Wynberg Cricket

A brief history

Wynberg is proud of its reputation as an icon of South African, if not world, schoolboy cricket. The History of a School (1961) by DH Thompson credits Mr Lloyd, a popular master at Wynberg during the 1880s, with establishing cricket as an institution. He used to hold lunchtime coaching sessions which would conclude with him having a knock against the schoolboys. Legend has it that the boys went to great lengths to avoid getting him out so as to prolong the ringing of the end-of-break bell. Mr Lloyd’s coaching sessions must have worked, for his era coincided with Wynberg’s first two international representatives: Robert Reid Dower and Robert Graham were awarded international colours when they represented South Africa against Lord Hawke’s English team in 1898. Ten Wynberg boys have since played international cricket, including former England captain, Allan Lamb, and arguably the world’s greatest ever all-rounder, Jacques Kallis. Wynberg has produced 55 first-class cricketers and the current domestic scene includes Wynberg Old Boy representation in the form of Richard Levi (Cobras and SA Emerging Squad), Shadley Van Schalkwyk (Chevrolet Knights) and Lolly Siboto (Free State Eagles). We are particularly proud of the brothers-in-an-endless-chain values that our club promotes: our Old Boys do not forget their roots and regularly return to play in our Old Boys’ games in March. Jacques Kallis, too, has not forgotten his roots, giving his name to the prestigious Jacques Kallis Scholarship that is awarded annually to one deserving cricketer to attend Wynberg for the duration of his high school education. Wynberg prides itself on ‘firsts’ and these include becoming the first South African side to win the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Cricket Tournament in Barbados in 1994; entering uncharted waters as the first schoolboy cricket side from outside of the subcontinent to tour Pakistan in 2006 and representing the Cobras franchise at the Standard Bank Schools Pro20 Challenge in 2010 and 2011. Cricket remains one of the school’s premier sports and Wynberg cricketers are known and respected around the world. There is no doubt that the success of Wynberg cricket throughout the last two centuries can be attributed to the legions of passionate players and coaches who have ensured that the greatest of games continues to flourish within the confines of Wynberg’s magnificent grounds.