View source for Vintcent van der Bijl

{{short description|South African cricketer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox cricketer
|                name = Vince van der Bijl 
|               image = 
|             country = South Africa
|            fullname = Vintcent Adriaan Pieter van der Bijl
|          birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|3|19|df=yes}}
|         birth_place = [[Rondebosch]], [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]] 
|            nickname = 
|            heightft = 6
|          heightinch = 7+1/2
|             heightm = 
|             batting = Right-handed
|             bowling = Right-arm fast-medium
|                role = Bowler
|               club1 = [[Natal cricket team|Natal]]
|               year1 = 1967&ndash;1980
|         clubnumber1 = 
|               club2 = [[Middlesex cricket team|Middlesex]]
|               year2 = 1980
|         clubnumber2 = 
|               club3 = [[Gauteng cricket team|Transvaal]]
|               year3 = 1983
|         clubnumber3 = 
|             columns = 2
|             column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
|            matches1 = 156			
|               runs1 = 2269
|            bat avg1 = 16.20
|           100s/50s1 = &ndash;/1
|          top score1 = 87
|         deliveries1 = 
|            wickets1 = 767							
|           bowl avg1 = 16.54
|            fivefor1 = 46
|             tenfor1 = 12
|       best bowling1 = 8/35
|  catches/stumpings1 = 51/&ndash;
|             column2 = [[List A cricket|List A]]
|            matches2 = 92			
|               runs2 = 517
|            bat avg2 = 15.66
|           100s/50s2 = &ndash;/&ndash;
|          top score2 = 47
|         deliveries2 = 5237				
|            wickets2 = 132
|           bowl avg2 = 18.06
|            fivefor2 = 4
|             tenfor2 = &ndash;
|       best bowling2 = 5/12
|  catches/stumpings2 = 21/&ndash;
|                date = 20 June
|                year = 2019
|              source = http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/47683.html
}}

'''Vintcent Adriaan Pieter van der Bijl''' (born 19 March 1949) is a retired South African [[cricketer]].  He was born in [[Rondebosch]], [[Cape Town]], where his father, [[Pieter van der Bijl]], was  headmaster of the [[Diocesan College|Diocesan College Preparatory School]] after retiring from playing [[first-class cricket]] for [[Western Province Cricket Association|Western Province]] and [[South African cricket team|South Africa]].  His grandfather, [[V.A.W. van der Bijl]] (also Vintcent),<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/canada/content/player/47753.html Voltelin Albert William van der Bijl]</ref> and great-uncle, [[Voltelin van der Bijl]], also played first-class cricket for Western Province.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UguLotVEyu4C The Blue Book: A History of Western Province Cricket, 1890-2011] page 51</ref>

He was educated at the Diocesan College Rondebosch, where he not only excelled at cricket, but, owing to his size and strength, was a useful [[rugby union]] player and outstanding [[shot putter]] and at the [[University of Natal]]. While at university he came under the influence of [[Trevor Goddard (cricketer)|Trevor Goddard]].<ref name=PlayerOfTherYear>{{cite book
|url = http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154481.html
|editor-first = John
|editor-last = Woodcock
|title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanac
|year = 1981
|at = Cricketer of the Year - 1981: Vintcent van der Bijl
|access-date = 27 January 2012}}</ref> After graduating, he became a teacher at [[Maritzburg College]] in [[Pietermaritzburg]] and played first-class cricket as an amateur for [[Natal Province|Natal]] from 1968/69 to 1979/80.  He was ''South African Cricket Annual'' Cricketer of the Year in 1971.  He was appointed captain of Natal in 1976/7, the year the team won the [[SuperSport Series|Currie Cup]] and [[Nissan Shield (Cricket)|Datsun Shield]].

He gave up teaching in 1979 and went to work for [[Wiggins Teape]], but he was given leave to play for [[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]] in 1980.  He took 85 first-class [[wicket]]s for Middlesex at a [[bowling average]] of 14.72, the third-best first-class bowling average for that season among bowlers with more than 20 wickets, behind [[Joel Garner]] and [[Richard Hadlee]].<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Seasons/Seasonal_Averages/ENG/1980_f_Bowling_by_Average.html
|title = First class bowling in England for 1980 (ordered by average)
|publisher = CricketArchive
|access-date = 2011-02-16}}</ref>  Middlesex won the [[County Championship]] and the [[Gillette Cup (England)|Gillette Cup]], and he was named one of the five [[Wisden Cricketers of the Year]] in 1981.<ref name=PlayerOfTherYear/>  He played a final season for [[Gauteng cricket team|Transvaal]] in 1982/3.  In all, he played in 156 first-class matches, taking 767 wickets at an average of 16.55.

He was tall, 202&nbsp;cm (6&nbsp;ft 7½in), and bowled his [[fast bowling|fast-medium]] [[delivery (cricket)|deliveries]] with accuracy, pace and bounce. The peak of his playing career was during the years of South African sporting isolation, as a result of the South African government's [[apartheid]] policies.  He was picked for the 1971/72 South African tour to Australia which was cancelled in the wake of the [[d'Oliveira affair]].  [[Cricinfo]] describes him as "one of the best bowlers not to play [[Test cricket]]".

In 2008 he was named [[International Cricket Council|ICC]] umpires' and referees' manager.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/352101.html?cmp=viral
|title = van der Bijl named ICC umpires' and referees' manager
|publisher = [[ESPN Cricinfo]]
|access-date = 2011-02-16}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[International cricket in South Africa from 1971 to 1981]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{cricinfo|ref=southafrica/content/player/47683.html}}
*[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/3/3263/3263.html Profile] from CricketArchive
*[http://www.cricket-online.org/player.php?player_id=9717 Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231852/http://www.cricket-online.org/player.php?player_id=9717 |date=2007-09-26 }} from [[Cricket Online]]
*[http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/story/154481.html Biography] as a [[Wisden Cricketer of the Year]] in 1981

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van der Bijl, Vintcent}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Natal alumni]]
[[Category:Middlesex cricketers]]
[[Category:South African expatriate cricketers in England]]
[[Category:South African cricketers]]
[[Category:South African Universities cricketers]]
[[Category:KwaZulu-Natal cricketers]]
[[Category:Gauteng cricketers]]
[[Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year]]
[[Category:South African cricket coaches]]
[[Category:People from Rondebosch]]
[[Category:Cricketers from the Western Cape]]
[[Category:Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town]]