Photo Credit: Cricket South Africa
The 44-year-old Michael Eksteen from Pacaltsdorp United Cricket Club was elected as the new president of South Western Districts Cricket at the annual general meeting of the company that was held in Oudtshoorn on Saturday July 29th. Eksteen who was elected as a non-independent director in March 2023 became the vice-president in April this year. He will succeed the long-serving president, Mr Rudy Claassen, who’s tenure at office came to an end at the AGM on Saturday.
The tenure of office of two (2) Independent directors, Messrs Warren Muller (lead independent director) and Aubrey Mokoka (chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee) has also come to an end. Messrs Loyiso Shoto and Jean-Pierre Rossouw were appointed as new independent directors. Mr Carlos Koeberg was re-elected as a non-independent director whilst Messrs Mornay Stuurman and Clyde Avontuur were elected as new non-independent directors.
In his outgoing presidential address Mr Claassen highlighted the trophy success of the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers who won the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Division 2 One Day Cup competition after an epic battle against the Tuskers in Pietermaritzburg. He highlighted the success of women’s Cricket in the province and the elevation of the women’s team to the Top 6 competition and commended their performances. The contribution by Tazmin Brits and the support from Miceala
Andrews, Jané Winster, Haroline Rhodes and Annerie Dercksen to name a few was heart-warming.
Other notable performances and achievements during the past season includes
- Tazmin Brits and Annerie Dercksen were selected for the Proteas Women’s team that participated in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup that was hosted in South Africa during February 2023 and Tazmin Brits received further recognition when she was included in the ICC Team of the Tournament.
- Marianna Breedt who was selected for the SA Schools Girls’ Fillies team that was selected upon conclusion of the CSA U/19 National week that was hosted in Bloemfontein during December 2022.
- Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Miceala Andrews, Jané Winster and Asakhe Nyovane who were all invited to the CSA Women’s Academy intake.
- André Olivier and Kerrin Klaaste (both umpires) who were included in the CSA Reserve Panel for umpires.
In 2019 the Members’ Council has approved a concept to investigate the movement of the headquarters to George. The impact of Covid on our operations has undoubtably waisted a lot of time in this aspiration. In March this year the Council of George gave the green light, and SWD are hoping to be ready to host warm-up matches in George with the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup. The past season SWDC started to establish a new brand name – namely the Garden Route Badgers. The company hope that this brand will become a strong entity in the South African Sport industry.
Claassen also paid tribute to the anchor sponsor, Six Gun Grill and Daisy Business Solutions as an associate sponsor for their ongoing support.
In his address as newly elected president, Mr Eksteen thanked the affiliate and associate members for their trust and support in him to lead the organization. “I am very honoured to be at the helm of this ambiguous organization and will work very hard to reach the desired strategic objectives of SWD Cricket and to take to company to new heights” he concluded.
