Oxford Downs will be hoping its “second time lucky” following the re-signing of South African spinner David Schierhout for their 2023 Home Counties Premier League campaign.
‘Downs signed the Western Province left-arm spinner for their 2022 season, but unfortunately, visa delays jeopardised any chance of travel.
Schierhout is an accomplished left-arm spinner who, after years of toil in Cape Town’s premier club competition, was finally rewarded with a professional debut in December 2019.
After a decade on the WPCA circuit for club sides Old Mutual, and more recently Primrose, Schierhout quite literally “banged the door down”, courtesy of his club exploits.
Following hundreds of wickets, and a fair few runs along the way, the former Western Province age-group star finally earned selection, after bowling Primrose to victory over Northerns Goodwood with figures of 7-46 in early December 2019.
A few weeks later Schierhout made his first-class debut (19 December 2019) for Western Province, and his List A debut followed suit. The left-arm tweaker didn’t disappoint, taking 11 wickets at 18.18 in his 4 first-class matches to round out a successful 2019/20 domestic season.
After a strong start to his domestic career, Schierhout was elevated to the Cape Cobras squad for the 2020/21 season.
He made his debut against the Titans in their 4-Day Franchise Series match, playing in a Cobras side featuring Proteas Janneman Malan, Pieter Malan, Zubayr Hamza, GF Linde, and Kyle Verreynne. Whilst he only bowled the 14 overs, he impressed, including the wicket of South African Test bat, Theunis de Bruyn.
Unfortunately, COVID struck at the wrong time for Schierhout, who was set to cement his Cobras spot last summer. However, he is currently playing for Western Province this season where he hopes to impress.
Over the 2017 and 2018 seasons, playing for GMCL (Greater Manchester Cricket League) clubs Brooksbottom (Div 2) and Heyside (Div 1) respectively, Schierhout took 101 wickets at 15.84 alongside 723 runs, including a highest score of 151 (160 balls).
Not just a player who comes highly recommended by a number of sources, but an intelligent and highly driven guy, who doubles as a highly accredited coach, including a diploma in coaching science.
Schierhout really is a quality Player/Coach option who is set to embark on a third UK stint in 2023 having recently signed again with Oxford Downs for their Home Counties Premier League campaign.
