FORMER Scotland cricket vice-captain Con de Lange has died at the age of 38. The South African-born bowler had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in December 2017.
De Lange made his Scotland debut in 2015 and went on to play 13 one-day internationals (ODI) for his adopted country, including the breakthrough maiden win over a Test-playing nation when Zimbabwe were beaten in 2017. De Lange took five wickets in that match. He also captained Scotland when they beat Sri Lanka earlier that year in a 50-over match not recognised as a full ODI.
Having also had coaching and playing spells with clubs Ferguslie and Clydesdale, de Lange, who is survived by Scottish wife Claire and their two children, Daisy and Rory, was a popular figure throughout Scottish cricket. Fundraising efforts in aid of brain tumour charities have so far raised almost £15,000.
Tony Brian, Chair of Cricket Scotland, led the tributes. He said: “Con’s death at such an early age is a tragedy. He was a great servant to cricket in Scotland as well as South Africa and elsewhere, not just in the national team but also at regional and club level with his infectious and inspirational commitment, both as player and coach.
With great sadness, yesterday evening Con de Lange passed away at the age of 38.
— PCA (@PCA) April 19, 2019
All of the PCA’s thoughts are with his wife Claire, their two children and all of his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/wCzAhwCOaw
READ MORE: Cricket community rally round Con de Lange as he battles brain tumour
“But above all, we will remember Con the man – competitive, committed and the ultimate team player, someone with unshakeable principles and integrity. He will be greatly missed and very fondly remembered by many throughout the world of cricket.
“The thoughts of everyone in the Scottish cricketing community are with Claire, Daisy and Rory.”
Malcolm Cannon, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, passed on his condolences to de Lange's family.
He said: "Con was not only a great player but a huge influence off the pitch, too. His coaching and mentoring of young players, his absolute commitment to strength and conditioning and his positive mental attitude always made for a great experience. His wife Claire and their young family have been through an awful lot in the last year and our love and thoughts are with them."
Legendary former South African fast bowler Allan Donald also paid tribute to his countryman. He tweeted: “Gutted to hear that Con de Lange has passed away this morning. What a warrior he was and taken so young. My sincere condolences to the family and their two children. RIP Con de Lange.”
De Lange also had a spell with Northants cricket club and former team-mate Alex Wakely said: “Absolutely devastated to wake up to the news that former Northants champ and friend, Con de Lange, has passed away. One of the greatest blokes you will ever meet. Never forgotten.”
More to follow.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article