South African-born Canterbury batsman Johan Myburgh is to return to HCC as player-coach this season, the club has announced.

It will be the 29-year-old Myburgh’s third stint at De Diepput: he was HCC’s coach in 2006, when he played only seven Hoofdklasse games before injuring himself playing football, and had a full season in 2008, making 772 runs at 42.89 and claiming 19 wickets at 19.42.

He also played two matches for VRA Amsterdam last year, replacing the injured Gerrie Snyman.

A stylish right-hand batsman and useful off-spinner, Myburgh grew up in Pretoria and began his first-class career with Northerns and the Titans franchise team, but moved to New Zealand in 2007. He has now made 5016 first-class runs at an average of 45.60 and 2239 in one-day matches at 29.46.

He will again be joined in Den Haag by younger brother Stephan, who played for HCC as a Dutch resident for the past two seasons, making 1101 runs and averaging 32.48. But Stephan has now given up his studies at the Technical University of Delft, switching to theology through a South African university, and will not be eligible to play on that basis this year; instead, he will be player-coach of the Second XI, playing in the new-style Hoofdklasse.

But the younger Myburgh, who has been playing for Northerns during the South African summer, confirmed at the weekend that he remains committed to his goal of qualifying to play the The Netherlands.

All eight Topklasse clubs have now announced their player-coaches for the coming season:
ACC: Ryan Maron (ex-Western Province)
Excelsior ’20: Ed Cowan (Tasmania)
HCC: Johan Myburgh (Canterbury)
Hermes-DVS: Shanan Stewart (Canterbury)
Quick Haag: Gareth Hopkins (Auckland and New Zealand)
Rood en Wit: Enoch Nkwe (Gauteng and Lions)
VOC: Michael Dighton (Tasmania)
VRA: Tim Muir (Canterbury A)