Enfield lose Van Jaarsveld to Northants
by Nigel Stockley - September 8, 2003
South African Test batsman Martin Van Jaarsveld has informed Enfield that he will not be accepting terms for 2004. Instead the classy Northerns batsman will be joining Northants as an overseas player.
During his time in the Lancashire League, Van Jaarsveld hit a total of 5431 runs at 63.9 and he took exactly 250 wickets with his of spin at 17.1. He played for two seasons at Lowerhouse during which he broke the club's amateur batting record in 1999. In 2001 he joined Enfield and threatened the Enfield club batting record immediately, but in the end he fell just short of Conrad Hunte's 1959 record, but still managed 1341 league runs and 1537 runs in all competitions. A late dip in form saw Van Jaarsveld score 91 runs in his last five innings when the record appeared well within his grasp with a batting average of over 100.
Another successful season in 2002 saw him lead Enfield into second spot in the league before he left to go home at the end of August.
Van Jaarsveld made his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2002-03 after hitting five centuries and 1268 runs at an average of 74.6 during the South African domestic season.
His final season at Enfield was in 2003 when he hit 1046 runs in all matches in a season punctuated by a spell with the South African One Day team in England during which he played in seven matches including the final of the Nat West series. In the Lancashire League Van Jaarsveld hit 895 runs which included three centuries - 150 not out against Todmorden, 147 against East Lancs and an unbeaten 130 against his old club Lowerhouse in his final innings for Enfield.
