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Mpumalanga cricket team

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Mpumalanga Rhinos
Personnel
CaptainMuhammed Mayet
CoachMbasa Gqadushe
Chief executiveJaco Visagie
Team information
ColoursGrey and black
Founded1998
Home groundWhite River Country Club, White River
Official websiteOfficial website

Mpumalanga, also known as the Mpumalanga Rhinos, are a South African first-class cricket team representing the province of Mpumalanga. They have their headquarters in Witbank and play their home games at Uplands College in White River.

First-class history

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When Cricket South Africa decided to expand the Provincial Three-Day Challenge in 2006, Mpumalanga was one of five provincial teams (along with Kei, KwaZulu-Natal Inland, Limpopo and South Western Districts) elevated to first-class status.

Mpumalanga played eight first-class matches in the 2006–07 season. They lost six of them and drew the other two. Four of the defeats were by an innings. They also lost all eight of their matches in the Provincial One-Day Challenge.

Their captain in all matches in 2006–07 was Roelof Hugo,[1] who was also the wicket-keeper. He scored 451 runs in the first-class matches during the season at an average of 28.18, took 21 catches behind the stumps and effected one stumping. He later played for South Western Districts. The most successful batsman in the first-class matches for the team that season was Paul van den Berg,[2] who scored 524 runs at 43.66 with one century and also took 16 wickets at 33.43. He later played for Easterns. Adolf van den Berg[3] was the most successful bowler, with 20 wickets at 34.30 as well as 414 runs at 31.84 with one century. In the innings loss to Northerns, the 18-year-old Adriano dos Santos,[4] on his first-class debut, made 133 (out of a team total of 211) and 64.[5] He later played a few matches for Eastern Province.[citation needed]

In a competition that was itself of borderline first-class status, Cricket South Africa considered Mpumalanga's performance (and those of Kei and Limpopo) too weak to justify their place, and after one season, all three teams were omitted.[6] They then played in various sub-first-class competitions. In August 2018, they were included in the 2018 Africa T20 Cup tournament.[7][8]

Mpumalanga played no further first-class cricket until the 2022–23 season, when both they (now known as the Mpumalanga Rhinos) and Limpopo (the Limpopo Impalas) were readmitted to the South African first-class competition.[9] In 2022–23 Mpumalanga won none of their six matches and finished last in Division 2 of the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series.[10] In 2023–24 they won one of their six matches and again finished last.[11] In 2024–25 they won two and lost one of their six matches, and finished third of the seven teams in Division 2.[12]

At the end of the 2024–25 season, Mpumalanga's highest individual first-class score is 200 not out by Jurie Snyman against Easterns in 2023–24, when Snyman captained the team to its first first-class victory.[13] The best bowling figures are 7 for 51 by Kieran Kenny against Limpopo in 2022–23.[14]

Current squad

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Squad for 2026/27 Season[15]. Players in bold have played international cricket.

Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
Yassar Cook Image South Africa 8 April 1993 (age 33) Right-handed Right-arm seam
Muhammed Mayet Image South Africa 19 February 1998 (age 28) Right-handed Right-arm seam
Karabo Mogotsi Image South Africa 24 April 1995 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm orthodox spin
Benjamin Van Niekerk Image South Africa 4 January 1996 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm orthodox spin High-performance Contract
Wicket-keepers
Zakir Kathrada Image South Africa 17 August 1991 (age 35) Right-handed
Garnett Tarr Image South Africa 2 July 2000 (age 26) Right-handed
All-rounders
Bryn Brokensha Image South Africa Right-handed Right arm seam Rookie Contract
Aubrey Swanepoel Image South Africa 18 June 1989 (age 37) Right-handed Right-arm orthodox spin
Bowlers
Jon Hinrichsen Image South Africa 17 March 1999 (age 27) Right-handed Right arm seam
Thobile Hlatuka Image South Africa 14 October 2001 (age 25) Right-handed Right arm seam
Ricus Kramm Image South Africa 18 June 2004 (age 22) Right-handed Right arm seam Rookie contract
Tetelo Maphaka Image South Africa 21 September 2000 (age 26) Left-handed Left arm orthodox spin

References

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  1. ↑ "Roelof Hugo at Cricket Archive".
  2. ↑ "Paul van den Berg". cricketarchive.com.
  3. ↑ "Adolf van den Berg". cricketarchive.com.
  4. ↑ "Adriano dos Santos". cricketarchive.com.
  5. ↑ "Northerns v Mpumalanga 2006–07".
  6. ↑ Colin Bryden, "Cricket in South Africa, 2006–07", Wisden 2008, p. 1338.
  7. ↑ "CSA launches expanded Africa T20 Cup". Cricket365. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Ghana and Nigeria set to join Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South African domestic sides in expanded Africa T20 Cup". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Limpopo and Mpumalanga Awarded First Class Status". Cricket South Africa. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "CSA 4-Day Series 2022/23 Division 2 Table". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "CSA 4-Day Series 2023/24 Division 2 Table". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "CSA 4-Day Series 2024/25 Division 2 Table". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  13. ↑ "Mpumalanga vs Easterns, 18th Match at White River, CSA 4-Day DIV2, Feb 08 2024". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  14. ↑ "Mpumalanga vs Limpopo, 7th Match at Polokwane, CSA 4-Day DIV2, Nov 10 2022". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "Mpumalanga confirm contracted squad - 'We have tried to stay loyal to our local players'". 21 May 2026.

Further reading

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  • South African Cricket Annual – various editions
  • Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions

External sources

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