Old Edwardians Cricket Club celebrates another great cricketing season

The Old Edwardians Cricket Club has celebrated three league wins and individual successes this year, despite the season being cut short.

These include a rare defense of the Premier A League trophy. The return of first-class cricketer, Mitch van Buuren was the first of many plusses. He was joined by the current golden boys of King Edward VII School, Bryce Parsons, and Heinrigh Pieterse, both joining Gauteng from Eastern Cricket. Parsons went on to captain South Africa in the 2020 U19 Cricket World Cup. More provincial cricketers helped to increase the depth of players in the Premier A, Presidents A and Presidents B league teams.

Scott Conway and Damian Hutchinson went head-to-head as the top of the Central Gauteng Lions Premier League wicket-takers. They were well supported by leg spinner Josh Datnow and the provincial bowlers. For Arnold Ndindwa’s Presidents A team, the lure of promotion for the League winners to Premier B was an added new incentive in one of the province’s most competitive leagues. Despite regularly topping the log, the side had struggled for consistency.

The Saturday 1 and 2 teams both excelled and with a month of the leagues remaining, topped their respective leagues. Then the coronavirus arrived in South Africa and the season was cut short, right at the business end. Central Gauteng Lions applied draws for all remaining games.

The Old Edwardians Cricket Club Premier A league team, led by Wesley Landsdale and coached by Brandon Buckley, won the league. Conway ended the season top of the league’s bowling stats with 32 wickets in 18 games, with Hutchinson fourth and Datnow eighth. Wesley Landsdale, despite playing the stabilising role at six, finished third in the province’s batting stats with an average of 120. The Old Edwardians Cricket Club Presidents A side came in a worthy second place behind Jeppe, finishing the season on a high with a good run of wins. Presidents B, in their first season in the league, took the top spot.

The Sunday 2 and Sunday 3 league sides, which are in a rebuilding phase, both had frustrating seasons and finished sixth in their respective competitions. With the bulk of their fixtures played in the first half of the season, their fixtures from January were filled with byes, rain and a default, before being cut short. Luke Woolway’s Saturday 1 team finished in second place behind Lenasia. The Saturday 2 XI did Old Eds proud by winning the club’s third league of the season.

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