The best of two disciplines
PLAYING two different sports at the highest level may not be an easy feat for many, but for the now 76-year-old Kessie Perumal, the sky seemed to be the limit in his youth.
Representing Crimson Cricket Club as a left-arm spin bowler and Manning Rangers as a left back, Perumal excelled in both.
In his time at Crimson, Perumal played an influential role in leading his team to the Super League Trophy in his first season.
“It was one of my fondest memories,” he said.
While at Overport Secondary School, Perumal formed a cricket club with his friends.
“We called it Overport Youth Cricket Club and we were affiliated with the Durban and Districts Cricket Association.”
Three years after the Overport Youth Academy was formed, a well-known club in the area, Crimson Cricket Club, had membership problems, which resulted in them losing players.
“With us being the up-and-coming club in the area, we were asked to join them and it was simply an offer we could not refuse,” he said.
“Crimson were part of a Super League, which consisted of 10 teams. We would travel around KZN playing the various games.”
Perumal’s good run of form for Crimson saw him being called up for the Durban team and later on the Natal squad.
“Another great memory was when playing for Durban and taking eight wickets in an inter-district match, and winning a game against Crescent off the very last ball of the match.”
He also had a few moments that left him starstruck.
One was when he played against famous South African fast bowler Mike Procter and the other when he came faceto-face with Windies batting legend Rohan Kanhai.
Perumal’s day job was a physical education teacher and saw him start off at Ocean View Primary.
“In 1968, when training to become a PE teacher, one of the guys who came into contact with me during the time, Jock Mahalingum, was affiliated to Manning Rangers, and he asked me to join the club.”
Mahalingum saw Perumal’s footballing abilities and had to sign him up.
Perumal joined the club and his strong left foot saw him play as left back for the Rangers in a career spanning 10 years.
There were various occasions where cricket and soccer matches overlapped and Perumal had to rush from soccer to cricket and vice-versa.
“Now looking back, I don’t even know how I did it. I would find myself playing football in the morning representing Manning Rangers at Curries Fountain, and then in the afternoon I would have to rush to the cricket ground to play for Crimson.
“If the starting times were the same, I just had to choose which game was harder and represent that particular team.”
Perumal still enjoys playing a game of tennis twice a week.
He lives in Port Elizabeth with his wife and daughter.
His two sons, Kevin and Kugin, live in Cape Town and Joburg respectively.