Kevin Verdoorn was a very talented all-round sportsman and most likeable fellow. A useful rugby player at school, he concentrated on cricket and hockey as a youngster at Pretoria Boys High School Old Boys. I remember the great Michael Proctor talking about this brilliant young batsman he bowled to when Kevin played for S.A. Schools against Rhodesia in Salisbury at the end of the Nuffield Week.
Of course I’d already come across him playing for Old Boys against the School and nicknamed him PJ. It stood for Promising Joungster or, when he overdid the partying, Piepie Joller. Mind you I have, with some justification, been blamed for leading him astray when it came to enjoying life.
Working as a young broadcaster at the SABC I lived in Johannesburg but played all my cricket and hockey at Old Boys. Over the weekends I always had a bed at the Verdoorn’s with father, Keith, who played cricket for North Eastern Transvaal in the 1950’s, and mother Faith always making me welcome along with sons, Kevin and Lee, and daughter Colleen.
Kevin and I shared many a batting partnership at Old Boys where he was a prolific run getter and useful medium pace bowler. At only 17 he was picked to play for Northern Transvaal and we played many matches together for the province before he went to live in Durban, where he played a season for Natal. The amazing thing is that, for all his ability, he never made a first class century, despite making 23 fifties, and scoring over 3 500 runs. Mind you we weren’t paid to play in those days and touring and partying were just as important as the cricket. Of course he was also a good hockey player and represented the province.
Later in life, back in Pretoria, he took up bowls and was naturally successful, despite having a hip problem. As a trustee of the Sports Legends Trust, which assists former international and provincial South African sports persons, we flew him to Stellenbosch for a hip replacement, which extended his sports activities.
Having lived in Cape Town for the past 25 years I seldom got to see PJ and his dear wife, Hilary, but will always remember him as a wonderful sportsman and good friend – written by Trevor Quirk
