Louis Koen to lead SA veterans at O50 World Cup

January 2023

Cape Town, 20th January 2023

The Veterans Cricket Association of South Africa (VCASA) is proud to announce the 18-man South African Proteas Over-50s squad to participate in the Over-50s Cricket World Cup, sponsored by Evergreen Lifestyle, in Cape Town from 6-20 March.

The team will be captained by former Protea and 2020 Proteas Veterans cricketer Louis Koen, while Mario Solomons will be the vice-captain. The South African team includes several members of the Proteas Veterans team that did duty at the 2020 Over-50s World Cup in Cape Town – Koen, Mlungsi ‘Lefty’ Ngece, Alan Dawson and Bruce ‘Cookie’ Wilson – while former Proteas spinner Clive Eksteen has also been selected.

The Squad

Proteas Veterans Squad: Louis Koen (Captain), Mario Solomons (Vice-Captain), Alan Dawson, Saleem Mukuddem, Brandon Nash, Goolam Taliep, Bruce Wilson, Grant Jansen, James Albanie, Morne Cilliers, Mlungsi Ngece, Kaiser Gantsho, Brad White, Clive Eksteen, Craig Lyons, Andre Peters

Non-Travelling Reserves: Munier Holiday, Simion Muller Coach: Christo Weiss Team Manager: Ismail Teladia

Tournament Information

The dates and teams for the 2023 Over-50s World Cup, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa from March 6–20, have been confirmed. All 12 teams that participated in the 2020 edition of the tournament – which was sadly curtailed by COVID-19 after just two-and-a-half matches – will return in 2023 and will be joined by newcomers the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The Opening Ceremony will be held on March 5 before the first round of matches takes place on March 6.

The 14 teams have been split into two pools. Each team will face each other in its pool in six round-robin matches between March 6 and March 15. The top two teams from each pool will progress to semifinals, while the other teams will play off for lower positions. This means that each of the 14 teams will play eight games.

The final will likely be held at the famous Newlands Stadium on March 20.

Pool A features hosts South Africa, along with 2018 finalists Pakistan, as well as England, Wales, India, Namibia, and the USA, while Pool B includes defending world champions Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Canada, Sri Lanka and the UAE.

Tournament Director Roger Moult said: “The tournament will be hosted by cricket clubs, schools and universities around the Western Cape. We welcome newcomers to the veteran cricket scene, USA and the UAE. We are looking forward to re-creating the excitement and spirit which was evident in 2020.”

Regarding the two new teams, Over-50s World Cup Steering Committee Chairman Stirling Hamman added: “We are delighted and excited to welcome the USA and the UAE into the over-50s fold. They have shown great initiative and enthusiasm and have built up a strong player base and organisation, which really impressed us. We believe they will be a wonderful addition to the tournament.”

For all news and results regarding over-50s cricket, particularly the World Cup, please follow the official Facebook page and the Twitter page.

Information supplied by the Veterans Cricket Association of South Africa (www.vcasa.co.za)