Notes on Forrester and the Knights
The Knights gave Dian Forrester his break, but they weren't suited for each other
Almost nine years ago, Deon Botes saw Dian Forrester in action for Hoërskool Pietersburg, and he knew immediately that the teen had a high ceiling. He was also aware that he needed to be at a school with better facilities, top coaches, and to compete against strong opposition. So, he brought him to Affies, where he flourished.
On 16 December 2018, Jonathan Bird, Tristan Stubbs registered centuries, while Marco Jansen and Jacques Voosloo picked up five-wicket hauls. Only Dian Forrester managed both; he scored an unbeaten 107 and bagged 5/25 to steer Northerns to victory over KwaZulu-Natal Inland. It was a first at the Khaya Majola week, a ton and a five-fer in a single match. He was too good for that level.
However, that didn't result in a fast-tracked development into professional cricket. He took the longer route. Joined Tuks, spent four years studying and playing for them. Part of the scenic road took him to Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where he spent the winter of 2022 scoring loads of runs. He averaged 91.43 in a barnstorming season. Again, he was too good for that level.
A year later, he signed his first provincial contract with the Knights. He had a dream season. He helped the Knights make their way back to Division One with both bat and ball.
Forrester didn't do much with the ball in four-day cricket, but did a lot with the bat. He was the Knights' second-highest run-scorer with 560 runs in 11 innings for an average of 62. He was seventh on the list of players with the most runs in the season.
Forrester showed his range in List A cricket. He scored the third-most runs in Division Two. He finished the season with 353 runs for an average of 50.43 at a strike rate of 113.87. He also took the fourth-most wickets, a total of 14 wickets at an average of 16.92. His strike rate of 18.35 was the best among the top 10 wicket-takers.
His performances earned him a call-up to the South Africa Emerging side that toured Zimbabwe in 2024. He did well, registering a century in one of his outings.
The 24-year-old showed flashes of brilliance in Division One during the 2024-25 season. He creamed back-to-back centuries against the Warriors and Western Province in the One-Day Challenge Cup. He finished the season with the third-most runs in the league. He scored 346 runs for an average of 69 at a strike rate of 98. That's not a bad debut season by any stretch.
However, Forrester's impressive first appearance in the top flight wasn't enough to save the Knights from relegation.
CSA adopted a two-tier system during the 2022-23 season. The Knights, who had been part of the top flight since the 2004-05 season (first as the Eagles and then later became the Knights in 2010–11), were the first victims of the new order. The demotion cost them 10 first XI players. Other teams gutted them. Nine of the players they lost remained in the first division.
Gerald Coetzee and Matthew Kleinveldt joined the Titans, Pite van Biljon and Mbulelo Budaza shipped off to the newly promoted KZN Inland Tuskers, while Raynard van Tonder and Migael Pretorius moved to the North West Dragons. Alfred Mothoa, Patrick Kruger, and Neelan van Heerden found a new home with the Warriors, and Gregory Mahlokwana made a lateral move to Mpumalanga Rhinos.
Dumping the Knights paid handsomely for Coetzee, Van Tonder, Kruger, and Pretorius, who all received national call-ups a year later. They wouldn't have been so fortunate had they gone down with the Knights.
The Knights were replaced by the Tuskers. The KZN side struggled to compete. They drew four and lost three of their 4-Day Series matches. Three of the draws were due to bad weather, and the last one was on a lifeless road.
Mbulelo Budaza pulled a rabbit from a hat and bagged four wickets in their first 50-over encounter of the 2023-24 season to inspire the Tuskers to a stunning victory over the Lions. Suddenly, it looked like they might be competitive. It was an illusion.
They lost the next five games, and their last match was abandoned without a single ball being bowled. They anchored the One-Day Challenge table, as they did the 4-Day and CSA T20 Challenge logs. They had good players in the team, but didn't have a good team, at least not for the top flight.
They swapped places with the Knights, again. Like the Knights, they lost their star players to teams that offered better prospects. A year later, they traded places for the third time in as many years.
There is a pattern here.
The Titans took the 2022-23 T20 Challenge trophy back to Supersport Park, while the Dolphins finished on top of the table in the 4-Day Series, and the Lions won the One-Day Challenge Cup.
The next year, Western Province claimed honours in the 50-over tournament, while the Lions bagged the T20 and 4-Day trophies. In the 2024-25 season, the Lions retained the T20 title and shared the 4-Day Series cup with the Titans, while the Dolphins clinched the 50-over title.
Lions are favourites to lift at least one title each season, but one would need Merlin and a crystal ball to determine which ahead of time. It is much easier to predict the team heading down the relegation chute and their replacement.
The Knights and Tuskers see-saw between the two leagues because they have solid replacement-level players and experienced journeymen within their ranks. Every now and then, a good prospect like Forrester turns up and bolsters the team. And after they move on to bigger things, they can always raid the lower-tiered sides.
Division Two has a clear hierarchy: the Knights and Tuskers are at the top, followed by Easterns and Northern Cape Heat, which have talent but aren't well-rounded enough and are slightly below. Beneath that is the tier with sides that fail more often than they are successful.
After Dian Forrester’s season with the Knights in 2024-25, it's not inconceivable that he would have dominated as an all-rounder in Division Two. The bowling attacks are weaker, and the batting needs work. However, he would also easily develop bad habits, which would be detrimental to his development.
Fortunately, Craig Alexander, the North West Dragons coach, watched Forrester in action. On 28 September 2024, the all-rounder almost steered the Knights to victory against his side with an unbeaten 46 off 37 on a tricky surface in a T20 match.
Like Botes almost a decade ago, Alexander saw talent and character in Forrester. He offered the all-rounder a contract to play for the Dragons. Forrester is too good to go back to Division Two, and thankfully, he is sticking around with the big boys.