All-rounder's tattoo marks his love for island life

SURELY no import, whether South African or not, has quite embraced Guernsey life and sport in the way Divan van den Heever has. Although he has performed admirably for the Guernsey Rugby Club (and he returns to the first team this weekend in Southampton), the 21-year-old has made his biggest mark locally on the cricket field and in stunning style.

No one in the island bowls faster or hits harder than the lad from Johannesburg, nor does anybody have quite as graphic a display of team loyalty.

Before only his second season playing for Clubhouse Optimists, van den Heever had the club's motto, 'Numquam in Dubium', tattooed on his forearm.

'Once an Opti, always an Opti,' he said.

That tattoo, his response and his tremendous desire to play for the representative side - 'the first time I saw the island game, which was at the KGV last year, I said I definitely wanted to play in it' - symbolise just how well van den Heever has fitted in with the local cricket scene.

However, he admits that he had never heard of Guernsey until his friend and fellow cricketer, Andre van Rooyen, told him about the island.

'He was here for a year and when he came back home told me what a beautiful island it was and that I should come over,' van den Heever said.

'It is a very easy way of living I find. I enjoy it and I want to stay here as long as I can.'

Van den Heever and the recently returned van Rooyen have a group of South African friends in Guernsey, which means they have not given up the use of Afrikaans, but they have also integrated well with local cricketers.

'Everybody has made me feel welcome, even opposing sides. There is a nice, friendly banter out on the field,' van den Heever said.

'What I like about cricket over here is the different way you do things. How you approach the game is very different.

'Back home it is very serious and regimented - there is only one way to do things. Over here people are open to suggestion and everybody chips in.'

Van den Heever is typical of the quality South African cricketers that Guernsey has been lucky enough to house in recent years, such as Bruce Ricketts, Chris van Vliet and Justin Scriven.

Their key attributes can be summed up in just a few words - pace, power and athleticism.

Playing with and against such players has helped locals because it has presented them with new challenges and forced them to raise their game.

Yet van den Heever was almost embarrassed at the suggestion that he hasdbrought something extra to Guernsey cricket and laughed it off, saying, if anything, it is he who had benefited most by playing here.

'I feel I have improved because I am much more experienced. I am not just playing now, but I am thinking about the game a lot,' he said.

'If it were not for them, I would be in the dark about cricket.'

Island manager Dave Hearse agreed that van den Heever's involvement in Guernsey cricket had been of benefit to both local players and the all-rounder himself.

'It does help the locals to play against someone like him but this is a player whose own game has come on 25%-plus since he has been here.

'He is a very sharp bowler - on his day he is possibly the quickest on the island - and by facing him it can only improve a batsman's ability and technique. It is the same from a bowler's point of view because he is a destructive batsman.

'Andre is also a fine player and a fantastic fielder who came very close to playing in the inter-insular last year.'

Hearse admitted that local cricket had 'been lucky' to have had an influx of quality players in the last few years.

'It does not matter where they come from - you have also got the likes of Glenn Milnes, Ami Banerjee, Jeremy Frith as well as the South Africans - they are all helping to raise standards because Guernsey players have to aspire to their levels.

'These guys set a very good example. You can learn a lot just from watching these players,' he said.