Easterns cricket team

Easterns
One Day nameEasterns Storm
Team information
ColoursRed
Founded1991
Home groundWillowmoore Park, Benoni
Official websiteOfficial website

The Easterns cricket team is a South African first-class cricket team. It plays in the top-level domestic competitions organised by Cricket South Africa. The team was formerly named the Eastern Transvaal cricket team.

History

Easterns Cricket Union is based at Benoni in Gauteng province. It was founded as the Eastern Transvaal Cricket Union in June 1991 at Springs,[1] although Eastern Transvaal had played List A cricket from the 1989–90 season. Prior to 1991 the region was part of the area which fed in to the Northern Transvaal cricket team.[a][1]

Easterns won the Currie Cup Bowl competition in 1991–92, their first season as a first-class team. The team was renamed Easterns ahead of the 1995–96 season, and after the full Currie Cup competition was opened up to all first-class teams in 1999–00, the side won the Cup in 2002–03.[2]

During 2003, Cricket South Africa changed the way in which top-class domestic cricket in the country was organised. This created six franchise teams at the top level of domestic competition, combining the existing provincial sides, including Easterns, to create an elite competition. Easterns and Northerns combined to create the Titans franchise, with Northerns as the senior partner. The CSA 4-Day Domestic Series and CSA One-Day Cup became franchise-only competitions from the 2004–05 season, and Easterns competed in the CSA 3-Day and One-Day Cups and, from 2011–12, the CSA T20 competition,[3][4][5] with the side winning the One-Day Provincial Cup in 2018–19 and the CSA Provincial T20 Cup the following season.[2]

The period of franchise competition lasted until the end of the 2020–21 season when Cricket South Africa reverted to a division based provincial competition, with Easterns competing separately from the start of the 2021–22 season.[6][7]

Ahead of the 2006–07 season, the Mpumalanga cricket team was elevated to first-class status. Mpumalanga province had been formed in 1994 out of areas of the East Rand territories that were traditionally associated with Easterns.

Current squad

Squad for 2026/27 Season[8]. Players in bold have played international cricket.

Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
Christopher Britz  South Africa 1 August 1998 Right-handed
Brayden Hicks  South Africa 9 November 2002 Right-handed Right-arm orthodox spin High-performance Contract
Dewan Marais  South Africa 15 October 2004 Right-handed
Kabelo Sekhukhune  South Africa 16 July 1997 Left-handed
Keeper
Ronan Herrmann  South Africa 5 December 2003 Right-handed
All-Rounders
Juan Lubbe  South Africa 10 September 2001 Right-handed Right-arm orthodox spin High-performance Contract
Sabelo Mabanga  South Africa Left-handed Right-arm orthodox spin High-performance Contract
Jurie Snyman  South Africa 20 February 1995 Left-handed Right-arm orthodox
Bowlers
Merrick Brett  South Africa 14 February 2001 Right-handed Right-arm seam
Chad Classen  South Africa 7 January 1997 Right-handed Right-arm seam
Aryan Gopalan  South Africa 21 September 2004 Right-handed Left-arm orthodox spin
Amaan Khan  South Africa 26 November 2003 Right-handed Right-arm seam
Martin Khumalo  South Africa 15 October 2005 Right-handed Right-arm seam
Thabiso Lekhoana  South Africa 4 May 2000 Right-handed Right-arm seam High-performance Contract
Tumelo Simelane  South Africa 10 July 1995 Left-handed Left-arm orthodox spin

Honours

Venues

Venues have included:

  • PAM Brink Stadium, Springs (1992–1996)
  • Olympia Park, Springs (used once in November 1994; formerly an occasional Northerns venue between 1937 and 1994)
  • Willowmoore Park, Benoni (main venue from November 1996)

Notes

  1. ↑ The province of Gauteng was formed from part of Transvaal Province in 1994. Northern Transvaal became the Northerns cricket team.

References

  1. 1 2 "Twenty-five years of Easterns cricket". Brakpan Herald. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 Easterns Cricket. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Moonda F (2014) Shrinking South Africa, The Cricket Monthly at CricInfo. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  4. ↑ South Africa complete domestic restructuring, ESPN Philippines, 2 February 2004. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Moonda F (2021) Five talking points about South Africa's new domestic structure, CricInfo, 23 September 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  6. ↑ Moonda F (2021) Revamped two-tier South African domestic structure ready to take off, CricInfo, 8 March 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  7. ↑ Ray C (2021) New provincial cricket decision means fewer teams, but a boost for cricketers, Daily Maverick, 14 March 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "Full list of 15 contracted squads for 2026-27 SA domestic season | Updated 30 July". Clubcricket.co.za. 29 July 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  • South African Cricket Annual – various editions
  • Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions
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