Painswick’s new overseas player Keegan Jansen Van Rensburg has been tearing it up in the opening few weeks of the 2022 season.

The 20-year-old from South Africa has already hit three centuries and has helped Painswick make a flying start in the Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League.

They’ve won five out of five to top the 10-strong division, beating the well-fancied Dumbleton and Gloucester along the way, matches which saw Van Rensburg score two of his tons.

“He’s absolutely brilliant,” said delighted Painswick chairman Ian Hogg. “He opens the batting and he’s a proper strokeplayer, he times it perfectly.”

The Dumbleton and Gloucester bowlers will certainly vouch for that – he made 113 and 122 against them respectively – and Hogg added: “If anyone had said we’d win our opening five league matches I wouldn’t have believed them.”

Van Rensburg, whose other century came in the WEPL T20 against Thornbury, is also a very decent bowler, chipping in with 14 wickets so far.

“He bowls straight, right-arm spinners,” continued Hogg, “he darts it in.”

Van Rensburg was brought to the club by Luke Woolway, who is Painswick’s senior coach.

Woolway has also been in the runs this season and he said of Van Rensburg: “We played cricket together at Old Edwardians in Johannesburg, he’s had a good start to the season.”

But while Van Rensburg has obviously been Painswick’s standout performer so far, it’s by no means a one-man team.

“We are a very young side and they’re very keen,” said Hogg. “We’ve got three 17-year-olds playing – Isaac Edkins, Jacob Moore and Ben French. Normally our captain Jack Hobbis is our oldest player and he’s 28.”

Hobbis, a left-arm spinner, took over as skipper at the start of the 2018 season when the club were in the Gloucestershire County League, leading them to promotion in his first campaign, and Hogg said: “He leads by example, he’s such a good chap.”

Hobbis has been among the wickets again this season and Hogg added: “He’s a good bowler, we’ve got some very good players. Luke Woolway is a good player and George MacDuff has been brilliant, he got a lot of runs last year too.

“Tom Hayward has also been brilliant, he’s a right-arm seamer who swings it quite a long way.”

The target is most definitely promotion to the Premier Two Glos/Wilts division, the second highest level in the league and a level where Cheltenham and Hatherley and Reddings currently play.

Painswick have played at that level before and Hogg confirmed: “We want to go up if we can.”

And while the flagship team’s success is delighting Hogg – despite a County Cup defeat to Stroud on Sunday – it’s not just the 1^st XI that are enjoying some good times.

“The 2nds and 3rds are doing well, we’ve got four under-15s playing in the 2^nd XI,” said Hogg. “And on a Friday night we’ve got 100 youngsters at the club, it’s absolutely amazing. The coaches have done so much, there are 12 first-teamers helping out on a Friday night.”

Hogg, now 60, is a former club captain and has been involved with the club since he was 13, and he said: “It’s the best I’ve ever known it at the club, the spirit is so good.”

Hogg plays his part, of course, and he has given Keegan Jansen Van Rensburg the nickname Kevin after the former Liverpool and England footballer Kevin Keegan.

“I sent him a text on his birthday in the winter saying ‘Happy birthday Kevin’,” laughed Hogg. “I don’t think he knew what I was on about. He’s a lovely lad, when he came over here he had to Wikipedia it to find out why he was being called Kevin!”

Painswick host Frocester 2nds in the Gloucestershire Division on Saturday.