Lives in Cricket No 32 - Eric Rowan

97 so outspoken. I was very proud of him and we were extremely close.’ Eric also taught his daughter to play squash. ‘He had such an unbelievable eye even in his late fifties. He always played these gruelling sessions in his sand shoes, black hockey shorts, old cricket shirt and sleeveless Transvaal cabled jersey.’ Di’s son Rowan played cricket and soccer as a junior and has seemed to inherit some of his grandfather’s hand-eye skills; he has not pursued sport to any level. Di’s grandparents were never overly fond of Eric and remained convinced that their daughter had made a huge mistake. In spite of that she says they were extremely supportive, especially during her school years. They lived in Kensington, close to Jeppe Girls High and she would go to their house each day to wait for her mother to collect her after work. As she grew older there were some clashes, especially when her grandmother would make a scathing remark about her father. Even if she did not like it, Di could see the truth of the matter. ‘In my heart I knew she had a point as he was very difficult and was dreadful with money, preferring to back a horse rather than pay bills.’ The marriage, though, was certainly a stormy one. The age difference did become a factor and following a period of disillusionment June became more independent and started doing her own thing. Some might see a certain irony as the tables were turned on Eric when June became involved with a Czech man, Andelin, 17 years her junior. Eric and June separated in 1976 and this resulted in an acrimonious divorce in 1978 which left Eric devastated. Di believed her father remained in love with her mother until the day he died. June and Andelin eventually left South Africa and lived in Sydney, Australia for 18 years before moving to the Czech Republic where they still live. Due to the nature of the divorce she is reluctant to discuss her relationship with Eric. Given that Eric’s strong personality would have left little room for negotiation or compromise, a relationship with him would not have been easy. Throughout his life Eric remained passionate about the Jeppe Schools. He played cricket until 1960 (34 years in total) for their Old Boys’ team. At the age of fourteen or fifteen Ali Bacher played against Jeppe Old Boys towards the end of Eric’s playing days. The teenager had made a few runs before he was confronted with A Life Beyond Play