In my playing days I can remember being involved in only one game where a player scored a double century. It was against us too. During the 2020 Covid-19 enforced lockdown a friend sent me a brilliant article written by Scott Oliver on Cricbuzz. It was about one of the legends of the game who scored two double-tons in the space of eight days — when only 20 years of age. Here is a summarised version of the story.
AB de Villiers was offered a professional contract in 2004 at the Carrickfergus Cricket Club, Northern Ireland. Carrickfergus play at a picturesque ground outside Belfast, a trip about half the distance we travel from Christchurch to The Willows. As a progressive Irish club they have always looked for an overseas “hired gun” to lead the charge in the NCU’s Ulster Bank Senior League. In appointing AB they procured a champion player.
The 2004 season was a couple of games old when the South African landed at Belfast Aldergrove Airport. Coincidentally, it was game day. Knowing their recruit was a swift car ride away the Carrick captain listed his name on the team sheet. AB duly arrived. After a quick introduction to key club members he was told to pad up. On the fall of the first wicket he wandered out to join the other opener. AB was greeted by the dulcet tones of a Kiwi accent.
The Kiwi, now resident and long-time player for Carrickfergus, was former Northern Districts batsman Barry Cooper (62 first-class matches for his province between 1980–1995). The gist of the conversation went something like this:
“Hi. How you doing? I’m Barry. We’ve got a bit of a task to do here. The wicket is not what you would be used to — wet and slow. They’ve got a Pakistani Test off-spinner — suggest we nurdle it around for a while, see if we can pick up 20-odd runs off his 10 overs and have a go at the others”.
Right! The 20 year-old had other ideas. After a mis-hit which nearly cost his wicket, he clouted Ijaz Ahmed Jr twice off consecutive balls back over his head for six. Barry quickly assessed the kid was something special. Both men scored in the 80s that day.
Later in the season AB scored the first of two double centuries. He totally dominated the day scoring an unbeaten 233 out of the Carrickfergus total of 308. This remains the highest individual score ever recorded in the league. To follow-up, the very next weekend, he got 208 not out to cap off a very satisfying double. AB finished the season with an average of 127.71 from the nine matches he played for Carrickfergus. The local committee had been repaid in spades by their “import”.
Statistics are one thing, but more important is the positive impact which AB left behind in the community. He stayed with Barry Cooper and during the three months a special bond established between them. AB had never been away from home before. It forced him to become independent which led to him grow in confidence as a person. As he acknowledges “it brought him out of his shell”. A bit like the Matfen experience has done for our 18 year-olds travelling to Northumberland.
Barry saw first-hand then in 2004 that AB de Villiers had the moral standing and integrity coupled with rare talent to go on to greatness in our game. AB wasn’t much into drinking or womanising according to his flatmate: “He was a professional cricketer. Very polite, well-read and well-behaved. He looked after himself”.