By Chesley Daniels
Leon Coetzee will go down in the history books as one of the greatest cricketers Makhanda has ever produced.
Born in 1961 in Grahamstown, Coetzee came from a sporting family. He is the eldest son of the late Phillip and Elma Coetzee, highly respected sporting legends in their days.
Coetzee and his siblings Allister Coetzee, Barbara Ann and Roderick grew up in Currie Street.
He went to High Mission Primary School (GPS) before attending Mary Waters High School where he matriculated. After school, he went to further his studies at Dower College in Port Elizabeth to follow in the footsteps of his parents who both were teachers.
Coetzee was a shining star in sport at school and was a standout player in cricket. At a very young age, he started playing for Morning Stars Cricket Club as well as St Andrews CC in the Township.
From 1980-1984, the esteemed and gifted cricket player was lured to further expose his talent and skills in Port Elizabeth where he played for United Cricket Club with the legendary Khaya Majola.
They were three sets of brothers at United, namely Majola, Coetzee and Jordaan brothers. Whilst playing his cricket in the Friendly City, his prodigious talent and outstanding performances saw him get selected for the Eastern Province B team for the SACB Competition.
Coetzee recalls some of the highlights in his illustrious career. “One of the highlights that comes to mind, when I was selected for the East Cape XI to play against Sri Lanka National Team who had players like Muralitharan, Ranatunga and De Silva, just to name a few. It was actually a daunting task for me to face Muralitharan who was the best spinner in the world, but I managed to make 31 runs on that day,” he said.
Coetzee returned home after his stint in Port Elizabeth and continued his promising cricket career playing for Old Boys Cricket Club under the Border League. He was immediately selected as captain of Old Boys and again selected for Border Cricket, for which he played a number of provincial games against various provinces.
Coetzee recalls two innings which stood out for him – scoring a man-of-the-match innings of 75 against Eastern Province. “I remember scoring a solid 75 and then another 150 against Victoria East after that. This two memorable innings will always be special to me,” said Coetzee.
After unification, his next journey was playing for Willows Cricket Club where he was a founding member and also captained the side for many years. Whilst playing for Willows, Coetzee was one of their best batsmen and was selected for the EP Country District side. He represented the EP Country District side for many years in the South African Country District Tournaments as well as provincial games. One standout innings for the EPCD side was playing against a formidable and star-studded Boland side in Stellenbosch where the classy top order batsman made a decent 89 runs.
“Club Cricket in the GCB League was and still is very competitive and enjoyable. My highlight was winning the GCB Night League with Willows and also scoring a 110 not out. I also recall winning the GCB Bathurst 1st League as captain of the Willows side. I was also part of the Stanley Cricket Club and played in the Wondering Club Tournament in the UK. In one game, I made 115 not out in very difficult conditions.”
Since he started teaching back in 1982, up to this day, Coetzee is still actively involved in the game. He coached the GPS U9, U11 and U13 who brought him so much fun and delight, he recalled.
After his playing days stopped, Coetzee got actively involved in the GCB as president for over 20 years and currently leads the board with distinction and success.
He has been the president of Rural Cricket South Africa (RCSA) since 2010. He also served as president of EP Cricket Board for one term. He was also the manager of the SA Country Districts Team who traveled to Argentina and was the liaison officer for many international cricket teams who toured SA, including in the World Cup in SA in 2007.
“Grahamstown is very fortunate to have many talented cricketers who served the town well in the past.”
Coetzee was an all rounder in cricket, sound administrator and one of the greatest cricket legends in the history of Makhanda.
