Wiaan’s whole new world

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Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandWiaan Mulder has a new outlook on the game, which helped him produce his best series yet for the Proteas in the victory over Australia. Picture: Backpagepix Story audio is generated using AI

Cricket still matters very much to Wiaan Mulder, but it is no longer the be-all and end-all of his life.

The tragedy of his father Pieter’s death in April — which was followed five months later by the birth of his first child, Isla, with wife Justine — has created a new lens through which he views the sport.

“Perspective in life is different for everyone. People go through different hardships and ups and downs,” said Mulder.

“This year, in particular, has been tough for me. I lost my dad, who was my hero, whom I pretty much played cricket for for a long time. My outlook on life is a little different, with him not here.

“I’ve also had a baby girl, and that is the biggest blessing in my life ever. As tough as it was, it’s a year I will remember very fondly. Cricket is just cricket, man. I try my best and try to give it my all. I love this [Proteas] space, but it’s just cricket.”

The sport consumed the 28-year-old, from the time he started in the yard with his father to emerging as a schoolboy prodigy at St Stithians.

A reserved boy, cricket provided Mulder with an outlet where he could show off. But the forecasts from outsiders about what he could become made for a heavy burden.

Enjoying cricket was tough, he said. “You never master it; you don’t ever really think you’ve arrived. It’s about continuously working hard, and trying to get some odds in your favour, and trying to get your intensity to a level where you can compete.”

Mulder has played 27 Tests, but it’s only been in the last three where he has fulfilled those predictions made about him as a teenager.

I just want to be a permanent fixture in that team. The role I had in that series suits me, and hopefully, if I can get a run there, I can make it my spot

Against Australia, Mulder did a lot of everything. He bowled 84.3 overs and faced 421 balls. He took wickets with the new ball in Durban and the old one in Gqeberha. He scored 187 runs at 37.4, including a magnificent century in the third Test.

His 10 wickets came at an average of 23.7. “It was pretty cool,” Mulder said about the Australian series.

“Someone, with my role, it’s about making an impact; it’s why I’m there. I just want to be a permanent fixture in that team. The role I had in that series suits me, and hopefully, if I can get a run there, I can make it my spot.”

The Australian series provided clarity about the most suitable position for Mulder in this current Proteas team. He bats in the lower middle order, although he can bat elsewhere, as he showed in the World Test Championship final, when he was asked to go in at No 3. “It doesn’t really affect me, what role I play. I just want to do my best.

“We all understand where I think I am at my best, which is batting at 5 or 6… it allows me to bowl the overs I need to bowl and have a real impact with the bat. Having me at No 7 strengthens the team.”

Coach Shukri Conrad said Mulder gives the Proteas the luxury to fiddle with the balance of the starting XI. They can play four seamers and still have the spinner, and they can also play three seamers and pick two spinners, should conditions dictate.

What he does with the bat is crucial to providing that balance, which is why the 115 in the second innings at Newlands was such a timely display at this juncture in Mulder’s career.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma has been a long-time supporter of Mulder, appreciating the various roles he can fill and the flexibility it provides him tactically.

But, as Mulder explained, Bavuma’s backing doesn’t come for free. “He was a senior player at the Lions when I started playing [professionally], and he’s someone who’s always pushed me to keep trying to get better, not settle.

He’s got a strong winning mentality. He doesn’t stand for the language or mentality of losing

“Tembs is quite hard on all of us. He doesn’t settle for mediocrity. There’s a lot of moments in my career where I’ve given my wicket away, or had moments where I was a bit soft… he doesn’t deal very well with that, from me in particular.

“I guess as fond as he is of me, he really believes in me, but he keeps pushing me, and that’s because he feels I can offer a lot more if I’m a bit more switched on consistently. It’s helped me grow and boosted me to keep trying to be better.”

It’s not only Bavuma driving those standards. Mulder is one half of a devastating dual all-rounder combination that is the envy of the rest of the cricket world. “Playing with someone like Marco [Jansen], it gets the best out of you. He’s obviously incredibly talented and blessed with physical attributes: height, pace and hand-eye co-ordination.”

Jansen and Kagiso Rabada play increasingly important roles as leaders in the Proteas dressing room. “They are so giving towards the team; playing for South Africa means everything, and the intensity they bring pulls everyone along.”

Jansen scored more runs, took more wickets and catches against Australia, stamping his authority as the sport’s best all-rounder, but Mulder doesn’t view Jansen’s presence as a hindrance to his own development.

“I’m lucky to have someone of his calibre to play alongside. He doesn’t complicate things, keeps it simple [and] does the basics well. He’s got a strong winning mentality. He doesn’t stand for the language or mentality of losing.”

I just try to play with a smile on my face, make a difference where I can and try to be as selfless as I can, try to eradicate selfish behaviour in the team where I see it and just remind myself, often, how special it is to play for my country and to do what we do

Following the series win in Cape Town, Conrad expressed the hope that Mulder and others would start to believe they belonged at Test level and were capable of producing match-winning performances.

So, does Mulder believe that he belongs at Test level? “No, no, definitely not. It’s not a case of feeling I belong or that I’m not good enough. It’s about expressing myself and taking the pressure that international cricket brings off me. Just to go out on the field and play what’s in front of me.”

Which leads back to the perspective his personal life has provided this year. “[Playing for South Africa] is such a temporary thing. Very few people get to do it for many years, and so I just want to enjoy it, take the chances where they come and express myself as much as I can, in whatever role that is.

“If my next Test is my last, then that is what it is. I’d have known that I’ve given it my all. It’s work; you do it to put bread on the table. I’m really blessed and grateful to do what I do, but at some stage it will be over and then I have to do something else.

“I just try to play with a smile on my face, make a difference where I can and try to be as selfless as I can, try to eradicate selfish behaviour in the team where I see it and just remind myself, often, how special it is to play for my country and to do what we do.”

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