions form only a part in ensuring that we cover our costs, with sponsorship being the difference of whether we just make ends meet or are able to take Old Parks Junior Cricket to new levels. Therefore once again appeal to anyone who is able to support is to email William Blackwell william.blackwell@icloud.com or Karlene Lemon karlenelemon88@gmail.com or Doug Neilson dougrn17@gmail.com.
Conclusion
We will endeavour to keep you informed throughout the season, which will be done by your various age group head coaches / managers & myself, via e-mail.
Regards, Doug, William and Karlene
CONTACTS
Ryan Wessels, Chairperson: epilogue93@gmail.com
Alan Jose, Vice Chairperson: alanj@alanjoseatt.co.za
Doug Neilson, Secretary: 071 102 5997 / dougrn17@gmail.com
Kumar Bhattacharjee, Treasurer: point72@gmail.com
Dave Nosworthy, Consultant: dave.nosworthy@gmail.com
Martin van Wyk, Additional Member – mmvwyk1986@gmail.com
Brian Bain, Additional Member – bcbain@gmail.com
Anand Reddy, Additional Member – anand.reddy@anachem.co.za
Lizette Driescher, Club Manager: 011 789 3274 / oldparks@mweb.co.za
Mantombi Radebe, Membership: 011 789 3274 / oldparks@mweb.co.za