Gauteng cricket team
Gauteng cricket team: competitions
Gauteng cricket team: First-Class Cricket Competitions
Logo Tournament Wins Years
Gauteng cricket team: Limited Overs Cricket Competitions
Logo Tournament Wins Years
Momentum One Day Cup
2
1997–98, 2003–04
Gauteng cricket team: Twenty20 Cricket Competitions
Logo Tournament Wins YearsGauteng cricket team: Current Squad
Gauteng cricket team: professional club from South Africa
Cricket matches involving teams from the Republic of South Africa are very popular among fans of this sport around the world. South African clubs show a really bright game; it is from this country that some of the best cricketers in the world come out. One of the most famous and titled cricket teams from South Africa is the Gauteng cricket team.
The club represents the province of the same name in the domestic championships of the country. The home ground is Wanderers Stadium, which we will talk about in detail later. Gauteng is the most successful team of the Republic of South Africa. The brightest period in the team’s history is called the 1980s, when cricket fans even gave the team a memorable and loud nickname – Mean Machine. The guys fully justified it, winning one award after another.
Of course, it is worth telling a little about the logo of the Gauteng cricket team. It is uncomplicated but memorable: the symbolism of the club is a circle in which a stylized lion’s head is drawn. The choice of this particular animal speaks about the fighting spirit of the team, their desire to become better and constantly lead. You can also see from the logo that Gauteng’s corporate colors are yellow and blue; in this color scheme, their symbol is made.
Gauteng cricket team: some important moments from the team’s history
The history of the Gauteng Cricket Club dates back more than a hundred years. In fact, the team was formed from the very beginning of cricket in South Africa, and the guys took part in the first season of the Currie Cup (1889 – 1890). However, at that time, the collective had a different name – Transvaal. Subsequently, the club was named Gauteng only in April 1997.
As we have already said, Gauteng is the most successful domestic team in South Africa. The guys have at least 25 awards in the Currie Cup, and the first of them was obtained in the first season of the tournament. Subsequently, the club performed very brightly, and the peak of its success came in the 1980s when the team’s composition reached an ideal balance. Among the most famous team members were such cricketers as Clive Rice, Jimmy Cook, Sylvester Clarke, Graeme Pollock, Alvin Kallicharran and many others. It was thanks to them that Gauteng reached incredible heights in those days.
The next important event in the history of Gauteng is their merger in October 2004 with the North West team (formerly known as Western Transvaal). The new franchise was named Highveld Lions (or simply – the Lions) and is one of the brightest participants in the SuperSports Series. Under this brand, the guys are performing today in the main domestic tournament of the Republic of South Africa.
Gauteng cricket team: home stadium
Since 1956, Gauteng cricket team has been based at Wanderers Stadium. This venue was built in the same year as a replacement for the Old Wanderers and can accommodate up to 34,000 spectators. In 1991, the arena was completely renovated, the stadium began to meet all international requirements for cricket venues. Since 2019, the sponsor of Wanderers Stadium has been Imperial Logistics. Therefore, the current full name of the venue is Imperial Wanderers Stadium.
The arena hosts test, one-day and first-class cricket matches. In addition, the second semi-final and the final of the Indian Premier League in 2009 were also held there, so it is not only South African cricketers who perform at the stadium.
Interestingly, Wanderers Stadium hosts sporting events and other events that are no less interesting and historical. For example, in 2018, former US President Barack Obama gave a lecture there on the centenary of Nelson Mandela.
Gauteng cricket team: a review of the official website and pages in social networks
Gauteng has its own official website, but immediately after going to its main page, we are greeted by the inscription “Site under construction”. Despite this, the site still has a certain functionality, and you can get some information about the club.
At the time of writing the review, the following sections were available on the Gauteng team’s website:
- About CGL. Everything is simple here: you can find out some basic information about the club. Of course, the story there is not detailed at all, but we hope that the site developers will fix this problem in the near future.
- News. Obviously, news about Gauteng is published here. By the way, the section is updated regularly, so the information is always fresh itself.
- Contact us. As the name implies, here are the current contact details of the club administration.
- Sign Up. This button can be seen at the bottom of the page of the official Gauteng website. With its help, you can subscribe to the newsletter and quickly receive the latest news about the club.
In addition, the site contains links to the official pages of Gauteng in social networks and on YouTube, but only the link to Twitter works (more than 1.3 thousand subscribers). It is better to search for a page on Facebook (more than 3.6 thousand subscribers) using a search engine, and we could not find the team’s channel on YouTube. The content published is of a news informational nature, tells about various events in the team, sometimes all sorts of historical facts are published. In addition, you can find a colorful video on Facebook – a presentation of Gauteng, as well as announcements of events at Wanderers Stadium.
Gauteng cricket team: the current composition of the cricket team and achievements
First of all, any sports team are athletes who do everything to perform at competitions with dignity. The management of sports clubs is constantly searching for new talents, trying to provide all the best conditions for training so that the players show excellent results.
As we can see, in the 1980s, the Gauteng management managed to do this, turning that era into the golden times of the club. However, even in our time, this team is one of the strongest, thanks to an excellent approach to the selection of players. In 2021, at the time of writing, the current composition of Gauteng is as follows:
- Batsmen: Kagiso Rapulana, Joshua Richards, Levert Manje, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks.
- Bowlers: Bjorn Fortuin, Lutho Sipamla, Sisanda Magala, Tladi Bokako, Malusi Siboto, Duanne Olivier, Tshepo Ntuli, Codi Yusuf, Kagiso Rabada.
- All-rounder: Wiaan Mulder, Ruan Haasbroek, Mitchell van Buuren.
- Wicket-keeper: Ryan Rickelton, Dominic Hendricks.
Speaking about the most titled team of the Republic of South Africa, it is impossible not to list its achievements. Here is a list of awards Gauteng, which the club received by 2022:
- Currie Cup (25) – 1889-90, 1894-95, 1902-03, 1903-04, 1904-05, 1906-07, 1923-24, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1929-30, 1934-35, 1950-51, 1958-59, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1999-00; General (4) – 1921-22, 1937-38, 1965-66, 1969-70.
- Standard Bank Cup (6) – 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2003–04.
- South African Airways Provincial Three-Day Challenge (2) – 2006-07, 2012-13; general (1) – 2014-15.
- South African Airways Provincial One-Day Challenge (1) – 2007–08.
- Gillette/Nissan Cup (9) – 1973–74, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1990–91.
Given the brilliance of the club’s game and the really powerful participants, we are sure that Gauteng has many more awards ahead. We will be happy to watch the club play in the tournaments of South Africa.
