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Ex-Free State cricketer dies

Bloemfontein - The Free State Cricket Union has paid tribute to former Free State batsman, Neil Rosendorff, who died at the age of 70 last Saturday.

Rosendorff played first-class cricket for Free State from 1962 to 1979 and was one of the best players of his generation.

A left-hander, he was part of the golden age of South African schools cricket which included the likes of Barry Richards, Mike Procter, Lee Irvine and Hylton Ackerman to name a few.

He was unlucky not to achieve higher honours. He was only 25 years old when South African cricket’s isolation started.

He toured England with SA Schools in 1963 and with the Wilf Isaacs Invitation team in 1969. Some of his team mates on that latter tour included Vintcent van der Bijl, Graeme Pollock, Don Mackay-Coghill and Johnny Waite.

In 1969 Rosendorff was named one of South Africa’s five cricketers of the year. Free State awarded him the same honour the same year.

He made his debut as a 16-year-old and scored 11 first-class centuries and 26 first-class half-centuries throughout his 18 seasons with Free State cricket, and as a right-arm medium bowler he took a total of 68 wickets.

A multi-talented sportsman, he won Free State age group tennis titles, represented Bloemfontein City in the National Football League, and was a champion bowler both for Free State and South Africa.

“The Free State Cricket Union extends deepest condolences to his family, friends and the cricketing fraternity,” the union commented via a press statement.

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