The Oaks

A Club within the club

Founded in 1974, The Oaks Club is one of the most distinctive and enduring institutions within the Western Province Cricket Club. Its origins are steeped in symbolism and tradition: the Club began with 146 founding members, a deliberate nod to 146 Campground Road, Newlands, the original home address of WPCC.

Today, The Oaks membership stands at approximately 400 members, maintaining its reputation as an exclusive yet welcoming gathering of committed supporters of sport, conversation, and camaraderie.

Members pay:

  • A small annual subscription

  • A nominal attendance fee for meetings (between 6 and 10 a year)

Guests are always warmly welcomed and pay a slightly higher attendance fee. This structure ensures accessibility while preserving the character and sustainability of The Oaks.

The Oaks is presently chaired by Duncan De Groot and assisted by Graham Todd, Carol Nash and Steve Palframan.

Two men, one older and one younger, sitting in front of beige curtains and a ceiling with string lights. The older man is standing behind the younger man, resting his arms on the chair, both smiling at the camera.

A Unique Legacy

Since its inception, The Oaks has been characterised by an extraordinary continuity of leadership and culture. In over five decades, the Club has had only four Chairmen, and notably, the Committee has never met formally - a testament to the trust, shared values, and common purpose that underpin The Oaks.

This quiet, unforced governance has allowed the Club to focus on what truly matters: supporting WPCC and its sporting community in a meaningful, practical way.

Speakers & Evenings of Conversation

One of the defining features of The Oaks is its speaker programme, which over the years has welcomed some of the most respected voices in South African and international sport and media.

A point of great pride is that The Oaks has never remunerated a speaker. Instead, in recent years, speakers are awarded Honorary Membership of the WPCC, a gesture that has been warmly received and deeply appreciated.

Speakers are encouraged to share:

  • Personal experiences

  • Insightful reflections

  • Serious and humorous stories

  • A short, engaging Q&A with the audience

The current format often includes a well-known commentator or journalist conducting a Q&A session, a style that has proven both entertaining and thought-provoking, and increasingly popular with members and guests alike.

Seven people posing together indoors, some sitting and some standing, in front of a curtain with a large TV on the wall, with glasses and drinks on the table in front.

Our Mission

The mission of The Oaks has always been simple and consistent:

To support the Western Province Cricket Club and its sporting sections in a meaningful, sustainable manner.

This support extends across all WPCC sporting codes: Cricket, Bowls, Hockey, Squash, Tennis and Running

The Oaks focuses on ongoing, non-capex projects, ensuring long-term value without placing strain on Club infrastructure.

Guests over the Years

Dale Steyn, Shukri Conrad, Kyle Verreynne, Sean Povey, Steven Kitshoff, Mark Nicholas (arguably the world’s best cricket commentator), Peter Kirsten, Simone Gambino, Springbok Schalk Burger, Protea Cricketer JP Duminy, Rugby journalist Dan Retief, Springbok Rugby Coach Allister Coetzee, ICC World No1 umpire Marais Erasmus, Author and Historian Prof Dean Allen, Neil Powell Springbok 7s Coach, Michael Holding, Andy Pycroft, Jeremy Fredericks, Vince van der Bijl, and more recently in 2019, Mickey Arthur, Dr Sherylle Calder, Brad Bing, Toks Van De Linde, Tony Irish, Dale Steyn, Corne Krige, Matt Pearce with Hanyani Shimange, and early 2020 Shaun Pollock, and David Gower together with Mike Gatting before the 2020 pandemic.

Group of people in a community hall engaging in conversation, some sitting and some standing, with bulletin boards and signs in the background.
A large indoor meeting or conference with many people seated and facing a stage area where a speaker is standing at a podium. The room has a high ceiling with exposed beams and string lights, with beige curtains and a television screen on the wall.
A young man with red hair and freckles sitting in a chair, smiling, with an older man with dark hair and a blue shirt standing behind him, resting his arms on the back of the young man's chair, both posing in front of beige striped curtains in a room
Group of seven smiling people gathered in a room with curtains and a TV, posing for a photo.
Group of seven people posing together indoors, some smiling, in front of a dark television screen and striped curtains.
Group of six people smiling and posing together indoors, with some wearing casual clothes like shirts and sweaters, in a room with curtains and string lights.
An older man with glasses and a striped shirt is speaking into a microphone at a podium labeled 'Dr. Ali Bacher' during a meeting. Two other men are seated on a stage behind him, one looking at his phone and the other sitting with arms on the table.
An elderly man with white hair and mustache speaking into a microphone while sitting in a brown chair against a backdrop of curtains.
Group of six people, five men and one woman, smiling and posing for a photo indoors, with a man seated in a chair in front of them. A large flat-screen TV and curtains are visible in the background.
Two smiling men, one sitting and one standing, in front of striped curtains, in a room with ceiling lights and string lights overhead.
Group of seven people, six men and one woman, smiling and posing for a photo indoors with curtains and string lights in the background. They are dressed casually, some wearing blue shirts and jackets.
Crowd of people gathered indoors at a social event, mingling and chatting, with tables and chairs around, and framed photos or awards on the walls.
Group of seven people, six men and one woman, posing together indoors, with drinks on a table in front of them and a large TV on the wall behind. They are smiling and standing close to each other.