Albert van Nierop jr.

Globetrotter who played everywhere

They were called Ed and Willem Bever in the heyday of De Fabeltjeskrant. Albert and brother Ed would parade across the field in shorts while sporting cool VRA blazers, the field where their father and grandfather had taken so many footsteps. Albert: "Of course I can hardly remember, but I’m pretty sure that I was at the boundary in my pram. My parents were so devoted to VRA. My grandfather was not a great cricketer, but he was a clubman who drove young VRA-ers all around the country, like to PW in Enschede. On the way back, he would treat the young cricketers to an elaborate meal. When I got home, my grandmother would sigh, "There goes my household money."

The youngest

In his early years, Albert lived in Amstelveen, where he played cricket with Hans and Sieb Mulder, and Bob-Jan Hillen who later became a hockey international. Albert was always the youngest and played with much older boys. That his father was chairman of VRA at one point also had a drawback for him. When the prizes were awarded on the VRA closing day, his mother took him aside for a moment. "She said that while I should be getting a prize, my father thought it advisable to give the badge to another boy. Otherwise, it might be thought that the chairman's son was favoured."

Hilversum

After the Van Nierop family moved to Hilversum, Albert started playing for the association of the same name. But because that club didn’t have enough youth players to form a team for the Flamingo Junior Tournament, he participated under the flag of VRA. It was a traumatic experience. "The fact I was allowed to participate at all was due to my mother who had asked my head teacher, I was still in primary school, if I could get a week off earlier. The rest of the tournament’s participants were already in high school and had been on vacation earlier. Ok, there I was shaking at the wicket, because I would be exposed to the projectiles of fast bowler Barend Stel. I almost pissed myself with fear and didn't know where to look. I didn't make many runs."

The first of Cricket Club Hilversum came out in the transition class in those years, but Albert was initially allowed to mature in the second under the care of Henk van der Bijl and Jaap Alders. Then he was promoted to the former where he found Robert Lifmann and Hans Floberg by his side. Albert turned out to be a fanatical cricketer who hated to miss any match. Only after his graduation did he cancel, once, due to an essential trip to France. He made sure he was back in time to be able to play the following Sunday.

Hylton Ackerman

He was allowed to play, but then in the second. When his "demotion" continued the following week, he left for VRA. There he met illustrious South African, Hylton Ackerman as coach, oh what a relief! Ackerman had come to Amsterdam after mediation by Thijs Vermeulen. South Africa was a bit of a blind spot on the cricket card for the Netherlands at that time. Here people gazed at the then all-powerful West Indians but forgot that it was also played at a very high level in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. 

"Hylton Ackerman, never heard of him, they may have initially thought at VRA, but that changed somewhat when they saw him play. What a great man he was. He truly played cricket from another planet. And he was a nice man too. The kind of person who liked to let others share in his knowledge. You could say he caused a furore."

At VRA, Albert came into the first and then came out in 1B. In his first match, he opened with Hylton and poked one here and there to get his companion up and running. Then he was given the choice: in on seven or eight, or open.? He chose the latter. In his first year he had to warm up a bit, but after that it went better. After Ackerman, he had Peter Swart as a coach, an all-rounder of the extra class who would have made it to fifty tests had it not been that South Africa was excluded from international cricket at that time. These were great years and he fully enjoyed the game under the captaincy of Frank Vermeulen and with players such as Jan Spits, Godfrey Edwards and Haroona Raja.

South Africa

An important experience in his cricket life was his trip to South Africa with Wulf van Alkemade. There he played several times for the second XI of Pinelands, performances which he learned a lot from as a cricketer. "People in South Africa were surprised that there was cricket in the Netherlands. That Wulf and I were playing quite a game, completely impressed them. As we had the time to ourselves, we were often asked to play a game here and there during the week. We sure played some cricket during our stay."

Debut in Orange

In 1981 Albert made his debut in the Dutch national team. It was a memorable experience, because he saw his posts fly out of the ground after the first ball of the Sri Lankan Ashantha de Mel. It was no shame that he fell victim to this fast medium bowler, as De Mel was a valued force in the Sri Lankan test team. "After that I played a number of international matches, but that series came to an end when I left for South Africa with my wife Joke. Of course, I wanted to continue playing for the Netherlands, but in a letter, Rob Derogee made it clear to me that I was no longer eligible, as I was going to be living too far away. "Success" he wrote, I believe. And that was it "

In South Africa, Albert went to play for the Second XI of Western Province. He came in halfway through the season and was on the threshold of the first by the end of it. Unfortunately, he tore his cruciate ligaments while playing hockey, a vicious injury that made it difficult for him to return at his previous level.

After South Africa, the Philippines followed, where, in addition to rugby and football, cricket was of course also on the programme. In this case with Manilla Nomads, a nice name for a hodgepodge of English, Australians, Indians and a lost Dutchman. The level was not very high, and opponents, such as the Australian Embassy did not reach the highest peaks either!

Bicknell brothers

In his next stop, England and especially Guildford, things were better. On a visit to the long, narrow field there, Albert was approached by a gentleman, Charles Whitehouse, who later inquired about Albert's country of origin. When he heard that Albert was from the Netherlands, another question immediately followed: "Do you know the Flamingos?" Albert, a member from the age of 22, was able to answer in the affirmative, so the ice was broken.

After some games in the second and third, Albert moved on to the first, where he met the later well-known Bicknell brothers, Martin and Darren, in the county circuit. At that time, they played in the Surrey league where time cricket was trump. "If the weather was good and we won the toss, we would bat first. Darren then made some runs after which I would also have to contribute some quick runs, this was not my forte. It was different when the weather was terrible, and the wicket looked like a vibrating pudding. Then Darren was not in his element and afterwards I was the one who had to take the chestnuts out of the fire. That suited me better."

Captain VRA

After England, Brussels followed. There, Albert was approached by John Wories for the captaincy of the VRA which was not going well at the time. In fact, the Amsterdammers often dangled somewhere at the bottom. "I was lucky that I scored quite a few runs in the first three matches, which made Garfield Charles and Rupert Gomes feel compelled to show that they could do something. Then we were at the top. "Because of his talented son Maurits at the Kon. Played UD, Albert also quickly ended up there. "To be honest I was already a bit over the hill at the time. They weren't my best years."

Private fields

As mentioned, Albert became a member of the Flamingos at a very young age. He was nominated by Frank Vermeulen and played the mandatory qualifier matches at the time, then became a member. “I have fond memories of the England tours that I could easily join when we lived there. I especially like to remember the beautiful private fields on which we had the honour to play. Hagley Hall, the home of the Lyttelton family and the field of Lord McAlpine, who’s secretary had a day's work alone keeping track of his cricket records. They made a deep impression on me.”

“Finally, I would like to say how remarkable I find it, that I played together with boys at a later age than with men, with whom I still went to the cricket youth camps. At the end of such a camp, a camp team was put together, sometimes a steppingstone to a Dutch youth team. I also met so many old comrades in arms with the Flamingos. Very special!”

Albert van Nierop jr.