The Gestetner Diamond Eagles is the name used by the combined Free State cricket team and Griqualand West first class cricket teams in South Africa. The home venue is OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein.
They combined team plays in the SuperSport Series and also in the MTN Domestic Championship and Standard Bank Twenty20 limited over competitions.
Diamond Eagles an impressionistic eagle, a racing cricket ball and an angular diamond with traditional South African spears growing out of the sides. The team is top notch, but the logo, we’re afraid, could do with some tweaking.
Team Composition:
The Diamond Eagles are one of the top two teams in the country and should not be underestimated. That is the view of Boeta Dippenaar, captain of the Eagles, who departed for India for the Twenty20 Champions League on Thursday.
New South Wales, who will be the Eagles’ first opponents in Delhi on Friday, have numerous international players. The Eagles are a young side and are not being given much of a chance with only a few former internationals in their ranks.
“One tends to look at the opposition and say that it is a powerful side, but we also have a strong team. We are one of the two best sides in South Africa and are looking forward to showcasing our talents,” said Dippenaar.
The skipper, thanks to his playing days with the Proteas, is one of the few players in the side to have played in India before. He believes the conditions will require the young players to adapt, but that is why they left early.
Apart from all the big names among their opponents, Dippenaar expects the sheer magnitude of the game to offer a great experience.
He views their second and final opponent in the group phase, Sussex, as a good side, though he did not play against them for Leicestershire this year.
“It’s always good to be the so-called underdog,” he said.
Diamond Eagle has won 22 matches out of 42 matched they had played so far.
Diamond Eagles Squad:
Boeta Dippenaar (capt), Dillon du Preez, Morne van Wyk, Mthandeki Tshabalala, Adrian McLaren, Ryan McLaren, Victor Mpitsang, Ryan Bailey, Jandre Coetzee, Cornelis de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Reeza Hendricks, Alan Kruger, Rilee Rossouw, Shadley van Schalkwyk.
Players’ Profile:
Boeta Dippenaar:
He has had great success while opening the batting in one-dayers and cemented his place in the one-day side after a fantastic series against West Indies in 2005, when he ended with an average of more than 100. After leading Eagles to the SuperSport Series title in 2007-08 he announced his retirement from international cricket with a modest and rather unfulfilled record.
Major teams: South Africa, Africa XI, Eagles, Free State, Leicestershire
Jandre Coetzee:
Major teams: Eagles, Griqualand West
Ryan Bailey:
Major teams: Eagles, North West, South Africa Under-19s, Western Province Academy
Cornelius de Villiers:
Major teams: Eagles, Free State
Dillon du Preez:
du Preez was far from a permanent fixture in the Eagles team in the first three seasons of franchise cricket, but he burst into prominence by taking 55 wickets in the Eagles’ triumphant 2007-08 campaign. An accurate bowler of slightly less than extreme pace, du Preez also contributes useful runs in the lower-order, making his maiden first-class century in 2007-08. He signed with Leicestershire as a Kolpak player in 2008 and the following year with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL
Major teams: Eagles, Free State, Leicestershire, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Dean Elgar:
Dean Elgar is a left-handed batsman who will captain South Africa in the forthcoming 2006 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Elgar was the South African Country Districts Player of the Year in 2005 after a series of impressive performances for Free State.
Major teams: Eagles, Free State, Gloucestershire 2nd XI, Nottinghamshire 2nd XI, South Africa Under-19s
Reeza Hendricks:
Reeza Hendricks is a right-hand middle-order batsman who made his first-class debut for Griqualand West in the Provincial Challenge in 2006-07. Selected in South Africa’s Under-19 squad for the 2008 World Cup in Malaysia, Hendricks scored 156 in a three-day match against Bangladesh U-19s in the build-up to the tournament. He is interested in studying sports management if he doesn’t make it as a cricketer.
Major teams: Eagles, Griqualand West, South Africa Under-19s
Alan Kruger:
Major teams: Eagles, Griqualand West
Adrian McLaren:
Major teams: Eagles, Griqualand West
Ryan McLaren:
A hard-hitting allrounder who made an impressive start to his career for the Eagles in South Africa with his aggressive seam bowling and middle-order runs. However, as with so many young South Africans he has opted for the Kolpak route and signed for Kent in 2007. He took a hat-trick in the 2007 Twenty20 final to help Kent win the trophy. Despite remaining under contract with Kent, McLaren was called up for South Africa’s ODI squad to face Kenya and Bangladesh in October 2008.
Major teams: Eagles, Free State, Kent, Mumbai Indians, South Africa Under-19s
Victor Mpitsang:
A fast bowler in the Courtney Walsh mould, Victor Mpitsang became the youngest person to play for South Africa when he made his ODI debut against West Indies at Bloemfontein in February 1999 (he was 18 years and 314 days) and he performed admirably after a poor start, taking 2 for 49, including wickets with successive deliveries.
Major teams: South Africa, Eagles, Free State
Rilee Rossouw:
Rilee Rossouw is a left-hand top-order batsman who began his first-class career at No 3 for Free State. He played for South African Schools in 2006 and made his first-class debut a year later, scoring 83 against Easterns. Rossouw, who was selected in South Africa’s Under-19 squad for the 2008 World Cup, is interested in taking over his father’s business if he can’t make a career in cricket.
Major teams: Eagles, Free State, South Africa Under-19s
Thandi Tshabalala:
Tshabalala first made his name in the uncertain world of limited-overs cricket, especially Twenty20, in which he was the leading wicket-taker after the first two seasons of competition. The diminutive Tshabalala gets enough turn and has enough variation to keep batsmen guessing, but is still very much learning his trade. South Africa’s sorry state of spin bowling has meant his development is undoubtedly being rushed, however.
Major teams: South Africa, Africa XI, Eagles, Free State
Shadley van Schalkwyk:
Major teams: Eagles, Free State, Western Province
Morne van Wyk:
Van Wyk was a member of the South African squad in the 1998 under-19 World Cup, having represented his country against England at the same level in 1997-98. A naturally attacking player, he opens the batting for Free State in limited-overs matches and has earned respect beyond his years at first-class level. He made his one-day international debut in the final, against England at Lord’s, in which South Africa were thumped by seven wickets.
Major teams: South Africa, Eagles, Free State, Kolkata Knight Riders
Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi
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