GVB extends stay at Gloucestershire
26 August 2020
Gloucestershire Cricket is delighted to announce that all-rounder Graeme van Buuren has signed a new 12-month contract which will keep him with the Club until the end of the 2021 season.
The South African joined Gloucestershire in April 2016 and has since been a regular in the first team alongside becoming a fan favourite.
Graeme is currently Gloucestershire’s top run scorer in the Bob Willis Trophy with 222 runs with an average of 31.71.
On signing a new deal Greame said:
“I’m very privileged and thankful for the opportunity to be at this awesome Club. I’m grateful to have met so many fantastic people. I’m looking forward to getting my head down, getting out there and fighting for another year.”
“I’ll be looking to enjoy it, not put massive amounts of pressure on myself, that’s what I think has been working well for me, being so at ease and so relaxed in all phases of life. My emotions are in check, I’m not taking cricket issues home, and staying very level. I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in my whole career,” he added.
Van Buuren this season has shown he is an all-rounder in every sense of the word. Featuring much lower in the batting order last season, Graeme has been moved up to number three for the Bob Willis Trophy – where he hasn’t batted since the year he joined Gloucestershire.
He made 60 in the first innings of the season against Worcestershire and followed that up with a score of 72 in the next match against Warwickshire.
Talking about his strong start to the season he said:
“It’s been a strange situation, you don’t often get a long pause just beforethe start of a season, but I feel I’ve hit the ground running again and I’m in a good place for the future.”
Richard Dawson added that his value in multiple formats means he is a valuable asset for the team.
“Graeme is an important member of both the red ball and white ball squads,” he said. “It’s great news that he’s decided to extend his stay with the Club.
“He’s begun the season with intent and hopefully he can carry over some of what he’s been able to do into the T20 competition.”
Van Buuren took four wickets in last year’s Vitality Blast and scored 71 runs at 23.67. With a reduced number of players available for the competition this season, Graeme may be a player to watch in this year’s tournament.
Outside of cricket Graeme has been studying for a Bachelor of Science in Sports and Business Management.
Speaking about his degree and future after Cricket he said:
“I’m a couple of assignments away from finishing my degree. It’s been a four-year journey which has sometimes been tough but the University of Hertfordshire has been great. My course has helped me focus and concentrate better, and will allow me the opportunity to give back to the game, which is 100 per cent what I want to be doing in the long term.”
Graeme and the team will be in action again tomorrow as The Shire take on Northants Steelback in the opening match of the Vitality Blast at Bristol County Ground.
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