RSA: 17 year old Myburgh breaks Pollock's record (24 Feb 1998)

22 February 1998

MYBURGH DOUBLE TON ACT

Trevor Chesterfield

Centurion - Scoring double centuries is becoming a habit for Johan Myburgh this season although his record-breaking performance at L C de Villiers Oval on Saturday was special event.

It was the third of the season for the 17-year-old who felt a little humbled on learning yesterday morning he had broken Graeme Pollock's record of becoming the youngest player to score a first-class double century in South Africa.

Pollock was 19 years and 19 days when he hit an undefeated 209 for an Eastern Province Invitation XI 35 summers ago against Denis Compton's Cavaliers. On Saturday Myburgh, a matric pupil at Pretoria Boys' High was 17 years and 122 days.

It makes him about the third youngest in the history of the game to achieve the milestone at first-class level: Pakistani Hasan Raza was allegedly 15 and Ijaz Ahmed, now on tour of South Africa, was said to be 16 when they scored their double hundreds.

Raza, like Myburgh, played in the MTN under/19 World Cup held recently in South Africa, only for the Pretoria youngster scoring a third double century this season was not the only thing on his mind when he plastered the Easterns bowling attack around the well-groomed L C de Villiers Oval on Saturday.

"We wanted to get a big score on the board and Deon (Jordaan, the Northerns B skipper) told me I had to bat through the innings if we were to achieve a match-winning total," he said.

There were words of advice and encouragement from Jordaan, while the youngster, showing maturity and run-making ability also praised those who have been involvd in his career since he was a pupil at Laerskool Silverton.

Anton Ferreira, one of the SA u/19 coaches, has been involved with him since before Berea Park folded about five years ago and remembers bustling youngster batting and fielding with the accomplished confidence he has displayed this season.

Myburgh scored 241 for Northerns against North West in Potchefstroom in an under/19 match last October and 200 against St Stithian's (high school) in a schools game.

Trevor Chesterfield