Alberton cricket remembers Clive Rice

ALBERTON- The death of SA cricket giant Clive Rice brought back memories of the day when his cricket legacy was forever cemented into Alberton’s cricket history, during the 1985-1986 cricket season, 30 seasons ago.

In the year of the opening of the new extensions to the Alberton cricket clubhouse, in 1986, a portrait of Rice by another Springbok cricketer, Rupert Hanley, was unveiled during the season, at the cricket clubhouse.

Rice, at that stage the Springbok captain during the rebel tours of the isolation era, unveiled the portrait himself.

On the night of the opening of the new clubhouse extension named the Doug Harris Room, by Clr Louise Harris, the then Deputy Mayor of Alberton, at the end of October 1986, Rice was quoted.

Albie During, director of cricket in the Transvaal, quoted from a speech made by Rice at the time, about the fact that constant development could be observed in South Africa despite isolation.

However, according to Rice, no development in the provision of facilities could be observed by him in England at the time when he captained Nottinghamshire to the Northwest trophy county championship.

Alberton cricket supporters also remember “Ricey” as the kingpin who captained their cricket province “Mean Machine” team to five consecutive provincial titles in the ’80s.

The Alberton Record’s “Sporting highlights for the year”, as published on December 21, 1986, named the unveiling of Rice’s portrait in the Alberton Cricket clubhouse as one of the highlights of that year.

Following his death, Alberton Cricket and local cricket supporters, therefore, joined the country in

paying tribute to the legend, who lived from July 1949 to July 2015.

Long live the memory of Clive Rice in Alberton!