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Rhodesian first-class cricket in 1973/74Captain: Mike ProcterRhodesia had enjoyed two seasons of success, in both of which they could have won the Currie Cup. However, the 1973/74 season saw a return to the inconsistency of the Sixties; not a match was won and the team finished bottom of the A Section table. The batting was mainly to blame, and it was inexplicable from the cricketing point of view -- but there were those who felt that many players in the team who enjoyed an exotic night life were allowing this to interfere with their cricket. Three drawn matches opened the season, although Rhodesia were lucky to escape with a draw against Natal at Bulawayo, as their last two batsmen, Paddy Clift and Tony de Caila, played out the final few overs. De Caila, recalled in an emergency with the established Howie Gardiner unavailable and the promising young Des Evans ill, was playing in his last match for Rhodesia; with no other quality wicket-keepers available, leading batsman Stuart Robertson was saddled with the job for the rest of the season. Only Eastern Province beat Rhodesia on their Currie Cup tour, but they lost a thrilling match to the same opposition at home and then produced one of their worst batting performances for years to lose heavily to Western Province at the conclusion of the season. Procter himself had only a moderate all-round season, by his own high standards, and perhaps the team were still relying too much on him. Apart from Gardiner, all the leading players of their two great years were still available except for left-arm spinner Richie Kaschula, who dropped out of top cricket temporarily -- but there was a ready replacement for him in John Traicos. Despite a certain decline in form, Procter again scored most runs, 563 at 33.11, and this included the side's only century. As usual in adversity, Jackie du Preez rose to the occasion and topped the batting averages, with 559 runs at 37.76. Robertson's 464 runs came at an average of 27.29, below what would be expected, but having to keep wicket doubtless took its toll. The only other batsmen to pass 300 runs were Jimmy Mitchell (388 at 21.55) and Duncan Fletcher (341 at 31.00). Procter again took the most wickets, but only 38 this season, at an average of 21.81. Robin Jackman just topped him in the averages, with 32 wickets at 21.49. Paddy Clift was one player to improve on previous years, his 26 wickets (average 22.57) including a brilliant return of seven wickets to tear apart the Transvaal batting in humid conditions in Salisbury. The spinners were less in evidence than usual, although du Preez was again selected for representative cricket with two matches for the South African team against the touring Derrick Robins' XI. After three years of failure, Rhodesia finally won a first-round match in the Gillette Cup knockout competition by defeating Orange Free State. But the semi-final brought further humiliation, as the team tumbled to an ignominious defeat at the hands of Natal. The fact that Rhodesia was still abounding in talent was shown when Rhodesia B played a friendly, non-first-class match at Gwelo against Transvaal B, and had the better of the match against their much more experienced opponents. CURRIE CUP TABLE, 1973/74
Bonus Points
P W L D Bat Bowl Points
(10)
Natal 8 3 1 4 27 26 83
Western Province 8 3 2 3 14 28 72
Transvaal 8 2 1 5 24 23 67
Eastern Province 8 1 2 5 11 24 45
RHODESIA 8 - 3 5 14 30 44
