Such was the strength in depth of cricket in the Western Province Cricket Board in the 1960s and early 70s that a player as good as Armien Jabaar, had to wait until the ripe age of 30 to make his provincial debut.
Jabaar died last Monday at the age of 81.
With high-quality spinners such as Owen Williams, Lefty Adams, Gertjie Williams, Jumanna Khan and Basil Petersen ahead of him in the queue, Jabaar finally got his first provincial call-up for the Dadabhay Trophy game against Natal in Durban on December 14 1974.
Although he only bowled four second-innings overs, claiming 1/9 in a losing cause, Jabaar showed his all-round ability by scoring a valuable 48 out of a modest total of 154. His 52-run partnership with 22-year-old upstart Saait Magiet (52) helped WP to take a first innings lead of 41 but it wasn’t enough to prevent Gertjie Williams’ side from slumping to a 2-wicket defeat.
Long wait was no barrier
Jabaar’s long wait for provincial recognition left him in good company as Rushdi Magiet, who despite having captained the under-21 team, and also having enjoyed a stint with Lancashire League side Todmorden in 1969, had to wait until he was two months shy of his 29th birthday before getting his first call-up to the senior side.
It was only following the retirement of Adams, then aged 41, at the end of the 1979/80 season that Jabaar came into his own on the provincial scene. The legendary Adams had signed off with jaw-dropping match figures of 10/15 off 13.2 overs against a bemused Eastern Province at Elfindale to snatch the Howa Bowl from under the noses of Bravo Jacobs’ side.
Prior to that Jabaar had already established himself as an outstanding leader and competitor at club level, captaining United Cricket Club to the league title in the 1977/78 season and then the limited overs crown in 1979/80.
In the 1980s he led a powerful Montrose side to five league and three limited overs titles in seven seasons as the Rylands-based side, boosted by several provincial players like Munsoor Abdullah, Stuart Hendricks, Nasser Antulay, MZ Allie, Nazeem White, Vincent Barnes, Mervyn Theron and Reggie February went bananas as they brushed aside the opposition with consummate ease.
“Armien was a tough competitor, never gave up and I certainly learnt a lot from playing, first against him and then with him for many years at Montrose and in the WP team,” said Vincent Barnes, who ended as the leading wicket-taker in Howa Bowl cricket with 304 scalps.
“He was a great sportsman but was also someone who didn’t tolerate slack attitudes from those who played under him.”
Record-breaking spinner
The leg-spinner took over the provincial captaincy from Victoria all-rounder Charlie van Schalkwyk midway through the 1982/83 season, starting with a narrow two-wicket win over Transvaal at Elfindale. He went on to lead the side to their fourth consecutive Howa Bowl title at the end of that season.
Jabaar would captain the WP side 16 times and represent the province 44 times between 1974 and February 1987. Had he campaigned in any other province he would most likely have played closer to 100 first-class games.
A move to Johannesburg in 1989 saw Jabaar, by then aged 44, go on to play 13 times for Transvaal. Remarkably, in his penultimate provincial game, in the final match before the formation of the United Cricket Board of SA on June 29 1991, a 46-year-old Jabaar took an incredible 6/46 and 5/61 against Natal to end with match figures of 11/107.
Enduring influence
It was his third 10-wicket haul in an illustrious career that also saw him claiming five wickets in an innings no fewer than 14 times. He ended his 17-year provincial career with 233 wickets at a cost of 13.39 apiece and made 1,632 runs at an average of 22.35.
His wicket haul is the fourth-highest in Howa Bowl cricket behind provincial colleagues Barnes (304) and Seraj Gabriels (254) and Natal’s Mustapha Khan (248). Playing his last game against Eastern Province in Johannesburg at the age of 46 years and 125 days on March 9 1991, Jabaar also holds the record for the oldest cricketer to play in the Howa Bowl.
He leaves behind his wife Rashieda and son Waleed.
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