C.R.P. Bakker in conversation with Peter van Arkel

The humble top cricketer

In 1935 Peter van Arkel was born in The Hague within walking distance of HCC, where Peter's father was a donor. De Diepput automatically brought Peter into contact, first with football, and shortly after, as a young starter in  the noble sport of cricket. For a large part of his life, Peter continued to live in the vicinity of HCC, even after his working life. He was able to closely follow the development of cricket in the Netherlands locally, and - let's not forget, has made a contribution that is almost unparalleled.

Lout de Villeneuve

We are talking about cricket and I wonder which players Peter, such a star himself, counts among the best with whom or against whom he played. He mentions three.

Lout de Villeneuve emerges as a contemporary. Indeed, a natural talent in many sports, who as a footballer had the disadvantage of being at his peak during the Second World War and therefore missed the opportunity to ever qualify as an international. But who, as a cricketer, really mastered everything: batsman, bowler (formerly fast, later leg breaks), an athletic fielder and inventive captain with a natural instinct to make inspired decisions at the most unexpected moments.

Next up is A.M.J. de Beus, who was already somewhat on the decline in the post-war era, but still had an unusually varied career and paid particular attention to youth. He was and is still known as the Grand Old Man of our cricket and as such is the only Dutchman appointed by the MCC as an Honourary Life Member. A well-deserved recognition from a gracious cricketer and teacher.

As a surprise, Peter mentions Lindsay Hassett. It probably has to do with the way this Australian managed to lead and, if necessary, contain his, sometimes wild Test team with dashing stars like Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller. In Don Bradman, Hassett had the best, but also the hardest teacher imaginable. No doubt it made Hassett the tactician he eventually became. And Peter had noticed that, attentive follower as he was of the greats on the world stage.

Study other players

We stick with cricket with the question of who Peter thinks he learned the most from.

There were excellent English coaches at HCC for years, but Peter learned the most from studying other active players. Like Mike Ainsworth who, as a comparable batsman, made many tours to the Netherlands with the MCC and the Free Foresters. Comparable, because Ainsworth was also tall and with an extended step forward could reduce many length balls to half vollies and punish hard through the covers. We saw Peter do the same many times.

One of the most valuable pieces of advice Peter received came from Willem Glerum. In the beginning of his career, Peter often went LBW. Alternative block turned out to be the solution, from which Peter benefited for the rest of his career. Bowlers of the opposing party were less impressed by this.

Peter enjoyed immense pleasure from our sport during the annual visits to Lord's with his youngest son Hans Peter. The atmosphere on this famous field (where Peter also played for the Flamingos several times) and the Test Matches between England and Australia, Pakistan, the West Indies and India in the international mecca of cricket were always a celebration for both.

But Peter's favourite field is and remains HCC's Diepput. There he made friends for life. For example, he fondly thinks back to 1975, when he was one of the initiators to fill HCC III with a number of older players and a group of young people, with which they also became champions on the last day of the season against competitor Bloemendaal of the Netherlands. A cheerful and educational team achievement for all, and particularly for the upcoming youth players.

Batsmen have strange rituals when they are in or out. Did Peter have that too?Yes. He always put on his left leg guard first. A kind of superstition. Without realizing it, he later discovered that he shook off his old-fashioned gloves (with loose thumb, you know!) when going out. But he was most hindered by the then growing sleds, noisy comments in the field to take your opposition out of concentration. But Peter is fair enough to admit that his own team could do some of that too.

Was cricket actually the only sport that Peter held dear? Yes, but if he had to choose a different sport, it would have been skating. At the time he undertook many long trips with Rob Colthoff. This was a big task for little Robbie who had to take twice as many strokes with his mini-size Norwegians as his so much taller friend. They even completed the 1954 Elfstedentocht together.

Cricket is dynamic.

Obviously, the will to win is there at all times, and that is why Peter sees the importance of the current forms of competition with a limited number of overs and always a result. He is also pleased that the game is less elitist nowadays than it used to be. On the other hand, he fears that the modern style of play threatens to put upcoming youngsters in a difficult balance. His advice is to always give youth the chance to play at the right level. Good coaching and guidance enable younger people to ultimately perform optimally, even if that might be at a lower level.

In any case, you can see a lot of good cricket on TV these days. There is a lot to learn about the tactics of setting out the field, the choice to play faster or slower. With this thought, his message to youth is: “keep having fun playing cricket, because after all, you spend a lot of time on it. And then later you can relive wonderful memories together with former teammates that become stronger and more incredible by the day.”

We are coming to the end of our conversation and it must have been noticed that not a word has been said about Peter's often fabulous batting performances. And they have been abundant; KNCB statistics are witness to this. In De Vogel we can see that his name appears no less than three times on the CramerMcLean Cup. This is what Peter van Arkel is all about. With modesty he has always set clear priorities, such as his studies, his family and a working life as a beloved general practitioner for many. And if that meant his sports experience sometimes had to be less, then so be it. But the sportsman does appear every year for the Peter van Arkel prize for the best player of HCC I in the past season.

Thus, the reputation of Peter van Arkel lives on in a cup. Fortunately, for those who have had the privilege of ever seeing Peter bat, that memory is even more vivid and completely indelible: elegance, strength, timing and modesty.

PS.

Peter van Arkel passed away at the age of 82. Anyone who had him as a friend, teammate or opponent knows that on April 4, 2018 we said goodbye to a real star of CTC De Flamingos as a sublime cricketer and above all as a charming and dear human being.