September 5, 2024

Brian O’Connell an exceptional talent in both sports and academics

The heartfelt tributes to the late Professor Brian O’Connell have highlighted his academic excellence and transformative leadership in elevating the University of the Western Cape (UWC) from a struggling institution to one of global acclaim.

As Rector of UWC from 2001 to 2014, Prof O’Connell was instrumental in transforming the university from a marginalized “Bush College” of the apartheid era into a globally recognized institution.

In addition to being awarded multiple honorary doctorates from institutions worldwide, including the University of Cape Town, in 2018, O’Connell was also recognized with the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

“He was a rare and passionate individual, a remarkable South African and a great human being who committed himself to the upliftment of the country’s disadvantaged citizens and the restoration of their dignity,” the NRF said.

In 2013, the Belgian government honored Prof O’Connell as Commander of the Order of Leopold II in recognition of his contributions to the global higher education sector.

Prof O’Connell’s academic accomplishments are remarkable, but he also distinguished himself as a versatile and skilled athlete. Alongside excelling in badminton and soccer, he clinched the WP Senior Schools’ discus title while a student at St Columba’s High School in Athlone, Cape Town.

O’Connell truly demonstrated his all-rounder skills and leadership acumen as captain of the Western Province Cricket Board’s provincial team.

Although he had previously captained the WP under-23 and B teams, O’Connell’s promotion to lead the A team in November 1975 surprised many, including himself. Despite skepticism about his chances of success, he rose to the occasion brilliantly.

He inherited a team that had lost the previous season’s SACBOC three-day competition, the Dadabhay Trophy, to a Transvaal side led by West Indian star Rohan Kanhai, who ended the season with an impressive average of 95.2.

O’Connell also faced the challenge of leading a team weakened by the absence of key players like Rushdi and Saait Magiet, Lefty Adams, and Braima Isaacs, who declined to participate in the new Stellenbosch Farmers’ Wineries-sponsored competition due to religious reasons. By that time, former captain and star opening batsman Dickie Conrad had become the first black cricketer to join the WP Cricket Union’s top division, having been selected for Green Point CC’s first team in March 1975.

Before being appointed captain over more seasoned players like Viccie Moodie, Willie Hendricks, Kulu Maclons, Robbie van Graan, and Jock Mahoney, O’Connell had only played once for the WP senior team, in a match against Natal in March 1974.

“Throughout my student life I had been placed in leadership positions. However, the captaincy of the provincial side was a different type of challenge because I knew very little about the provincial scene,” In a 1998 interview for *More Than a Game*, he said that.

Staying true to his curious and intellectual nature, O’Connell immediately gathered every book he could find on captaincy. “For the first time in my life I actually began to read seriously about how to captain a cricket side even though I had done the job at various levels for many years.”

Along with gaining theoretical knowledge, his strategic and creative thinking gave the team, initially seen as underdogs for the 1975/76 season, a strong sense of self-belief.

“Brian was great at getting the more experienced players to buy into his leadership of the team. He told us no one was expecting us to win and that many thought we were not up to the level of the players who weren’t available,” said Omar Henry, a key player on the team that won the SACBOC championship with O’Connell.

“Brian also had the amazing ability to speak the Queen’s English when necessary or to switch to colorful Kombuis Afrikaans when the situation demanded. He could comfortably deal with any situation or fit into any company.”

Leadership

O’Connell embraced his leadership role with ease, leading the WP batting averages for the season with 289 runs across six provincial matches. In his nine innings (including two not-outs), he scored two half-centuries and maintained an impressive average of 41.28. Given the challenging pitches and slow outfields, his average could have easily approached 50.

“When he took over as Rector of the University of the Western Cape in 2001, the institution was in big trouble and about to go bankrupt. I was around the campus at the time and saw how Brian operated. It seemed to me that he effectively used some of the lessons he picked up during his days as our provincial captain,” Henry added.

O’Connell, raised in District Six, began his cricket career with the local club Good Hopes in the early 1960s.

“I was playing in the street one day when an official from the club invited me to attend their next meeting. I went and was immediately selected for the first team.”

“But I don’t have boots and white flannels, I protested,” O’Connell said in the 1998 interview.

That was no issue, as the teenager was quickly given a pair of boots and some money to head to the nearby Grand Parade, where he was instructed to purchase white fabric from one of the stalls.

“Within an hour of my return, I had my flannels, which were made by Boeta Ismail [Maya] Abrahams, who was a tailor. The spirit and love for the game during those years was tremendous.”

“Some of my best cricket memories come from my days with Good Hopes. I was even renamed ‘Braim’ by the predominantly Muslim membership of the club.”

He became good friends with the Abrahams brothers, Abdulatief (Dallie) and Abduragmaan (Dukas), who were Boeta Maya’s sons. They often went to madrassah classes together, and Dukas also went with Brian to Sunday school and church.

Jassiem remembers O’Connell describing how he was appointed as Good Hope’s representative at the meetings of the WP Cricket Association, based at Green Point Track. “After attending his first club meeting Brian was immediately appointed the club’s delegate to board meetings. Despite pointing out that he didn’t know much about the club that he had just joined, he was instructed to represent them ‘because you can speak English.”

Brian O’Connell, an all-rounder in every sense, is survived by his wife, Judith, and his children, Amanda-Leigh and Bryan.

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