IN MEMORIAM – Nico Schepman
| ico Schepman, a former VCC member passed away December 10th at the age of 94. Nico joined VCC in 1957; he was one of the pillars in the batting line up of our first team in the sixties, a typical number 4 or 5 bat. In 1971, at the respectable age of 45, he was part of the first XI that clinched the title. After that he played in lower teams and mostly in our senior team well into the eighties, further cementing the friendship with his team mates from long time ago. He later continued to see them for many more years as part of our loyal troupe of supporters.
Nico was a genuine clubman, important in many other areas as well. Collecting and presenting data for our yearbooks were in his reliable hands, as an employee at the Bureau for the Census. He also took part in a number of our tours to Kent and Sussex, always accompanied by his wife Ine. Next to that, he worked together closely with Guus Kors (the other number 4 or 5) as coach for our growing junior section. Our yearbooks have a special page dedicated to the All Time Greats. Nico of course is part of that illustrious group. No wonder with 5843 runs in 345 innings behind his name and an average of almost 19. More than respectable figures in those days; bowlers were definitely on top. Team scores were often closer to 100 than to 200 runs. A real anchorman. Nico had built up quite a reputation of hitting the balls hard and running softly and somewhat hesitantly. The latter was a tender point looking at the number of run outs he was involved in. More than once you could see two batsmen at the same wicket, Nico on the right side of the batting crease. That never interfered with the camaraderie. Worth noting is that he was probably one of the earliest players in the country with more than gloves, box and legguards for protection. A thick waft of newspapers tucked in his pants saved him from many a bruise between knees and hips. With his passing VCC loses an amiable man, who kept a keen interest in old and new members. It was great to make a tour along the ropes, sharing stories from a rich past. Our thoughts are with his wife Ine.
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