T Chesterfield: Rindel Best Of Northerns Batch (25 Mar 1996)

RINDEL BEST OF NORTHERNS BATCH

Trevor Chesterfield.

As Mike Rindel takes time to reflect on the wettest Castle Cup season in almost 20 summers, he will no doubt recall that he has at least passed the 4000 run mark at A section level and maintained his impressive average.

And while he failed by two runs to score 600 runs in a season for the third time, the left-hander has become the first Northerns batsman to pass the 500 mark for the fourth time in his career. Unfortunately he was unable to extend his limited-overs career with South Africa this summer because the national selectors felt - like several others they have also discarded, notably Eric Simons, Rudolf Steyn, and Dave Callaghan - that for some particular reason the free-scoring Northern`s batsman didn`t quite fit into their "new age" plans.

Yet there were few more consistent batsmen than Rindel, especially as he was often faced with pressure situations with Northerns always in early trouble. His top first-class score of 174 against Free State at Springbok Park in November was an example of his ability to make the most of the conditions. Rindel also surpassed Vernon du Preez as Northerns` highest first-class run scorer. He was second to Dan van Zyl in the day/night series batting averages. Although Clayton Lambert didn`t score as heavily as his first two seasons, his 550 runs at 40.98 represents a solid input. In three seasons the West Indian managed 1737 A section runs in 23 matches at an impressive average of 40.39 - the best in a career by a Northerns batsman. The leading wickettaker was the big left-arm seamer Greg Smith, with 26 wickets at 23.69 which was a fair return and he could be considered unlucky not to have taken at least 30. He also topped the day/night series bowling averages. Andre Seymore`s summer was well spent with 334 A section and 291 day/night runs and Mark Davis` emergence as an all-rounder continued, although the records in both competitions do not do him justice.