Maritzburg College School Magazine Maritzburg College Magazine 2016 electronic | Page 7

D AY S O F Y O R E
20 Years Ago
Extract from the College Magazine #131 dated June 1997
The vagaries of the contest – doctored pitches, one-eyed umpires, ill-suited
formats, erratic form and the like – no doubt contribute to the fact that it
is surprisingly difficult for even a very fine First XI to remain undefeated
throughout the long schoolboy cricket season. However, the year in
question provided a First XI to savour, and one that challenged many of the
school’s cricketing records.
“The 1996 first team saw only four regular players back from the 1995
outfit but this didn’t in any way hold this team back as it set about re-writing
the College cricket history books. That it remained undefeated put it in the
company of only three other College First XIs (1916, 1952 and 1989)
that has previously achieved this feat. That it won 18 of its matches put
it alongside the 1968 team, which also lost two and drew three. That it
won 18 and drew four of its 22 fixtures put it at the top of the pile of many
great College First XIs and the team is to be congratulated on this fine
achievement that will be remembered in years to come.”
André van Vuuren’s First XI of 1996 became only the (at the time) fourth
College team of all time to remain unbeaten. The captain of the team
enjoyed a stellar year, scoring 897 runs (at 49.8) in 21 innings and
being joint leading wicket-taker with 33 scalps during the season.
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