Gideon Richter keeps the scoreboard ticking for Pirates during a recent match. Photo: Nicholas Zaal
Not all of Pirates Cricket Club’s teams had a good start to the season, but their 1st team is in prolific form.
The team has won 14 of its 16 matches so far and earned 13 bonus points in the Premier League B. The team is second on the log, just one point behind Old Parktonian Cricket Club
According to club chairperson, Richard Connear, much expectation rests on the shoulders of the 1st team players to earn promotion back into the Premier League A.
“We started the season with three goals: To get our 1st team back into the Premier League A, have our 2nd team maintain their spot in the President’s League A and have our 3rd team gain promotion to the SU1 League,” Conner said.
Matthew van Dyk goes through for a run for Pirates during a recent cricket match. Photo: Nicholas Zaal
“Our 2nd team is currently fighting relegation and the 3rd side is out of contention for promotion so one of our three goals is still possible.”
First team player Blake Linder said the team’s success was largely thanks to the form showed by its bowlers, three of whom were
among the top 10 leading wicket takers in the league. Michael Groenewald (ninth) has 21 wickets, Chris Freeman (sixth) has 25 wickets, and Matthew Parr (second) has 36 wickets.
Gideon Richter bats for Pirates during a recent match. Photo: Nicholas Zaal
Linder invited anyone interested to watch Pirates take on the league leaders at Pirates Cricket Club on 31 March in a match that will most likely decide who wins the league and ultimately gets promoted.
“We are a club that is open to anybody and everybody who possesses the ability to wield a cricket bat and catch or throw a cricket ball,” Linder said. “Our teams bond immensely over the course of a season, and by now we find ourselves with heaps of friends we never we thought we’d have when the season started out.”
He added that the club accommodated for every player, regardless of their background or financial situation.
The club also has six teams playing in various Central Gauteng Lions Saturday and Sunday leagues.
Details: Pirates Sports Club info@piratesclub.co.za; 011 646 5025.
