Jaap de Regt

Flamingo since 2007

Cricket became quicker

It was of course somewhat of an improvisation, on the Leeuwerikplein in The Hague, the bottom of the red letterbox made a fine wicket, so Buby and Peter Pototsky, Rob Klijn, Zeeger Kroon and the Brand brothers enjoyed themselves to their heart's content in the evenings with games of street cricket. Jaap de Regt, a bit on the young side at first, soon joined in.

You would expect the young cricketers to automatically transfer to the nearby HBS, but things were different. They find their home at De Roggewoning in Wassenaar. Jaap: "I was about fourteen years old, still a little boy. The others were a few years older. I ended up in the second with Daan Overhoff, Fokke van Dijk and Guus Lochmann van Bennekom. The latter, always wearing a large moustache, was a real bon vivant, a very colourful figure. My brother Paul, who is a sculptor, made a head of him. "

Little Switzerland Crickets Combination

De Krekels moved from Roggewoning to Little Switzerland via a merger. This is how KZKC, the Little Switzerland Crickets Combination, was created. "What took revenge on me in my cricket before, and then, was that I had actually never really learned the game well. I hadn't had any real coaching and so it was just a performance at first. Also, I was knocked on Dick Kramer's bowling by René Schoonheim, a formidable combination. Dick also ensured that, much later, I was nominated to De Flamingos, which I have experienced as a great honour.

A while after the Crickets' merger, Jaap became a member of Quick, where he found a place in the third and also became champion. As a batsman he came in at seven to force things a bit and as a bowler he mainly had to rely on his long straight arm. It was a great time for Quick 1 that can boast of the talents of cricketers such as the brothers Jan-Jaap and Dick Vierling and Paul-Jan Bakker. "During all those years I was busy on a social level. For example, between 1979 and 1991 I had a catering company with my mate Dick Taat, that built up a good name in The Hague and its surroundings. 

Our adventures were recently recorded by Casper Postmaa in The Wonder Years of Taat & De Regt, a real boys' book full of tall stories. Cricket was not far off at that time either. For example, in 1988 we catered at HCC for a competition between The Flamingos and The Lords Taverners with movie star Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) and television journalist David Frost (That was the Week that was, Breakfast with Frost) in the ranks. A high-profile event. HCC member Fred Beekman spoke very tongue in cheek during the dinner in the Trêveszaal and also Michiel de Ruyter with "The journey to Chatham". The English were not amused. "

Cricket chairman

In 2000 Jaap became chairman of the cricket department of Quick. A period of more than seven years begins in which a lot of work was done. "The emphasis then was on self-motivation. For example, we arranged for the installation of an electronic scoreboard and the creation of a pitch. Everyone, including the members of the first team, cooperated. From a sporting point of view, we did not do badly during that period. For example, I remember a decisive match against HCC in which we only narrowly went down, but of course also our championship. All in all, these were years in which enthusiasm predominated. Even after my presidency, I remained closely involved with Quick. I regret to say that the enthusiasm for cricket in the Netherlands is waning. Other aspects that I really appreciated, such as the friendship and fairness, are less in the foreground. "

Fanatic golf

After his active cricket period, Jaap started playing golf fanatically. For him, this sport still has the allure of the old cricket. "I have the ambition to learn it well. What I used to miss, when I came into contact with cricket, I now want to make up for, as it were. Obviously, I went on tour with the Flamingo golfers. I played a lot with Dick Bekedam, Kees Ruskamp and Thijs Vermeulen, who you can also count among the more fanatical players."

As far as Quick is concerned, Jaap sees a bright future for it. Although his club is no longer acting at the highest level since its relegation from the top class in 2019, but by focusing on building growth from the bottom up and not being dependent on a few foreign purchases, things must go better in the future, Jaap is convinced.