Pite van Biljon

New Brighton Club is about to welcome our 2021 overseas professional player Pite van Biljon. Pite is South African, is 35 years old, is married with a young daughter. He plays cricket for Free State and Proteas. He’s a right handed batsman, right arm medium bowler and also a wicket keeper but has hardly donned the gloves for the sides he has played for. In February 2020 he made his T20i debut with the cricket team against Australia in . Since then he’s been selected another nine times, playing against England & Pakistan.

An interesting fact about the family is that his sister Suzaan is an Olympic breaststroke swimmer having represented South Africa at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. She finished 7th at the 2012 London Olympics, making her the only female South African swimmer to make a final that year. She retired in 2013 as the African Record holder in the 200 long course breaststroke, with a 2:23.21 done at the 2012 Olympics, as well as the 100 and 200 in short course breaststroke.

It was whilst on a day off from playing I was able to have a chat with Pite on WhatsApp. He wrote a short bio of himself and kindly answered a few questions that some of the members had asked.

Here in his own words is his short bio: “I’ve always played cricket but hockey was my real love. I was probably much better in hockey than cricket. I got a bursary to go and study at the University of , where I did Bcom law. After that I did my honours in financial planning at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. I currently play for Free State and Proteas. My hobbies are mountain biking, shooting and walking the dogs. I’ve played and coached in the UK and the Netherlands for the last 11 years. I prefer having a beer with the members and team mates after a game rather than going out. I can’t wait to join NBCC as I’ve heard many good things from an old friend of mine CJ de Villiers who played for you guys”

Questions from members:

James Corbert asked “How did your first call up come about, how did you find out? Do you feel settled into international cricket after playing a fair few games now?” Pite “Well I think I’ve only played like 9 games. I’ve had one or two good contributions so I feel I can compete at this level but probably haven’t cemented a spot yet with consistent performances. My first call up was against England but I tore my webbing in first fielding practice so missed that series but made my debut vs Australia a week later. I received the call at home after the MSL. I had a pretty good tournament and my team did well so I guess I was hoping to achieve higher honours” Danny Johnstone asked “What’s your favourite alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks, your favourite film and preferred music genre?” Pite “Depends where I am. In SA probably spice gold rum and coke, in the UK probably Guinness. Non alcoholic…….coffee. Film……there is many but I enjoy sport films or war films. Music……I really like a wide range of genre, nothing specific.”

Derek Watson asked “How much experience have you had batting against a Dukes cricket ball? Do you have an interest in English football & if so which is your favourite team? Pite “I’ve played 11 summers in the UK and not sure which balls were used, I know they move around a bit longer than the Kooka. But, they also stay harder for a lot longer so values for shots is also higher” “Trick question….ha ha I like Chelsea but I’m more of a rugby guy”

Matt Thompson asked “Three favourite things you do outside of cricket? Who’s had the biggest impact on your professional career to date and why? If you had one piece of advice for any young NBCC cricketer, what would it be? What’s your favourite beer?” Pite “Shooting, Mountain Biking and Hiking” “I would say my Dad. He kept me in the games through tough times” “Advice would be, keep playing. Take a challenge on to see how good you can be in that moment” “Favourite beer in UK I assume other than Guinness I would say San Miguel”

Gareth Jones asked “What is the best sledging you have had said to you?” Pite “I’ve been told to go back to Australia and that I’m a shit second grade cricketer…..but I’m from SA so I found that funny!”

Dave Cook asked “Are you looking forward to playing in a team with some young cricketers? What are you going to bring in terms of developing the NBCC talent?” Pite “I love working with young guys. What I can bring is a lot of experience on how to handle situations, how to control your mindset and how to fast track them younger guys to a better understanding of their game”

Pite's career figures as at 28th April are as follows:

Batting & Fielding Format Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR T20i 10 8 2 125 42 20.83 101 124 First Class 108 179 17 6,872 218 42.41 12,554 55 List A 103 94 8 2,963 167* 34.45 3,560 83 T20 81 68 18 1,572 75* 31.44 1,203 131

Format 100s 50s 4s 6s Ct St T20i 0 0 10 4 1 0 First Class 18 36 876 56 85 0 List A 4 14 267 49 25 1 T20 0 7 108 69 16 0

Bowling: 1 ball in first class cricket which was a dot ball Debut / Last Matches T20i Matches Debut Australia vs South Africa at Johannesburg - February 21, 2020 Last South Africa vs Pakistan at Centurion - April 14, 2021 First Class Matches Debut North West vs Northerns at Pretoria - October 12 - 14, 2006 Last vs at Cape Town - March 16 - 19, 2021 List A Matches Debut Northerns vs Free State at Bloemfontein - November 05, 2006 Last vs Knights at Potchefstroom - January 10, 2021 T20 Matches Debut Free State vs North West at Bloemfontein - October 16, 2011 Last South Africa vs Pakistan at Centurion - April 14, 2021

courtesy of www.cricinfo.com

The following are the statistics for Pite playing club cricket in the UK:

Norwich & Coltishall Wanderers Norfolk Cricket Alliance Premier Division Batting & Fielding Season Mat Inns NO Runs HS Avg 2010 18 18 1 845 159* 49.7 Season 100s 50s ct st 2010 3 3 12 0

courtesy of www.cricketarchive.com

Kibworth Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket League Premier Division Batting & Fielding Season Mat Inns NO Runs HS Avg All 101 93 25 4,292 127 63.12 2019 17 14 2 667 104 55.58 2018 4 4 1 240 121 80.00 2017 18 16 4 807 115* 67.25 2016 22 20 9 912 126* 82.91 2015 17 17 6 749 112 68.09 2014 1 1 0 7 7 7.00 2013 22 21 3 910 127 50.56

Season 100s 50s 4s 6s ct st All 11 31 311 63 106 25 2019 2 5 22 11 8 0 2018 1 1 27 8 0 0 2017 3 4 84 18 21 5 2016 2 8 61 12 20 8 2015 2 5 31 1 19 3 2014 0 0 0 0 1 2 2013 1 8 86 13 37 7

courtesy of www.kibworth.play-cricket.com

Pite's coaching qualification is Level 2 (ECB Level 3 Equivalent).

Sue Sherratt