Mitchell van Buuren

Mitchell Van Buuren is a classy all-round cricketer from Johannesburg, South Africa. A hard-hitting and incredibly gifted top order batsman, he is also a capable gloveman as well as bowling some tidy occasional Off/Leg Spin. Destined to be a Lion, he has been in and around their system since he was an U13, earmarked very early on as a player that could go all the way.

Having progressed through the Lions age groups, he represented them at the prestigious U19 Khaya Majola Coke Week tournament as well as the Franchise Cubs week during the 2016-17 summer. The following summer, age just 19, Mitchell made his first-class debut, but for Northerns, whilst based in Pretoria studying at TUKS. That debut came in the 2017–18 Sunfoil 3-Day Cup in November 2017 against. List A/T20 debuts for Northerns came within months but he soon returned to the Lions during the 2018-19 summer.

His first senior appearance for the Lions was a match he’ll never forget, smashing 200 (159) in a one-dayer against Western Province in February 2019. Mitchell has gone on to become a regular feature for the Lions across all three formats and was selected in the South Africa Emerging Squad in 2023 to take on Zimbabwe.

His dashing style caught the attention of SA20 Franchise, Paarl Royals, who drafted MvB in the inaugural SA20 Draft. He’s been a solid contributor for the Royals, with 383 runs @ 22.52 in one of the best T20 competitions in the world.

Mitchell does have one previous season of UK experience, a short 2022 stint with Burnopfield CC in the North East Premier League, chipping in with 234 runs/9 Wickets in a brief Northern stay.

Seeking a return to the UK this summer, Mitchell will be one of the most exciting young batsmen available and will be particularly handy with his skillset allowing him to contribute across all disciplines.