At Police B Ground, Salisbury; 3, 4, 5 November. RHODESIA 285/8 dec (J C Mitchell 47, B D Barbour 40, S D Robertson 52, P R Carlstein 38, M J Procter 70) and 133/4 dec (M J Procter 33, B F Davison 47*). TRANSVAAL 149/9 dec (A Bacher 32, B L Irvine 67; P B Clift 7/38) and 211/6 (A Bacher 30, B F Bath 64, S J Cook 41, C G Stephens 45*; M J Procter 4/76). Match drawn. At Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 17, 18, 19 November. NATAL 300 (B A Richards 48, D D Dyer 45, M B Madsen 34, G A Katz 69, V A P van der Bijl 35; R D Jackman 3/43, A J Traicos 3/80) and 214 (B A Richards 60, G A Katz 30, M J Smithyman 49; R D Jackman 6/32). RHODESIA 264 (B D Barbour 40, S D Robertson 40, J H du Preez 68, P B Clift 44; P P Henwood 5/68) and 136/9 (P R Carlstein 39; V A P van der Bijl 4/19). Match drawn. At Johannesburg; 15, 17, 18 December. RHODESIA 372 (J C Mitchell 42, B D Barbour 55, M J Procter 67, J H du Preez 99, D A G Fletcher 47*; D F Becker 3/37) and 137 (B F Davison 31; D Mackay-Coghill 3/52, C E B Rice 3/34). TRANSVAAL 303 (B F Bath 34, R K Muzzell 49, N G Feather-stone 45, C E B Rice 37; M J Procter 3/64) and 118/5 (A Bacher 32). Match drawn. (Friendly) At Pretoria; 20, 21, 22 December. RHODESIA 324 (J C Mitchell 37, B F Davison 68, M J Procter 73, J H du Preez 70; J D Sparks 5/50, K D Verdoorn 4/43) and 192/7 dec (P R Carlstein 59, J H du Preez 54, D A G Fletcher 31*; W B Steytler 3/56). NORTHERN TRANSVAAL 193 (A C Mostert 59, M Durbach 33, C I Dey 42; R D Jackman 4/19) and 216 (K D Verdoorn 81, M Durbach 35, D T Lindsay 40, C I Dey 30; P B Clift 4/24). Rhodesia won by 107 runs. At Cape Town; 4, 5, 7 January. WESTERN PROVINCE 252/9 dec (A Bruyns 76; R D Jackman 5/58) and 170 (A Bruyns 44, H M Ackerman 32; M J Procter 4/43, R D Jackman 3/58). RHODESIA 110 (S D Robertson 46; E J Barlow 4/28, A B Nieuwoudt 5/19) and 187 (M J Procter 53; A B Nieuwoudt 6/45, D L Hobson 3/48). Western Province won by 125 runs. At Port Elizabeth; 11, 12, 14 January. RHODESIA 219 (S D Robertson 42, J H du Preez 60; D J Brickett 3/46) and 275/8 dec (J C Mitchell 35, S D Robertson 50, B F Davison 54; D J Brickett 3/69). EASTERN PROVINCE 293 (A M Short 79, B Wood 42, A L Biggs 32, E Schmidt 71; J H du Preez 3/55, P B Clift 3/71) and 153/8 (C P Wilkins 39, R G Pollock 51). Match drawn. At Durban; 19, 20, 21 January. RHODESIA 200 (J C Mitchell 70; V A P van der Bijl 4/58) and 316/7 (S D Robertson 78, M J Procter 110, J H du Preez 38, D A G Fletcher 38*). NATAL 242 (R A Woolmer 71, G A Katz 73; M J Procter 4/42). Match drawn. At Police B Ground, Salisbury; 2, 3, 4 February. RHODESIA 272/9 dec (J C Mitchell 58, S D Robertson 50, J H du Preez 34; E Schmidt 3/79, C P Wilkins 4/70) and 154/4 dec (D A G Fletcher 71, B F Davison 49). EASTERN PROVINCE 142 (P B Clift 4/43) and 288/8 (S J Bezuidenhout 53, A L Wilmot 45, C P Wilkins 39, K S McEwan 90; M J Procter 3/59). Eastern Province won by two wickets. At Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 2, 3, 4 March. WESTERN PROVINCE 162 (P N Kirsten 40; M J Procter 3/19, A J Traicos 3/36) and 274 (E J Barlow 37, F S Goldstein 63, H M Ackerman 80; R D Jackman 3/33). RHODESIA 81 (B F Davison 30; D L Hobson 6/28) and 207 (J H du Preez 34, D A G Fletcher 52; D L McCay 3/27, D L Hobson 4/101). Western Province won by 148 runs. GILLETTE CUP (60 overs) At Bloemfontein; 20 October. ORANGE FREE STATE 187 (60 overs) (M A Buss 78, R M Prideaux 44; R D Jackman 3/46, P B Clift 4/44). RHODESIA 188/3 (42.5 overs) (J C Mitchell 48, S D Robertson 82*, B F Davison 40). Rhodesia won by seven wickets. At Durban; 3 November. NATAL 286/8 dec (59.5 overs) (D D Dyer 135; P B Clift 3/40). RHODESIA 99 (36.4 overs) (B F Davison 37; V A P van der Bijl 3/18, P H J Trimborn 4/26). Natal won by 187 runs. It is intended in the future to produce full scorecards, and also much more information about all cricket in Rhodesia during this season. At present, the next entry in this section is for 1974/75 |
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