Dignitaries in the Boland town gathered to celebrate their first cricket ‘Springbok’
John Young
The number of buttons on a jacket can sometimes tell you where a man is from. When 150 burghers of Worcester gathered last week to celebrate Claude Henderson’s selection to the national side, it was clear the guest speaker in the hip, black four-button suit was not a local. Henderson’s Western Province captain HD Ackerman had made the trip ”over the mountain”.
Ackerman started well by reminding the audience that it was an old Worcesterite who had decided on green jerseys for the national rugby team. The United Cricket Board is anxious to rebrand the cricket team as something other than Proteas. In Worcester the flower hasn’t caught on anyway: for the locals, Henderson is their first cricket ”Springbok”.
The Lion’s Club was the venue for the tribute dinner and with a cold wind nipping in like a surprise arm-ball off the Du Toit mountains, it would not have been surprising to see some empty seats. Henderson was expecting to meet a few mates in the pub instead there were 18 tables, a full house, flower arrangements, lashings of food and the best wines of the region. With the nearby KWV Cellar being the biggest in the world, there was no shortage of warming brandy either.
Parked closest to the hall were the diesel bakkies that delivered the tender meats, salads, roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice and hot pudding that made up the feast. In an impressive example of platteland organisation, it took just three days to put the event together. Organiser Danie Nel said every sponsor approached had come on board.
The idea for the dinner sprang from what must be the least successful betting group in the country. Nel and Claude’s father, ”Mossie” Henderson, are founder members of the Rugby Raai Klub, started during the 1995 World Cup. In six years no one has won the now massive pot but the club’s rules are peculiar and very particular: the score-line has to be exactly correct and no one is allowed to bet against the Springboks!
There was lots of hilarity as the party was reminded of the unusual domestic chore pattern in the Henderson household. Mossie chalked the lines to make the garden look like Augusta for golf competitions and Lord’s for the cricket season but it was mother Susan who cut the lawn to the correct specifications.
Although the evening was organised as a tribute to Henderson the effect was to celebrate his parents, the town and its cricketers. Worcester was joint host with Wellington of the first South African Country Week in 1954 and cricket on the platteland is still strong. There are at least 7000 country cricketers travelling vast distances on dusty roads all over South Africa every week. The cricketers of Willowmore in the Eastern Cape were until recently making a 360km round trip to Graaff-Reinet to play home games.
Henderson’s first chance in national colours came in 1989 when he was selected for the South African Country Districts (SACD) under-17 team that toured England under the guidance of Anton Ferreira.
Lance Klusener averaged 85 for Natal Country Districts at the 1993 tournament and was part of the SACD team that beat host province Western Transvaal. Tertius Bosch, Fanie de Villiers and Makhaya Ntini are all examples of platteland talent.
Back in Worcester, cricket is largely Afrikaans like the town itself. To Mossie went the greatest tribute as the person who had taught his son ”die liefde vir die game (the love of the game)”. This rubbed off on all the Henderson boys. Oldest brother Kiffie played for the Boland Kavaliers in his day and younger brother James is in Scotland as a pro after averaging 40 for Boland in the Supersport Series last season. The active cricketers share a house halfway between their rival provinces in Gordon’s Bay.
Claude and James are not common names for Afrikaans-speaking boys but then Mossie’s real name is Henry and he was an English-speaker before he fell for Susan and moved to Worcester. Henderson Snr did some research on his Scottish roots last year when his sons flew him to Britain for a holiday and now that he’s retired he may get around to visiting the national archives to find out more about the family lll history.
Ackerman’s instinctslll about spin paid dividends last season: 400 overs from Henderson produced 36 wickets and Paul Adams took 18 wickets in 200 overs before he left for the West Indies. Only three (pace) bowlers took more wickets. With coaches Vincent Barnes and Eric Simons encouraging him to ”be brave”, and with a supportive captain, Henderson’s spin showed more bite and bounce than ever before. Control he has always had.
Henderson’s selection is proof that country boys can make it. He’s had to work very hard and at 29 he’s earned his stripes as a professional. This platteland cricketer has also played in the Birmingham, Derbyshire and Lancashire leagues.
When Henderson steps on to the field for South Africa he will be aiming to ”do what I’ve always done”. In that, he is like the place that formed him. They don’t take kindly to pretension in the Breede River Valley.
Even the wine estates keep it simple: at the dinner we drank Du Toit’s Kloof, Dassies Rood and Botha Kelders. Like the mature brandy of the nearby KWVCellar, Claude Henderson the cricketer is now ready for the international market.
l Officially, Henderson is the second player from Worcester to make the national team. Eddie Fuller, who played in the 1950s, was born in Worcester but went to school and played his club cricket in Cape Town.