Free State (formerly Orange Free State) is the

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

team representing the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of Free State (known as Orange Free State until 1995) in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. For the purposes of the SuperSport Series, Free State merged with

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...

and formed the Eagles cricket team franchise. The team was called Orange Free State from January 1904 to April 1995; it has been part of the Eagles from October 2004.

Honours

* Currie Cup (3) – 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98 ; shared (0) – * Standard Bank Cup (4) – 1988–89, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 * South African Airways Provincial Three-Day Challenge (0) – * South African Airways Provincial One-Day Challenge (1) – 2004–05 * Gillette/Nissan Cup (2) – 1991–92, 1992–93

Venues

Venues have included: *

Ramblers Cricket Club Ground Ramblers Cricket Club Ground is a cricket ground in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa, on the north side of Zastron Street. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1892, when an Orange Free State XXII played the touring WW Read's X ...

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

(Jan 1904 – Feb 1986) *

South African Railways Club Old Ground South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, Bloemfontein (Jan 1938 – Dec 1939) *

Welkom Mines Recreation Ground Welkom Mines Recreation Ground is a multi purpose stadium in Welkom, Free State. The ground is mostly used for local cricket matches. It also hosted three first-class matches between 1954 and 1963 as the home ground for the Orange Free State cri ...

(occasional venue Nov 1954 – Nov 1963) * University of Orange Free State Ground, Bloemfontein (Oct 1986 – Dec 1993) *

Harmony Gold Mine Cricket Club A Ground Harmony Gold Mine Cricket Club A Ground is a cricket ground in Virginia, Free State, South Africa, near to the Harmony Gold mines. The ground hosted four first-class matches, 19 List A matches and two other matches between 1966 and 1996; the ...

, Virginia (four matches Nov 1986 – Sept 1991) *

Goodyear Park Mangaung Oval, previously known as Springbok Park, Chevrolet Park, Goodyear Park, and OUTsurance Oval, is a cricket oval in Bloemfontein, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches. It is the home of the Knights (cricket team), ...

, Bloemfontein (Oct 1989–present) *

Rovers Cricket Club Rovers may refer to: Sports * Rovers Cup Association football teams * A.F.C. Kempston Rovers, a football club based in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England * Albion Rovers F.C. (Newport), Wales * Albion Rovers F.C., Coatbridge, Scotland * Blackburn ...

, Welkom (two games 1981 – 1985)

Squad

In April 2021,

Cricket South Africa Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Afr ...

confirmed the following squad ahead of the 2021–22 season. * Mbulelo Budaza *

Gerald Coetzee Gerald Coetzee (born 2 October 2000) is a South African cricketer. In December 2017, he was named in South Africa's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In January 2019, he was named in the South Africa national under-19 cricket team's ...

* Patrick Kruger * Wandile Makwetu *

Migael Pretorius Migael Pretorius (born 24 March 1995) is a South African cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium bowler. He made his List A debut for Northerns against North West on 13 December 2015. He was the leading wicket-taker in the ...

Jacques Snyman Gerrit Jacques Snyman (born 10 May 1994) is a South African cricketer. A batting all-rounder, he bats right-handed and bowls off spin. He made his South Africa debut in a Twenty20 International (T20I) against Pakistan in February 2021. Career ...

Pite van Biljon Pite van Biljon (born 15 April 1986) is a South African cricketer who plays for Free State. He made his international debut for the South Africa cricket team in February 2020. His sister, Suzaan, competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics in the ...

Raynard van Tonder Raynard van Tonder (born 26 September 1998) is a South African cricketer. He made his first-class debut for Free State in the 2016–17 Sunfoil 3-Day Cup on 6 October 2016. He made his List A debut for Free State in the 2016–17 CSA Provin ...

Farhaan Behardien Farhaan Behardien (born 9 October 1983) is a South African former international cricketer who played ODIs and T20Is. On 10 January 2017, Behardien was appointed as the T20I captain for the Sri Lanka tour. Early and domestic career He also p ...

Patrick Botha Patrick Botha (born 23 January 1990) is a South African first-class cricketer. He was included in the Free State cricket team squad for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2017–18 CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge t ...

Matthew Kleinveldt Matthew Caleb Kleinveldt (born 10 August 1989) is an English-born South African professional cricketer. Though born and bred in England, Kleinveldt rejected an offer to play for Hampshire due to England's new stern sporting visa requirements. H ...

Gregory Mohlokwana Gregory Nkale Mahlokwana (born 14 December 1994) is a South African cricketer. He made his List A debut for Northerns in the 2016–17 CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge on 12 February 2017. He made his Twenty20 debut for Northerns in the 2017 ...

Mangaliso Mosehle Mangaliso Mosehle (born 24 April 1990) is a South African cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. U19 career Mosehle was part of the South African side for the 2008 Under-19s World Cup in Malaysia, playing two games in the c ...

Alfred Mothoa Alfred Mothoa (born 16 December 1989) is a South African cricketer. He was included in the Northerns cricket team for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup. In June 2018, he was named in the squad for the Titans team for the 2018–19 season. In September 2 ...

Dilivio Ridgaard Dilivio Ridgaard (born 16 November 1997) is a South African cricketer. He made his List A debut for Free State in the 2017–18 CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge on 25 February 2018. In September 2018, he was named in Free State's squad for the ...

* Nealan van Heerden

References

Sources

* ''South African Cricket Annual'' – various editions * ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' – various editions {{South African cricket season South African first-class cricket teams Cricket in the Free State (province)