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Vivian Neser

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Vivian Neser
Personal information
Full name
Vivian Herbert Neser
Born(1894-06-16)16 June 1894
Klerksdorp, South African Republic
Died22 December 1956(1956-12-22) (aged 62)
Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa
NicknameBoet, Knoppie
BattingRight-handed
RoleWicketkeeper-batsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1919 to 1921Oxford University
1921–22 to 1924–25Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 18
Runs scored 743
Batting average 27.51
100s/50s 0/7
Top score 90
Catches/stumpings 28/15
Source: Cricinfo, 7 July 2017

Vivian Herbert "Boet" Neser MC (16 June 1894 – 22 December 1956) was a South African cricketer and lawyer who became a judge.

Life and career

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Neser was educated at Potchefstroom High School for Boys and South African College, Cape Town.[1][2] He served as an officer with the Royal Field Artillery in World War I and was awarded the Military Cross.[3] After the war he went to Brasenose College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. He was awarded a Blue in cricket and Rugby.[2] His highest score for Oxford University was 72 when the university beat Sussex in 1921.[4] He graduated with a BA (Hons.) and BCL.[3]

Neser returned to South Africa in 1921 to practise law in Pretoria. He also played cricket as a wicketkeeper-batsman for Transvaal, scoring 90 in his first match, a victory over Natal in the Currie Cup in 1921–22.[5] He captained the South African team in all five matches against S. B. Joel's XI in 1924–25,[6] then retired from first-class cricket. The series was tied 2–2, with one match drawn. In the first match, Neser made 80, the highest score of the match, in South Africa's first innings, and led his team to victory.[7] South Africa were also successful in the final match, which was Neser's last first-class match.[8]

Neser refereed nine Rugby internationals in South Africa in the 1920s and 1930s, including all four matches between the Springboks and the All Blacks in 1928.[9] He wrote a book on refereeing, Refereeing and Comments on the Laws of Rugby, in 1933.[10] He served as president of the Harlequins Rugby Club in Pretoria.[11]

Neser became an acting judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the South African Supreme Court, and was raised permanently to the Bench in 1944.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Obituary: V. H. Neser", The Cricketer, Spring Annual 1957, p. 91.
  2. ^ a b c Wisden 1957, p. 947.
  3. ^ a b "History of the Pretoria Harlequin Club". Harlequins Rugby Club. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Sussex v Oxford University 1921". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Transvaal v Natal 1921–22". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  6. ^ "S. B. Joel's XI in South Africa in 1924–25". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  7. ^ "South Africa v SB Joel's XI 1924–25 (1st match)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  8. ^ "South Africa v SB Joel's XI 1924–25 (5th match)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  9. ^ Wim van der Berg, The Extraordinary Book of South African Rugby, Penguin, London, 2012.
  10. ^ "Refereeing and comments on the laws of rugby". NLSA. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Harlequins honoured former club presidents". Pretoria East Rekord. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
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Further reading

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  • Heinrich Schulze, South Africa's Cricketing Lawyers, Interdoc Consultants, 1999, pp. 121–27
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