Former South African cricketer Vintcent (Vince) van der Bijl is committed to creating a rainbow nation where children, regardless of their background, are given the opportunity to succeed, he says. Vince spoke to SMF News about how his cricketing career and passion for education led to him starting a non-profit foundation aimed at promoting grassroots development in disadvantaged communities.
MasiSports, a non-profit foundation aimed at promoting sports and education amongst disadvantaged school children in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, partners with 14 non-governmental organisations and is often assisted by national and international sports teams. This is according to Vince van der Bijl (pictured above), former South African cricketer and founder of MasiSports. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
Vintcent (Vince) van der Bijl’s father, Pieter, who was a former headmaster of Bishops Diocesan College Preparatory School and South African cricketer, gave him two pieces of advice: don’t be a teacher or pursue sport beyond an amateur level, says Vince.
Despite following his father’s advice in other aspects of his life, this piece of wisdom did not stick, explains Vince. After finishing school at Bishops, he would become a geography and history teacher and a top cricket player, with over a hundred first-class appearances and a call-up to the national side.
“Vince was one of the best fast-medium players I ever had the privilege of playing with or against,” says Mike Procter, a former South African cricket player and Vince’s friend, who met him through playing cricket in the 1960s.
It is vital to give children in disadvantaged communities a space to play sports and to escape things like violence and sexual assault, says Vince van der Bijl, former South African cricketer and founder of MasiSports. MasiSports is a sporting and education foundation operating in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, founded by Vince. Pictured above is the entrance to Masiphumelele township. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
Vince’s cricketing career began in the late 1960s and ended in the early 1980s. This meant that his cricket potential was never fully realised, as his sporting career fell during South Africa’s isolation from the world due to apartheid, states Vince. South Africa was banned from playing international cricket from 1970 to 1991, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC) website.
A love for cricket
Vince can’t remember when he picked up his first cricket bat, but he was exposed to and played cricket from a young age, he says.
“I remember playing in the garden with my cousins and having the normal stuff of trees being a four or six and disagreeing on decisions,” states Vince.
Vintcent senior, Vince’s grandfather was also an accomplished cricketer and used to get “every single cricket book printed in the United Kingdom sent to him”, explains Vince. These books helped give Vince an “instant love for the possibilities of [the] sport”, he says.
Vince played cricket throughout his schooling career but was never coached by his father, he says. “My dad had a rule that he would not coach me. He used to talk to me about [cricket], but he said if he coached me and someone else gave me different advice, I would say, ‘but my dad said this’, and he didn’t want that.”
Sporting prowess
Vince excelled at sports during high school and at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, he says. He was selected to represent Western Province in cricket, rugby, and athletics while in high school.
He also represented multiple provinces in rugby and cricket into his adult life. However, Vince ultimately opted to pursue cricket, as he “wasn’t tough enough to play rugby”, he explains.
Vince specialised as a fast-medium bowler and took over 700 wickets in 156 first-class matches, with an average of close to five wickets per match, according to ESPN Cricinfo.
“He was a fine bowler. His height [2,02 m] certainly helped, but he bowled an immaculate line and length,” states Mike.
Despite being called up to the national side for a tour to Australia in 1971, he never officially represented South Africa. The tour was cancelled due to apartheid policies regarding players of colour, and he never got another chance to officially represent the national team, he says.
MasiSports, a non-profit foundation offering sporting and education opportunities for school children in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, is funded by foundations and private donations from individuals. This is according to Vince van der Bijl (pictured above), former South African cricketer and founder of MasiSports. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
Vince was only ever paid for one season of cricket, which was when he played for Middlesex in the United Kingdom in 1980, helping the side secure multiple domestic titles, he says.
During Vince’s career, cricketers in South Africa were unable to play cricket full-time, as cricket was a semi-professional game, explains Vince. Therefore, players did not earn enough and had to work alongside playing cricket, he says.
The rest of his cricketing career was spent as a semi-professional athlete while he worked, initially as a teacher and then in sales, he says. He worked at Wiggens Teape, a paper manufacturer and merchant, first as a sales representative and then as managing director, for most of his professional life, according to Vince.
After leaving the world of sales, Vince moved into sports management and administration. He began working as Cricket South Africa’s high-performance director and later as the global match officials’ manager at the ICC, based in Dubai, in 2008, says Vince. He left the ICC in 2015, after a cancer diagnosis, and he and his wife moved back to South Africa, states Vince.
Using privilege to help others
“I come from a very privileged background. I’ve been lucky. I think if you’re privileged in this country, it’s almost a duty to give back and to help other people who are not privileged,” says Vince.
After coming back to South Africa and moving to Cape Town, where he still lives, Vince was looking for a project that genuinely interested him, he says. This led him to Ukhanyo Primary School in Masiphumelele in Cape Town, where he initially began helping out as a cricket coach, in 2016, explains Vince.
Former South African cricketer Vince van der Bijl (pictured above) wants to help people and improve their lives and has a desire to use sports as a method of doing so. This is according to Mike Procter, former South African cricketer and Vince’s friend. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
However, his involvement quickly increased, and so began MasiSports, a non-profit organisation aimed at promoting sports, life skills and education in Masiphumelele, explains Vince.
“[Vince] uses his talents to make people feel better about themselves. He does this through his love for his friends, his commitment to his community and his commitment to his community,” says Alex Hetherington, chairman of the MasiSports board, who began working with Vince in 2017.
“Our vision is to produce a platform of holistic education in the township. Our idea is not to produce a Stormers or Springbok player but to produce healthy, confident and fulfilled adults that can be good citizens of this country,” says Vince.
While MasiSports’ goal isn’t to produce professional athletes, a lot of the children involved in their various sports, including soccer, cricket, rugby, and chess, have been selected for provincial teams, states Vince.
The success of MasiSports is thanks to a high level of commitment from those involved, a “brilliant headmaster” at Ukhanyo Primary School and a mission to create positive change, explains Alex.
“[Vince] is also particularly empathetic to girl children growing up in vulnerable circumstances and focuses a lot on creating gender equality through sport from a very young age,” explains Amy MacIver, a member of the MasiSports executive team.
Expansion plans
Vince is determined to continue to see MasiSports grow and to be a model that can be replicated “in the Eastern Cape and around the country”, says Amy.
MasiSports has already begun assisting a school in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, and is focused on equipping educators and coaches around South Africa to implement similar projects, states Vince.
Vince’s passion and dedication to developing MasiSports is inspired by approximately 94% of South African schools not offering after-school sports, according to Vince. The number only grows smaller when it comes to schools that produce players for professional teams, he states.
Vince van der Bijl, former South African cricketer and founder of MasiSports, strives to ensure that children from disadvantaged communities “believe they have an equal future and the potential to achieve success in life”, says Amy MacIver, a member of the MasiSports’ executive team. MasiSports is a sporting and education foundation operating in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, founded by Vince. PHOTO: Daniel Roodt
“The [sporting] potential of this country is terrifying. Unless the government actually starts to appreciate that they have to build [from a grassroots level], this country doesn’t have a future in sport,” says Vince.
Despite already being 75 years old, Vince “is driven by a vision to uplift disadvantaged children living in impoverished communities”, says Amy, and MasiSports is his way of creating the change he desires in South Africa.