"[10] Wisden Cricketers' Almanack too, in its review of the 1932 Oxford season, was also somewhat faint in its praise: "Van der Bijl seemed to play an unnecessarily laboured game for a man of such fine physique," it wrote.
"Patient, with very strong defence, he usually took a long time to settle down and seldom allowed himself the luxury of an attempt to force the game.
"[11] In a year when Oxford were not strong in cricket, however, van der Bijl was one of the early selections for the University Match, though in a high-scoring drawn game with Cambridge he scored only 7 in his single innings.
[12] Leaving Oxford, van der Bijl returned to South Africa, but did not play first-class cricket over the next couple of seasons.
[15] As was usual at that time, the Currie Cup domestic first-class competition was cancelled for the 1938–39 season as there was a tour of South Africa by an England team.
[16] He was then picked as an opening batsman for the first Test of a five-match series, making his debut on Christmas Eve 1938; in this drawn game, he had limited success, scoring 4 and 38.
[17] He was more prominent in the second Test, another draw, scoring 37 in the first innings and then, when South Africa was forced to follow on making 87 and sharing a second wicket stand of 147 with Eric Rowan which saved the game.
[18] The Times reported: "Van der Byl (sic) played his usual stolid defensive game for the first part of his innings, but later used his great height to hit with vigour.
[20] Having opened the innings with Bruce Mitchell in the first three matches, van der Bijl had a new opening partner in Alan Melville for the fourth Test, and they responded in South Africa's only innings of the game with a partnership of 108, at which score both batsmen were out, van der Bijl for 31 and Melville for 67.
His batting was mixture of dour defence and pugnacious stroke-making, according to Wisden's report: "Van der Byl spent forty-five minutes before opening his score and three hours elapsed before he hit a boundary," it wrote.