List of Free State representative cricketers

This is a partial list of cricketers who have played first-class, List A cricket, or Twenty20 cricket for Orange Free State and Free State in South Africa. The team was renamed ahead of the 1995–96 season following the renaming of Orange Free State province as Free State in 1994.[1][2]

Orange Free State were scheduled to join the Currie Cup in 1898–99 before the tournament was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Second Boer War.[a] When the tournament resumed in 1902–03 the province missed the competition, before making its first-class debut the following season, losing by an innings and 327 runs to Transvaal.[1][4][5] From that date the matches it played in the competition are considered first-class. The Orange Free State B side joined the Currie Cup B section in 1989–90, and matches involving the B side are considered first-class in the competition. Following the renaming of the side as Free State, the B section competition continued, with Free State B taking part in 1995–96.[6][7]

Orange Free State first played List A cricket in 1970–71, the first season of provincial List A cricket in South Africa.[b][1] Free State first played domestic Twenty20 cricket in the first season of the CSA Provincial T20 in 2011–12.[2]

This list includes the players who played first-class and List A cricket for Orange Free State[1] and Orange Free State B[6] between 1903–04 and 1994–95, and those who played first-class, List A, and Twenty20 cricket for Free State[2] and Free State B[7] from 1995–96 to the present day. It does not include players who appeared only for franchise side Knights which was operated by the Free State and Griqualand West Cricket Unions between 2003–04 and 2020–21.[c][9]

As of 14 July 2025

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

  • Patrick Uys

V

W

Z

Notes

  1. ^ The first domestic first-class matches in South Africa were played during the 1889–90 season, establishing the Currie Cup. Two Test matches played the previous season between South Africa and a touring English side are considered the first matches played in South Africa to have first-class status.[3]
  2. ^ The 1969–70 Gillette Cup competition had taken place the previous season, but teams did not use their provincial names. The team that represented Orange Free State was organised by Raymond van der Poll and known as R van der Poll's XI. It played one match. All 11 players also played matches for Orange Free State so, by default, appear on this list.[8]
  3. ^ The Knights franchise was known as Eagles from 2003–04 and 2009–10. The players who played for the franchise side are listed at List of Knights cricketers.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Orange Free State, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2025-07-11. (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b c Free State, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2025-07-11. (subscription required)
  3. ^ Isherwood R, Bailey PJ (1997) Natal cricketers, 1889/90–1996/97, p. 3. Nottingham: The Association of Cricket Statisticians. (Available online at The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2025-07-05.)
  4. ^ History: SA's premier first-class series, SA Cricket Mag, 16 April 2020. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  5. ^ Bailey PJ (1981) A guide to important cricket matches played in South Africa, p. 7. Retford: The Association of Cricket Statisticians. (Available online at The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2025-07-05.)
  6. ^ a b Orange Free State B, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2025-07-11. (subscription required)
  7. ^ a b Free State B, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2025-07-01. (subscription required)
  8. ^ R van der Poll's XI, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2025-07-11. (subscription required)
  9. ^ Moonda F (2021) Five talking points about South Africa's new domestic structure, CricInfo, 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
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