Ashford Cricket Club is pleased to announce that Jeremy Bayer will be joining for the 2001 season. Jeremy first played senior club cricket at the age of 12, and played provincial cricket at under-13, under-15 and under-19 levels.

He was invited to the Gauteng Province’s Winter Academy this year, and has now been invited to join the senior provincial squad of Easterns, the invitation coming on the recommendation of SA internationals Derek Crookes and Mike Rindel.

He is expected to make his senior provincial debut towards the end of the 2000/2001 season.

As a schoolboy, he played school first team cricket from the age of 13, and has won one of the best batsman, best bowler or best all-rounder award every year. His batting average has never been below 40, and he was consistently his school’s leading wicket taker.

At the provincial Treadwell Week, Jeremy emerged with a batting average of 90, and took 10 wickets in four matches.

At the Provincial Ken Viljoen Week he emerged as the leading wicket taker with 13 wickets in four games at an average of 8,50 and an RPO of 1,3.

At Club level Jeremy has again consistently been a leading run-scorer and wicket taker: in the Saturday limited overs league he bowls "at the death" to restrict scoring.

In the Sunday Leagues, as a member of the Premier League Squad, he has been known to bowl long spells, and was featured in The Star, Johannesburg’s leading daily newspaper as the youngest person playing league cricket at that level when he was only 15.

He has won club awards as the "Most Promising Young Player" twice.

Statistics available for the last three seasons are:

1997/98: 30 wickets @ 15.50; 1 120 runs @ 80.oo
1998/99: (Sunday only) 27 wickets @ 17,25: 945 runs @ 67.50
1999/2000 (Sunday) 31 wickets @ 16,60; 1003 @ 71.64
1999/2000 (Saturday) 20 wickets @ 19.00; 590 runs @ 49,16

 In addition, he has twice played in the Sydney International Youth Cricket Festival.

In 1998, aged 16 and playing for the Gauteng Colts XI he excelled with bat and ball, taking 60 off England’s Trent College which included two England Under-19 opening bowlers. Unfortunately two of the four matches were washed out.

In 1999 he was leading wicket taker at the week but averaged only 30 with the bat.

Jeremy has played just one game in the first half of the 2000/2001 season due to matric examinations which end in November.

He intends playing club cricket in England in 2001, whereafter he will move to the Easterns senior provincial squad and will be entering university.

Ashford would like to take this opportunity to welcome Jeremy as a new member of the Club and to wish him every success for the season. He will be made most welcome and we are sure he will enjoy his stay at Ashford.