Omar Henry

Omar Henry (born 23 January 1952) is a former cricketer who represented South Africa at international level, and also played for Scotland.^[1] He played in three Tests and three One Day Internationals for South Africa.^[2] He is notable for being the first non-white player of the post-Apartheid era (after Charlie Llewellyn in 1912) to play cricket for South Africa.^[3][4] Henry made both his Test and ODI debuts after turning 40 and was a member of the South African squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He played extensively in Scotland from 1982 to 1992. His son Riyaad Henry is also a professional cricketer who has played for Boland in domestic cricket in South Africa, and was called up to play for the Scotland A team in 2016.^[5]

Omar Henry

Cricket information
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
International information
National side	South Africa (1992–1993)
Test debut (cap 248)	13 November 1992 v India
Last Test	2 January 1993 v India
ODI debut (cap 19)	2 March 1992 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI	11 April 1992 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1973/74–1975/76	Western Province (SACB team)
1977/78–1983/84	Western Province
1984/85–1988/89	Boland
1984/85–1988/89	Impalas
1989–1992	Scotland
1989/90–1992/93	Orange Free State
1993/94	Boland
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 3 3 131 153 Runs scored 53 20 4,566 2282 Batting average 17.66 10.00 27.34 12.21 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 5/20 0/0 Top score 34 11 125 73* Balls bowled 427 149 27,060 6,680 Wickets 3 2 443 105 Bowling average 63.00 62.50 25.17 39.67 5 wickets in innings 0 0 22 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 3 0 Best bowling 2/56 1/31 7/22 3/9 Catches/stumpings 2/– 1/– 129/– 56/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 23 January 2014

Biography

Henry was born in Stellenbosch in Cape Province and also believed to have shared a room along with his six siblings and parents. His hailed from a family background consisting of sportspeople. His father, maternal uncles and grandfather played rugby and cricket. He grew up watching non-white players playing in South Africa and considers former England cricketer Basil D'Oliveira as his childhood idol.^[6]

Playing career

Scotland

Henry moved to Scotland in his mid-20s to play club cricket. He appeared for numerous clubs including Poloc, West Lothian, Arbroath and Stenhousemuir and scored over 14000 runs with 29 centuries in club matches.^[7] He was first picked for Scotland in 1981 against the touring Australians at Titwood and took two wickets on his debut. He played for Scotland 62 times, including 14 matches as captain, with his final appearance being in 1992.^[8][9] At the time, Scotland were not considered an international team, and would appear in English domestic competitions such as the Benson & Hedges Cup and NatWest Trophy, along well as tour matches against visiting international sides.

South Africa

As well as playing in Scotland until 1992, Henry also played domestic cricket in South Africa, representing Western Province, Boland and Orange Free State. He notably turned out for whites-only club Orange Free State in 1970s and became a regular in South African first-class matches from 1978.^[6] He represented South Africa in 1980s against the rebel touring sides at a time when South Africa was still banned from international cricket due to apartheid. He was picked in the 14-member South African squad for the 1992 Cricket World Cup, which marked the return of South African team after readmission, at the age of 40 as the only player of colour. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on 2 March in a group stage match, returning figures of 1/31 in ten overs in a losing cause.^[10] It was the only match he played during the tournament. At the age of 40 years and 34 days, he was the second-oldest debutant for South Africa in ODI cricket, as well as first player of colour to play for South Africa in limited-overs cricket.^[11] He was controversially overlooked for the group stage match against hosts New Zealand, despite the match being played on a slow pitch which would have suited his left-arm spin bowling.^[12]

He was part of the Orange Free State team which won the 1992/93 Currie Cup, defeating Western Province in the final, and winning their first ever Currie Cup title. In the final, he won the man-of-the-final award for his all-round performance, scoring 104 in first innings and taking 7 wickets in the match.^[6] Following this, he was selected for the home Test series against India at the age of 40 and subsequently made his Test debut on 13 November 1992 during the first match of the series at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban.^[13] He became the oldest Test debutant for South Africa in test cricket at the age of 40 years and 295 days.^[14] He was dropped from the Test team following the series against India, having picked up only three wickets at a mediocre average of 63.^[15]

Later career

After his retirement from international cricket, he served as head coach and chief selector for the Boland cricket team, before becoming its CEO. He was also occasionally involved in television commentary. He later served on the South African national selection panel, including a period as its chairman.^[16][17][18] He was replaced by Haroon Lorgat as the chairman of selectors in 2008.^[19]

Controversy

In July 2021, during an emotional testimony at Cricket South Africa's Social Justice and Nation Building Hearings, he revealed that he was subjected to racist abuse during his playing days, which ultimately resulted in lack of international opportunities.^[20] He revealed that he had verbal arguments and heated exchange with South Africa's then-captain Kepler Wessels in the dressing room during the 1992 World Cup for not picking him for a group stage match against New Zealand which was played on a slow pitch.^[21][22] Omar had initially intended to fly home during the middle of the World Cup but was convinced to stay for the remainder of the tournament matches by Krish Makherdhuj.^[23]

References

1. "Omar Henry profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
2. "Omar Henry - Cricket in his blood (21 December 1998)". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
3. "Henry reaches half century". BBC News. 24 January 2002. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
4. "Two legends make their entrance". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
5. "South Africa legend Omar Henry's son is called into Scotland A team". Evening Times. Glasgow. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
6. "Omar Henry – First non-white cricketer to appear for South Africa in a Test match". Cricket Country. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
7. "Mixed emotions for Omar Henry". www.cricketeurope.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
8. "A return to Scotland possible for Henry". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
9. "Omar Henry – Cricket Scotland". Retrieved 19 July 2021.
10. "Full Scorecard of South Africa vs Sri Lanka 14th Match 1991/92 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
11. "'I was very much against quotas'". Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
12. "Full Scorecard of South Africa vs New Zealand 10th Match 1991/92 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
13. "Full Scorecard of South Africa vs India 1st Test 1992/93 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
14. "All-round records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
15. "'I considered myself a pioneer'". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
16. "Former South African Test stars included in National Cricket Committee". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
17. "Henry to convene new South African selection panel". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
18. "Henry remains in charge of SA selection panel". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
19. "Omar Henry replaced as chairman of selectors". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
20. "SJN: A mess featuring meaningful moments". SA Cricket Mag. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
21. "'I wanted to leave' - Omar Henry speaks on 1992 World Cup anguish". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
22. "I wanted to leave the 1992 World Cup after an incident with Kepler Wessels, Omar Henry tells Cricket SA SJN". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
23. Tshwaku, Khanyiso. "Former Proteas spinner Omar Henry details how he nearly left 1992 World Cup: 'I wasn't happy'". Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2021.

External links

• Omar Henry at ESPNcricinfo